History and uses of hemp - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 9

Since the early 1990s, more and more individuals and organizations throughout the
Western world are starting to re-embrace the hemp plant, exploring its potential as a natural
and sustainable source of materials with great commercial, industrial, agricultural and en-
vironmental potential. The table opposite 4 shows some examples of its many uses.
While the hemp plant is not, as is sometimes claimed, a 'miracle plant' that can solve all of
the problems of the Western world, it seems that the resurgence in its use will be invaluable
in a future where it is essential that we wean ourselves off our dependence on fossil fuels.
At the time of writing, hemp has been grown legally again in the UK for 20 years, and the
number of farmers cultivating it is steadily increasing, as local and international demand
for the crop expands.
Hemp cosmetics are now a familiar sight on the
high street.
In the United States, the commercial growing of hemp has been made legal under State
law in the states of Colorado and Washington, although confusingly it remains illegal un-
der Federal law. In late April 2013, Colorado farmer Ryan Loflin planted the first major
hemp crop in the USA in more than 60 years. This landmark planting, five months after
it was made legal in Colorado, is the result of a huge groundswell of opinion in the USA,
which has been pushing for the US government to fall into line with the rest of the world
in its attitude to the hemp plant. 5