Monday, November 4, 2013
September 28th Hemp growers open day
Judy and Kate went on a open day in Littlehempston, near Totnes, Devon, to learn more about growing hemp, a long held dream of ours, which we haven’t been able to realise because of lack of access to seeds and because we have to have a licence from the police to grow it. The day consisted of a talk from an expert in hemp (Derek), who was extraordinarily knowledgeable about it, and who had a box full of products which can be made from hemp, and a wander through a hemp field which a local guy (Gavin) has planted as an experiment. Hemp is incredibly versatile and was widely grown in England in the past, and especially in this area (hence the name of the village that we were in). However, since around the 1930s, it has been suppressed worldwide by various powerful lobbies (e.g. the cotton industry in the US), who understand how it would threaten their product. Gavin’s inspiration is to start from bottom up, start small and increase hemp production in little patches, spreading the knowledge of this wonderful crop again. This can be done with his seeds, and under his licence. However, for us at the moment, it is not feasible, given that we are on Duchy land, and the police do not distinguish it from a crop of marijuana (hemp has virtually no THC (the drug) in it, i.e. you can smoke vast quantities of it and nothing will happen)…. We are not going to relinquish our dream, however…. One day….
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