National Hemp Day

Hemp and marijuana both come from the Cannabis sativa plant. Whereas marijuana is high in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive cannabinoid, hemp contains less than 0.3 percent of it. Hemp has numerous uses: hemp fiber can be used to make rope, string, yarn, cable, canvas, bioplastics, and clothing. Hemp seeds consist of approximately 30 percent oil, and the oil can be used to make paints, soaps, biofuels, and varnishes, and can also be eaten. The seeds themselves can be eaten and be used to make milk. Hemp also contains cannabidiol (CBD), another cannabinoid, which can be taken in the form of tincture drops, capsules, gummies, vape oils, topicals, bath bombs, and more.

National Hemp Day was started in 2019 by cbdMD, "a nationally recognized consumer cannabidiol (CBD) brand," to increase awareness of the entire hemp industry, to support hemp farmers, and to encourage people to research what type of hemp products are right for them. Additionally, cbdMD created both National CBD Day and National Hemp Day "to bring awareness to the health benefits hemp-derived CBD brings to a multitude of people each year." During the December prior to the first National Hemp Day, the 2018 Farm Bill was enacted, which allowed for hemp to be grown, produced, and distributed on a national level. This increased the availability for consumers of products made with hemp, like CBD oil, plastics, biofuels, paint, and insulation. This farm bill followed the 2014 Farm Bill, which stipulated that state governments could grow and research industrial hemp. That bill also classified hemp and products derived from it with less than 0.3 percent THC as being distinct from marijuana.

The earliest record of hemp being grown dates to 2800 BCE in China. From there, its cultivation spread to the Mediterranean area, and then to the rest of Europe by the Middle Ages. It was first planted in South America in the sixteenth century, and in North America in the seventeenth. It is an annual plant, grown from seed, which can reach sixteen feet in height. Plants grown for their fiber are planted close together, have few branches, and grow six to ten feet in height, while those grown for the oil from their seeds are planted farther apart, have more branches, and are shorter.

How to Observe National Hemp Day

Observers of the day are encouraged to support American hemp farmers and to research which products derived from hemp they could use. The day is also to be spent learning about the health benefits of hemp-derived CBD. CBD is becoming ubiquitous, so it can be purchased in many places, but one place that you could purchase it from is cbdMD, the company behind National Hemp Day. You could also use the day to start your own hemp farm and to learn more about hemp farming in the United States from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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