Popular opinions can often be misleading. The versatile hemp became victim to one such opinion which was formed solely based on its physical appearance and lacks valid evidence. The opinion in question here is that- just because hemp is botanically related to marijuana, the products made from it are psychoactive. This is a completely false notion and here’s why.
Hemp and marijuana simply belong to the same Cannabaceae botanical family and share no other characteristics whatsoever. It is scientifically proven that hemp is a perfectly safe crop and a rather major asset to the textile and medicine industries. Its production offers a great deal of environmental aid and the products that come from it are 100% natural and eco friendly.
Even though hemp was one of the first plants to ever be spun into usable fibre, it has always been quite a hush-hush topic in India. After most of its derivatives were banned in 1985, the stigma around it reached soaring heights. Thankfully, people are now realising that the plant simply became a victim of generalisation. There are a lot of budding communities who are working on unlearning irrational myths about hemp and are focussed on spreading this crucial knowledge to the world. These communities offer a wide range of hemp alternatives to clothing and other products. With an expanding range of availability, people are starting to look through the stigma and are starting to see hemp for what it truly is ; our biggest shot at a greener future.
False news is a hazard to society. The stigma built around hemp has caused us an unimaginable amount of environmental loss that could easily be avoided. However, it’s not too late. Try taking a minute to learn about hemp with an unprejudiced mind. Lets aim to destigmatize the miracle hemp and reap the plethora of benefits it has to offer.
-https://pointsevengroup.com/post/destigmatizing-cannabis/
-https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2022/02/city-cannabliss-hemp-destigmatization
-https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1477-7517-10-2
