Overview

Currently, U.S. legislation makes it illegal to raise industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) commercially. However, numerous state and national initiatives are working to return industrial hemp production to the United States, where it once was a major crop. Fiber and food uses for industrial hemp are growing rapidly and have increased over 300 percent in the past few years. Much of that growth is coming from the increased sales of hemp food products.  August 2011 ... Industrial Hemp


Marketing

• Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA).
• European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) - Founded in 2005, the EIHA today has 70 members from 24 different countries.
• Hemp: A New Crop with New Uses for North America, Ernest Small and David Marcus, 2002.
• Hemp Industries Association - Association working to change regulations and policies prohibiting the use of hemp for commercial purposes.
• Hemp Report - A Canadian subscription-based online trade journal.
• HEMPTECH, the Industrial Hemp Information Network - This network provides news services and other resources about the history and use of industrial hemp.
• Illegally Green: Environmental Costs of Hemp Prohibition, Reason Foundation Policy Study 367, 2008.
• Industrial Hemp: The Ultimate Web Resource for Hemp - Extensive links to industrial hemp resources, news stories and trade associations.
• Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market Potential, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2000 - Includes potential production and processing reports, markets and testing.
• Industrial Hemp Report, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 2010 - The commissioner of agriculture identifies and analyzes industrial hemp laws and procedures in Canada or one or more of the other 30 nations where industrial hemp is grown as an agricultural crop. In particular, the commissioner reports on how law enforcement and other authorities differentiate between industrial hemp and marijuana growing in the field.
• Industrial Hemp Statistics, Statistics Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2008.
• National Industrial Hemp Strategy Final Complete; Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiative and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; 2008.
• North American Industrial Hemp Council - News and government updates on the status of industrial hemp.
• Report on European Industrial Hemp, European Industrial Hemp Association, 2010, p. 43 - This annual report discusses the newest developments and products from the European hemp industry.
• Vote Hemp - This nonprofit organization is dedicated to the acceptance of and free market for industrial hemp.

Processing

• The Case for Hemp as a Biofuel, University of Washington, 2008 - This paper considers if using hemp to produce biodiesel and ethanol results in higher yields of ethanol than competing cellulosic crops including corn and switchgrass.
• Global Hemp Website - This Web site explores industrial hemp as a renewable resource, explaining how it can be used in food, cosmetics, fuel, textiles, paper, cleaners and paint and building materials.
• Hemp: A sustainable raw material for bio-based composites, Bioplastics magazine, 2010, p. 36.
• Hemp Biomass for Energy, Fuel and Fiber Company, revised 2006.
• Hemp for car parts - new eco businesses grow from plants with EU and EEDA funding, Innovation in Crops, or InCrops, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom (UK), 2008 - This five-year project in the United Kingdom will look at using plants in innovative ways such as using hemp for building and car components.
• Hemp Fabric Goes High Fashion, Hemp Industries Association, 2008 - This association estimates that the North American retail market for hemp textiles and fabrics exceeded $100 million in 2007 and is growing around 10 percent per year, about the same rate as the general hemp market.
• Hemp Oil and Hemp Fiber, Crop Production Costs, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Manitoba, Canada, 2008.
• Hemp Seeds and Hemp Oil as Food, European Industrial Hemp Association, 2009.
• Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) as a papermaking raw material in Minnesota: technical, economic and environmental considerations, Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, 2001.

Production

• An Assessment of Industrial Hemp Production in Maine, Maine Agricultural Center, 2006.
• Growing Industrial Hemp in Ontario, Ontario, Canada, reviewed 2009 - Includes a cost and return budget.
• Hemp, National Centre for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials, United Kingdom (UK), 2010 - Information on growing, harvesting and storing hemp in the UK and its uses as a non-food crop. 
• Hemp, The National Non-Food Crops Centre, UK.
• Hemp, Alberta Agriculture and Food, Canada, 2007.
• Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity - Updated Version, Congressional Research Service, 2007.
• Hemp in Ontario, OMAFRA, Ontario, Canada.
• Hemp heaven… and hell: A story in two parts, Rodale Institute.
• Industrial Hemp, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, 2009.
• Industrial Hemp, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ontario, Canada.
• Industrial Hemp: A cropping guide for farmers, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 2007.
• Industrial Hemp Fact Sheet, Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
• Industrial Hemp Production, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Canada, 2006.
• Vote Hemp Report - Comprehensive 2002/2003 industry overview.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, California - This 60-year-old company produces certified organic liquid and bar soaps that contain coconut, hemp, jojoba and olive oils.
• Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils, Canada - Founded five years ago, this manufacturer has grown from $50,000 in sales its first year to more than $1 million in sales today.
• Nutiva, California - This company markets such organic hemp products as hemp oil, hemp protein and hemp seed.

Links checked May 2011.