Why is the rest of the Industrial variation of cannabis allowed to be used in products, but Hemp Leaves aren’t? Leaves still contain minute amounts of THC yet.
In terms of countries that have legalised Hemp for commercial uses, Australia is one of the only ones that force growers to discard & destroy their leaves.
It’s always a sad day when we have to get rid of an instrumental part of the plant! As a small family business, it would make a massive difference for us to create products out of them.
The leaf has so many uses, and as we’ll explain later, it doesn’t contain anywhere near enough THC to get people high. Nor does it contain THC above what’s legally allowed in Hemp crops in the first place - when it comes to Hemp, only trace amounts exist anyways.
This week, we're going to explore the supposed reasoning for Hemp leaves being illegal & explain why we think it’s essential that the Australian government takes another look at this.
In Australia, we're still subject to redundant laws that prohibit people from growing & using their Hemp products at home. Industrial Hemp licences are required to develop a crop that has no recreational value - you couldn't get high if you tried.
Currently, farmers are growing intending to yield Hemp Seed, Hemp Fibre, and Hemp Hurd. We can use these parts of Hemp for commercial purposes once processed into their final form. In the attached blogs, you can read more about the various uses for Hemp Hurd, Hemp Fibre, and Hemp Seed.
However, even for those licences to farm Hemp, the leaves must be destroyed by law, which is very sad for us to do!
We could do so much more with them! We'll give some examples.
As you can see, Hemp Leaves have a great deal of use for everyone - from farmers to consumers. With the current laws surrounding the Hemp Industry, it’s reasonable to assume that the Australian government is simply trying to stop people from getting high.
And honestly, that’s perfectly fine. However, the matter is that just like the stalks & seeds, leaves will not serve that purpose even remotely. The plants that we’re allowed to grow must not exceed 0.3% THC. Even the cannabis flower/buds require a minimum of 7% THC to be considered viable for smoking.
There is a lot of beneficial byproducts being discarded by Hemp farmers all over Australia every year. And it’s more than just sad… It’s utterly wasteful. Instead of being destroyed, we could put these leaves to use in food, drinks, and dietary supplements.
We are pleading with the Australian government to reconsider the laws around Hemp leaves so that there is less waste product and more sources of revenue for those participating in the Australian Hemp Industry.
