Hemp is the term for cannabis that has been bred specifically for a high fiber content, seeds or for other industrial uses, and as such has negligible psychotropic properties.

Here are some of the things that are made from the cannabis plant!

1. Clothes

The Chinese were using hemp to make fabric and clothing since way back in 8000 BC. There’s been a resurgence in interest regarding hemp clothing though, and you can even order yourself a hemp t-shirt from Amazon and the like nowadays. It’s known for having a tough texture, useful for sports clothing.

2. Food and drink

Hemp seeds are a high protein food source, and can be eaten raw, ground into a meal, sprouted, made into hemp milk, prepared as tea, and used in baking. The fresh leaves can also be consumed in salads. Products made commercially include cereals, frozen waffles, hemp milk ice cream, hemp tofu, and nut butters. Hemp seeds contain negligible amounts of THC, and thereby have no psychoactive effects. You can even get your hands on hemp beer these days,

3. Ropes

Hemp fiber is also useful in making ropes, thanks to its texture and durability. The tensile strength is perfect for making cords. It was even used to make sail canvas in earlier times.

4. Building supplies

The cannabis plant is used to make ‘hempcrete’, a stronger, lighter, and more environmentally friendly version of concrete. Hemp fibres are extremely strong and durable and are a good replacement of wood in creating durable and breathable homes. It is also used to make insulating material.

5. Paper

The first identified hemp paper in the world dates back around 2000 years ago. Hemp is a quickly renewable and sustainable source of pulp for paper, but is not used much commercially due to the high cost of processing it.

6. Jewellery

Hemp twine materials can be used to make all kinds of jewellery ranging from anklets to necklaces and pretty much any other form of adornment you can think of. These are made using macrame, which is an old technique of knotting several different geometric patterns together without the use of hooks and needles.

7. Plastic

Plastic can be manufactured from cannabis, and hemp-based plastics are, in fact, more easily recycled and degrade at a faster rate than traditional plastics. They can be used for making practically anything – soda cans, cd cases, shower curtain liners, furniture and even car parts!

8. Fuel

‘Hempoline’ isn’t a word from the Mad Max movies, it’s another name for biodiesel made from hemp. Different kind of biofuels can be made from the oils in hemp seeds and stalks.

9. Soil and water purifier

Industrial hemp from the cannabis plant can be used to clear impurities out of wastewater, such as sewage effluent, excessive phosphorus from chicken litter, or other unwanted substances or chemicals. In fact, hemp is being used to clean contaminants at one of the most radioactive and toxic places on the planet – The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster site.

10. Weeding

You can literally use weed to get rid of other annoying pesky weeds in your soil, and I can’t handle the irony. Hemp is very effective at killing tough weeds thanks to its height and density, which prevents pooling of weed seeds in the soil. This is especially significant as it allows farmers to refrain from using potentially harmful herbicides.

11. Medicine

As you can tell from an earlier article we did, cannabis can be used in the treatment of a wide range of medical ailments. Correct and medically supervised cannabis usage can help with chronic pain, nausea, insomnia and anxiety, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

12. Cosmetic products

Hemp is also used in products like herbal moisturizer, body butter and conditioners. They use organic hemp seed oil along with the other necessary ingredients to produce skin-friendly grooming items.