Knowledge Center - Hemp Products
Crested River wants to ensure everybody has a good solid understanding of the properties and benefits of industrial hemp products. There is a lot of confusion and misconceptions about cannabis. We hope to help you understand.
Further information can be found on the following Crested River pages
Ultimate Guide to CBD
Cannabis and the Endocannabinoid System
What is CBG?
CBD vs CBG
Frequently Asked Questions
Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to Eastern Asia. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, recreation, religious and spiritual moods and medicine. Each part of the plant is harvested differently, depending on the purpose of its use. The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
The name Cannabis is the genus and was the name favored by the 19th century medical practitioners who helped to introduce the herb's drug potential to modern English-speaking consciousness. Cannabis for non-drug purposes (especially ropes and textiles) was then already well known as hemp.
The name marijuana is Mexican (or Latin American) in origin and associated almost exclusively with the herb's drug potential. That marijuana is now well known in English as a name for drug material is due largely to the efforts of US drug prohibitionists during the 1920s and 1930s. We can surmise that this name was highlighted because it helped to characterize the herbal drug as quite alien to English-speaking culture.
Varieties
There are broadly three groups of Cannabis varieties being cultivated today:
- Varieties primarily cultivated for their fiber, characterized by long stems and little branching, called industrial hemp
- Varieties grown for seed from which hemp oil is extracted
- Varieties grown for medicinal or recreational purposes.
A nominal if not legal distinction is often made between hemp, with concentrations of THC >0.3%, and Cannabis used for medical, recreational, or spiritual purposes.
In Minnesota, all operators under the hemp program are in compliance so as long as the "products" that are produced do not contain more than 0.3% THC. Any person operating without a license, but still below the threshold of 0.3% is still considered illegal. Retailers and consumers are exempt as they are handling finished, tested products that have met the criteria for commerce.
Wellness
Cannabinoids are what your body produces for Endocannabinoid system support. The cannabis plant is the only other known organism to produce cannabinoids. There are over 100 cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids in the cannabis plant that have therapeutic effects. These effects are relative to your biological homeostasis. And in the past few years, much more has been learned relative to treating cancers, autoimmune diseases and neurological issues.
Housing
70% of the Cannabis Plant total weight is made up of the 'hurd' or woody inner core. This part of the plant is THC free (i.e. Hemp) and is used in housing construction. The silica leached from the soil by the plant combined with unslaked lime forms a chemical bond similar to cement which is fire and water proof.
Nutrition
Both the complete protein and the oils contained in hempseeds (rich in lanolin and linolenic acids) are in ideal ratios for human nutrition. In fact it is more nutritious and more economical to produce than soybean protein. Hemp seeds are not intoxicating. Hemp seed protein can be used to produce virtually any product made from soybean: tofu, veggie burgers, butter, cheese, salad oils, ice cream, milk, etc. Hemp seed can also be ground into a nutritious flour that can be used to produce baked goods such as pasta, cookies, and breads.
Fiber
Until its rediscovery in the late 1980s, the use of hemp for fiber production had declined sharply over the past decades, but hemp still occupied an important place amongst natural fibers as it is strong, durable and unaffected by water. The main uses of hemp fiber were in rope, sacking, carpet, nets and webbing. A hemp clothing industry was reborn in the West in 1988, and hemp is being used in increasing quantities in paper manufacturing. The cellulose content is about 70%.
1 acre of hemp will produce as much fiber as 2 to 3 acres of cotton. Hemp fiber is stronger and softer than cotton, lasts twice as long as cotton, and will not mildew.
1 acre of hemp will produce as much paper as 2 to 4 acres of trees. From tissue paper to cardboard, all types of paper products can be produced from hemp.
The quality of hemp paper is superior to tree-based paper. Hemp paper will last hundreds of years without degrading, can be recycled many more times than tree-based paper, and requires less toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process than does paper made from trees.
Hemp can be used to produce fiberboard that is stronger and lighter than wood. Substituting hemp fiberboard for timber would further reduce the need to cut down our forests.
Hemp can be used to produce strong, durable and environmentally-friendly plastic substitutes. Thousands of products made from petroleum-based plastics can be produced from hemp-based composites.
It takes years for trees to grow until they can be harvested for paper or wood, but hemp is ready for harvesting only 120 days after it is planted. Hemp can grow on most land suitable for farming, while forests and tree farms require large tracts of land available in few locations. Harvesting hemp rather than trees would also eliminate erosion due to logging, thereby reducing topsoil loss and water pollution caused by soil runoff.
Fuel
Fuel can be a by-product of hemp cultivation. One fuel would be biodiesel because of the oils in the seeds and stalk of the hemp, another would be biofuel from the fibrous stalks.
Just as corn can be converted into clean-burning ethanol fuel, so can hemp. Because hemp produces more biomass than any plant species (including corn) that can be grown in a wide range of climates and locations, hemp has great potential to become a major source of ethanol fuel.
No other natural resource offers the potential of hemp. Cannabis Hemp is capable of producing significant quantities of paper, textiles, building materials, food, medicine, paint, detergent, varnish, oil, ink, and fuel. Unlike other crops, hemp can grow in most climates and on most farmland throughout the world with moderate water and fertilizer requirements, no pesticides, and no herbicides.
Digging deeper into cannabinoids
Cannabinoids are a naturally occurring terpene derived molecule found in the cannabis sativa plant. Of over 480 different compounds present in the plant, only around 100 are termed cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are produced and stored within the trichomes (crystals) of the plant. These trichomes give cannabis flowers their shiny and sparkly appearance. Similarly, our bodies produce endocannabinoids in the endocannabinoid system which consist of cannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors.
The endocannabinoid system is involved with regulating pain and inflammation, feeding and energy regulation. Learning and memory.
There are two different types of cannabinoid receptors: CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptors are found primarily in the brain and are responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis. On the other hand, CB2 receptors are found mostly in the other parts of the body. They are responsible for a wide range of biological functions.
These cannabinoid receptors and cannabinoids can be thought of as a lock and key system. Cannabinoids bind to cannabinoid receptors like a key fit into a lock. This unlocks the receptors potential causing changes in how the cells function leading to different effects on the body.
Although CBD has a low affinity for either of the receptors, it does interact with other nominal receptors with remarkable effects. For example, CBD activates the receptor GPR55 which has been shown to assist in treating pain and inflammation. CBD has also been shown as a partial agonist to the 5-HT1A receptor, which may lead to cannabidiol’s antidepressant, anti-anxiety and neuroprotective effects.
For more information regarding the endocannabinoid system, CBD and other cannabinoids check out Healer.com, PubMed.gov, ProjectCBD.org and Wikipedia.org.
Relative to conditions, studies and medications - Granny Storm Crow's List
Here is a list of well know cannabinoids
And their subsequent stages of synthesis
And finally, their therapeutic effects
