The industrial hemp plant and its uses

Industrial hemp was first domestically cultivated in Mesopotamia in 8000 BCE. China began cultivation in around 4000 BCE and, from about 1000 BCE to the 19th century, it was the world’s largest agricultural crop. From the 16th to the 19th century, industrial hemp was universally used for ship sails and rope and was seen as crucial in supporting the global expansion of shipping, trade, colonization, and military activity during the period (Young 2005). By the 20th century, the development of steam-powered and petroleum-fuelled engines eroded the largest source of demand for industrial hemp (shipping) and the development of the cotton gin made cotton more commercially viable than industrial hemp as a fabric for clothing. Industrial hemp cultivation therefore began to decline. In the inter- and post-war years, the outlawing of narcotic marijuana gained momentum internationally. Unfortunately, industrial hemp is the strait-laced, non-narcotic cousin of marijuana, but because the two plants look similar, industrial hemp was tarnished by association.

This erroneous conflation of industrial hemp and marijuana led to the prohibition of industrial hemp cultivation in most countries from the 1950s onwards. Industrial hemp essentially disappeared globally as an agricultural crop in the second half of the 20th century. This disappearance has implications for the current commercial opportunities for the plant and its downstream products, as no research and development or technology development related to the crop or its processing has taken place in seven decades.

Industrial hemp and marijuana are genetically and chemically distinct forms of the Cannabis sativa plant. The plants are covered in tiny hairs called trichomes, which secrete a resin containing chemical compounds known as cannabinoids. Trichomes are found in the greatest density in the female flowers of the plants, followed by the leaves, stalks, and roots.
There are two kinds of cannabinoids found uniquely in the Cannabis sativa plant.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a psychoactive chemical and responsible for the narcotic ‘high’
experienced when consuming marijuana. CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, has no
narcotic properties, and cannot produce any form of ‘drug high’. The key differentiator between industrial hemp and marijuana (legally and chemically) is that industrial hemp has very low levels of THC. In countries that allow hemp cultivation, it is generally accepted that plants with less than 0.3 per cent THC do not have narcotic properties and can therefore be grown commercially.

More specifically, in terms of legislation, Canada, the United States of America, South Africa, and most non-European Union (EU) countries in Europe define industrial hemp as any cultivar of Cannabis Sativa with a THC level below 0.3 per cent. In the EU, industrial hemp must have a THC level no higher than 0.2 per cent.
Section 10 concludes and finds that, although there is uncertainty as to the potential of the industrial hemp market, there is sufficient existing niche market demand to support the further investigation of industrial hemp as a regional value chain between Malawi and South Africa.

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