November 3, 2011 – SASKATCHEWAN – Members of Parliament have pledged funding for the Composites Innovation Centre (CIC) to study hemp fibers with the goal of making composites that perform better than fiberglass and plastic.

“Finding new and innovative uses for our flax and hemp will greatly benefit farmers and the economy in Western Canada,” said MP Bruinooge. “This investment will enable farmers to adapt their growth and harvesting regimes to optimize fibre performance, increasing the demand for their crops and resulting in increased profitability.”

The investment through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) is designed to study the sub-molecular structure of hemp fibers.

“This exciting collaboration between the CIC and our world-class Canadian synchrotron facility will provide our local and national biomass industries with a key competitive edge in a growing international marketplace,” says CIC Manager of Product Innovation Simon Potter. “The information we generate with the Canadian Light Source will support the high penetration of agricultural fibers into building materials and composites for automotive and aerospace products.”

“The Canadian Light Source welcomes this opportunity to work with Manitoba’s burgeoning bio-composite sector on a project that will not only benefit Manitoba, but fibre growers throughout Western Canada and manufacturers around the world,” said Jeffrey Cutler, director of industrial science.

The project is being funded under the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). CAAP is a five-year (2009-2014), $163-million initiative that is trying to help the Canadian agricultural sector evolve and stay competitive.

The goal is to help farmers by focusing on creating sustainable jobs and strengthening the determined community. The group is looking to build the Canadian economy for the future generations.

Because the previous growth of the Canadian hemp industry has been successful, it makes sense that they are now moving to invest in this fruitful and diverse crop. It only makes sense that US farmers, like North Dakotan and Republican State Legislator David Monson in the video above, should be able to take the steps needed to grow hemp in the states.

Monson says, “If they can do it in Canada, England and Germany and all over the world, we should be able to do it, too.”

With the situation of our economy in crisis, our farmers should be able to take advantage of the expanding arena of hemp. There are so many products to be made and it is such a healthful contribution to the economy. It’s time the United States restores hemp.

By Michael Bachara. Source. For more information, please visit http://www.agr.gc.ca/caap.

September 24, 2011 – Moscow – Russia may soon authorize the cultivation of hemp – otherwise known as cannabis sativa – for agricultural and industrial needs, Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service said on Friday.

On September 28, the country’s State Anti-drug Committee will decide whether to allow the cultivation of hemp, currently prohibited in Russia.

Russia was a world leading producer of hemp, used as a source of oil, food, fibers, housing and industrial materials, until 1961 when the Soviet Union ratified the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs which declared cannabis – along with heroin – a highly toxic narcotic.

Russia is currently one of the world’s biggest importers of hemp fibers and oil, the country’s drug control watchdog said in a statement.

In 2007, the government relaxed legislation on the planting of hemp.

Russia is estimated to have at least one million hectares of illegal cannabis, planted mainly on the fringes of the country, in the Far East and Black Sea region. About 2,000 hectares are used to grow hemp, an anti-drug official said.

The official said that a revival of hemp’s industrial usage will help “to create new jobs and reduce social tensions in the regions, which are abundant with illegal wild cannabis.” Source.