Commercial Hemp & QLD

[Oz]

Northern Queensland primary producers are being encouraged to embrace the diversity of hemp as a commercial crop.

 

The Cairns Chamber of Commerce discussed the viability of the product for farmers in the north at a luncheon on Tuesday.

 

The managing director of Ecofibre, Philip Warner, says the crop could replace sugarcane and tobacco production as one of the region's mainstays.

 

"Fibre is everywhere now," he said.

 

"It's a matter of having the right technical type of fibre at the right price for the right application.

 

"Hemp's one of those fibres which is fortunate in the sense that it has fantastic technical qualities and it's able to be used in a multiple of different uses from plastic, to building products, to papers and so forth, and so on," he said.

Source: ABC On-line

[Dr Doug]

Anyone have any ideas on hemp being used to produce ethanol for use instead of petrol in cars?Could be used to power farm machinery as well.The theory is that any internal combustion engine that runs on petrol will also run on ethanol but it takes three times the amount.The fuel injection and mixture have also to be modified. The ehtanol burns far far cleaner than petrol.Hemp is supposed to produce a large yield of ethanol compared to other crops.

[Oz]

I think you'll like this interview with the people behind the HempCar.

 

HempCar Interview

In-depth interviews with the people behind HempCar... HempCar visited Portland, Oregon on it's national tour to show how diesel engines can run on pure hempseed oil. They are traveling 10,000 miles through 48 cities in the US and Canada in a ninety day tour that has been covered by media across North America. Kellie & Grayson Sigler and Scott Furr are interviewed. Go to www.hempcar.org for more info and to support their tour.

Special thanks to CRRH Hemp TV

NB: You will need Real Player to view this post.

[BlackBeauty]

I want a car like Cheech's in Up In Smoke ::

[Guest Urbanhog]

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Edition 1SAT 05 OCT 2002, Page 057

You'd be a dope to smoke this crop

 

GOLD Coast farmers can grow cannabis legally.

 

But for the potheads out there, even a truckload of the stuff would be useless as a mind altering substance.

 

From this week, new laws are in force which allow for the commercial production of industrial hemp in Queensland.

 

Primary Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk said the new laws would allow industrial hemp in Queensland to move from a research development phase to commercial production.

 

But only cannabis with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of less than 0.5 per cent, the psychoactive component of the drug, will be allowed to be grown.

 

Products produced from the cannabis will be allowed to have a THC content of 0.1 per cent.

 

However, researchers will be given free rein.

 

A category one researcher will be able to possess cannabis plants and seeds with a THC content in the leaves and flowering heads of 3 per cent or more.

 

They will also be able to source new strains of cannabis from the wild into their plant breeding programs and import cannabis from overseas.

 

Category two researchers will be able to possess cannabis plants and seeds with a THC content of between 1 and 3 per cent.

 

"Researchers will be allowed to use varieties with a higher THC but only so they can produce better varieties of industrial hemp and it will only be used for commercial purposes," said a spokesman for Mr Palaszczuk.

 

"The cannabis will have to be grown in glasshouses which are securely locked and the researchers will have to be registered with the Queensland Police."

 

The spokesman said growers also could expect to have their crops checked by roving DPI inspectors at least once a year.

 

"The checks could include laboratory tests to check the THC content of the cannabis and the growers will be expected to pay for the tests," he said.

 

Cannabis with a THC content above 3 per cent is considered marijuana, cannabis with a THC content below 3 percent is regarded as industrial hemp.

 

"Traditionally industrial hemp fibre products have included paper, rope and textiles, but there are opportunities for much higher valued products such as insulation and linings for motor vehicles, building materials, oil and chemical absorption materials, animal bedding, kitty litter and mulching materials," said Mr Palaszczuk.

 

He said anyone wanting to become a hemp grower or researcher would have to apply to the Department of Primary Industries for a licence and be prepared to undergo rigorous checks.

 

That will include criminal history checks, including fingerprinting.

 

He said anyone who had been convicted of a serious criminal offence in the past 10 years need not apply.