Environmental Costs of Hemp Prohibition in the United States

ABSTRACT This article seeks to add to the discussion about hemp prohibition in the United States by comparing the environmental performance of industrial hemp relative to its substitutes in a few key industrial applications. The life cycle environmental performance of industrial hemp products is of particular interest because environmental inefficiencies often impose costs on society as a whole, and additionally, the government has initiated a large number of programs intended both to reduce pollution and to increase production of bio-based industrial feedstocks. The positive attributes of industrial hemp are considered here in the context of countervailing attributes.