In the past decade or so we’ve seen a massive turn when it comes to opinions about hemp and cannabis products. While the reality of course is that it is still illegal in most places around the world we’ve seen a massive push to make the legislation around its production much laxer. If you live in the United States, you might have noticed that many states have chosen to legalize the production of cannabis products as well as their sale to the general public. It’s important to understand though that the laws surrounding hemp and cannabis production are not only for individual consumption as a drug and cover much more than you might think. So, let’s take a deeper look at legislation surrounding the production of hemp products and what it means for you as a consumer.
When we talk about hemp, we talk of course about the plant which is often associated with the production of cannabis. If you know anything about cannabis you know that before being a drug it was a simple plant that had been used for centuries by the indigenous people of the Americas. One thing that’s important to understand is that legislation surrounding these plants mostly comes from the fact that many countries were leading a massive war against drugs trying to prevent organized crime from making money from the sale of cannabis products used in the production of illegal drugs. However, the legislation around the production of hemp did hamper a lot of the potential advances and discoveries we could have made by working with these products in the first place. There is also a very real discussion to be had about the fact that natural products generally seem to be more likely to fall to legislative restrictions than pharmaceutical products.
While we talk about the legislation of cannabis products nowadays the reality is that many countries gave legalized the production of hemp products for restricted usage. For example, Canada legalized cannabis less than five years ago yet the production of cannabis for restricted use has been in place since the late 1990s. As far as we know the country will lift its restrictions on these products the earliest was Japan in the 1940s. Of course, we’ve seen many countries follow suit in the years to come but the reality is that many people now realize that there is a real economic potential to the growing of hemp products. Aside from the economy, there are also a lot of great potential uses for hemp products when it comes to medical benefits. This is where the individual consumption aspect comes into play.
You see with the legalization or decriminalization of cannabis and its offshoots you can now potentially have access to products that will help you deal with daily issues that you would otherwise need prescription medicine for. One of the best examples of this is that even doctors especially in countries with legalized cannabis understand the benefits of using THC and cannabis-derived products to treat anxiety and depression. Some of these products are made to not have any similar high to what we know as cannabis and instead simply to treat the symptoms. Following many studies and trials, we’ve seen a massive uptick in cannabis prescriptions when it comes to dealing with patients who are victims of chronic pains. This is not only a great natural alternative, but it also allows these people to avoid or get out of their addiction to painkillers which are often very powerful opioids. When it comes to using cannabis to deal with pain there is still a lot to be figured out and thankfully with the legalization, we can see a rise in interest in the study fields.
Many people also have found that cannabis products like hemp oil can combat eczema which is potentially groundbreaking considering that many people who deal with skin conditions often have to resort to using powerful chemical creams. Using hemp products both for medical and cosmetic uses is positive for people who don’t want to risk their sensitive skin with chemicals. While we are only scratching the surface when looking at the potential benefits of hemp products the reality is that what little we know already is showing a lot of promise. Only time will tell if even more great uses come out of legalizing and decriminalizing the production and study of the cannabis plant. It’s also important to understand that while many people were worried that legalization would mean chaos the reality is much different. Countries like Canada which legalized it recently and invested in its production as a governmental project realize that there is a lot of money to be made there and that since its legalization there have been no more reports of criminal behavior linked to its consumption.