Efforts on this pipe dream have been underway in Minnesota since the late 1990s, when my previous publication, Profits Journal’s, writer Dave Price wrote about it. The story hasn’t changed much in 20 years.
As usual, MinnPost has this week’s best business/society story in Minnesota with its examination of what’s happening on the hemp front today. It’s timely given the billions of dollars in new economic endeavors aiming at Canada, which just legalized recreational use of pot nationwide. Yes, I know hemp isn’t the same thing (yet look at this photo of “hemp” plants). But the sensitivity over hemp 20 years ago was much higher because its cousin, the plant that provides pot, wasn’t legal anywhere in North America at that time.
So maybe there’s hope this time. And that’d be great: hemp is more comfortable and more durable when used to make clothing. It’s also incredible when making ropes. In fact, before cotton and petrochemicals, it was the material we used for such things. So here’s to hemp’s comeback!
Oh, but wait. I forgot about the lobbying power of the cotton and petrochemicals industries.