Hemp, Cannabis, CBD or Keraf ?! | UlrichK's Food & Travel Blogs

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Are You Confused with all these different terminologies? Well, hopefully, I can help You to differentiate some of it!

As I have written in a previous blog, I was introduced to CBD after my hand trapeziectomy. I was promised by the surgeon I wouldn’t have any pain after the operation, however, 2 years after the operation my hand still isn’t right, the surgeon must have damaged a nerve during the operation because my hand is still very sensitive today.

That is when I started using CBD oil, to ease the pain. Therefore after studying the CBD product, I got more confused with all the different names and products.

First of all…WHAT IS HEMP?

Hemp is a durable natural fiber that is grown as a renewable source for raw materials that can be incorporated into thousands of products. It’s one of the oldest domesticated crops known to man. Hemp is used in nutritional food products such as hemp seeds, hemp hearts, and hemp proteins, for humans. It is also used in building materials, paper, textiles, cordage, organic body care, and other nutraceuticals, just to name a few. It has thousands of other known uses. A hemp crop requires half the water alfalfa uses and can be grown without the heavy use of pesticides. Farmers worldwide grow hemp commercially for fiber, seed, and oil for use in a variety of industrial and consumer products. The United States is the only developed nation that fails to cultivate industrial hemp as an economic crop on a large scale, according to the Congressional Resource Service. However, with rapidly changing laws and more states gravitating towards industrial hemp and passing an industrial hemp bill, that could change. Currently, the majority of hemp sold in the United States is imported from China and Canada, the world’s largest exporters of the industrial hemp crop.

To see Hemp, Inc.’s video just posted entitled, “The Largest Hemp Mill in the Western Hemisphere is Now Online – It’s Alive”, click here. To see the Hemp, Inc. mill in operation and processing products, visit Bruce Perlowin’s personal Facebook page and scroll down to August 1, 2017.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEMP AND MARIJUANA

Hemp is completely different from marijuana in its function, cultivation, and application. In cultivating marijuana, the plants are spaced far apart, and the male plants are destroyed to assure that they cannot seed the female plants, which would result in undesirable, less potent, and less marketable, seeded marijuana buds. Hemp, on the other hand, is planted close together and commonly hermaphrodites, which creates an abundance of seeds, the main component of Hemp foods and supplements. The Hemp stalks are processed and used for fiber, composite, and other hemp-based end products.

Hemp is used in a variety of other applications that marijuana couldn’t possibly be used in. These include healthy dietary supplements, skin products, clothing, and accessories. Overall, hemp is known to have over 25,000 possible applications. Hemp products such as Hemp Milk, Hemp Cereal, and Hemp Oil are used by consumers every day.

For an excellent read on the difference between hemp and marijuana, visit the Ministry of Hemp.

9 GREAT REASONS

TO INCLUDE HEMP AS PART OF A HEALTHY DIET (Source)

Although hemp seeds come from the Cannabis sativa plant, they do not produce a mind-altering effect. These small, brown seeds are rich in protein, fiber, and healthful fatty acids, including omega-3s and omega-6s. They have antioxidant effects and may reduce symptoms of numerous ailments, improving the health of the heart, skin, and joints. Read all the reasons to include hemp as part of a healthy diet here.

HOW HEMP CAN CHANGE THE WORLD¨

Fiber –

Hemp fiber can be used to make fabrics and textiles, rope, and paper. The word ‘canvas’ actually derives from the word cannabis.

Fuel –

While the industrial, medicinal, and commercial properties of hemp have been known to mankind for a very long time, its benefits to the environment have just been realized in recent years. One of the compelling things hemp offers is fuel. With reserves of petroleum being depleted, it would be nice if we could have a fuel source that was reusable and which we could grow right here, making us completely energy independent.

Food –

Hemp seeds are very nutritious and were first thought to be eaten by the Ancient Chinese and Indians. Hemp seeds have a nutty taste and can be eaten raw, ground up, sprouted, or made into dried sprout powder. Hemp seeds also contain a very beneficial oil that is high in unsaturated fatty acids, including an optimal 1:4 ratio of omega-3 to 6.

Building Material –

Hemp can be made into a variety of building materials. These include concrete-like blocks called ‘hempcrete’, biodegradable plastics, and wood replacements. These materials have been used in the manufacture of many things, including electronics, cars, and houses. In fact, the first American home made of hemp-based materials was completed in August 2010 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Biofuel –

Remarkably, the oil from hemp seeds and stalks can also be made into biofuels such as Biodiesel?—?sometimes known as ‘hempoline’. While this biofuel can be used to power engines, it does take quite a lot of raw material to produce a substantial amount.

You may also read this ebook

“ALL ABOUT THE HEMP PLANT- 10,000 Years of History”

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WHAT IS MEDICAL MARIJUANA – CBD?

Medical marijuana refers to using the whole cannabis plant, or the plant’s basic extracts, for the treatment of various ailments or conditions. If you’re not treating ailments or conditions, marijuana can’t be labeled medical marijuana.

Often, people become confused between the terms cannabis and marijuana. Cannabis is a category for a plant species that includes both hemp and marijuana. For a lot of people, the best way to think about cannabis is with an analogy: hemp and marijuana are to cannabis as lemons and oranges are to citrus. Two related but different plants, from the same “family.”

The characteristic that defines marijuana from hemp is the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound in cannabis that gets users high. Hemp is almost devoid of THC but often high in another cannabinoid – cannabidiol (CBD). Hemp has 0.3 percent THC or less while the threshold for marijuana starts at a THC concentration of 0.31 percent or higher. Both forms of cannabis, hemp, and marijuana have been shown to contain medically beneficial levels of differing cannabinoids, active compounds found in the cannabis plant.

Cannabis contains over 85 cannabinoids, some of which have been found to have therapeutically beneficial properties. The two major cannabinoids found in cannabis that academic and scientific studies demonstrate to possess the most therapeutic properties are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), though a number of other cannabinoids, like cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabinol (CBN), also exhibit health benefits.

These cannabinoids interact directly with the body’s endocannabinoid system – a signaling network found within every mammalian species on Earth. It features two cannabinoid receptors, CB1, and CB2 receptors, which THC and CBD “dock” to provide their therapeutic effects. THC, the mind-altering ingredient in cannabis, has been shown to increase appetite, reduce muscle control problems, and reduce nausea, pain, and inflammation. CBD doesn’t cause a psychoactive effect like THC, but it has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation, as well as be effective in killing certain cancer cells, controlling epileptic seizures, and treating mental illness.

To date, marijuana has not been recognized or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food or medicine, but the agency has approved some cannabis-based medications for distribution in the U.S. In addition, over half the states and territories in the U.S. have legalized marijuana for medical use, as long as patients have registered to obtain their state’s medical cannabis “card”.

Watch the video on how Hemp is being treated and then manufactured into different products.