America has been slow to embrace hemp’s revolutionary, space-age applications—not to mention the billions of dollars that hemp production and processing could bring the nation.

The extreme versatility and usefulness of hemp has seen an overdue resurgence in interest lately, which is rather remarkable considering that humans first began cultivating it about 10 millennia ago.

Hemp is a variety of the Cannabis sativa L plant species, but—unlike the plant harvested for its flowers and high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol—it contains only trace levels of THC.

Traditionally used since the Stone Age as a source of food, fiber, medicine and building materials, hemp’s high tensile strength and natural water resistance led to its widespread maritime use in rope and canvas sails during the Age of Exploration.

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J.J. McCoy ~ HighTimes.com ~