Building with cannabis

A new version of ìgreenî building could be coming to Colorado. Industrial hemp proponents are working on ways to use marijuana’s non-psychoactive cousin to create sustainable and safer alternatives to traditional construction and furnishing/finishing materials.John Patterson, owner of Tiny Hemp Houses, is using a product called hempcrete to build small homes. The concrete-like material uses hemp fibers instead of fiberglass or cellulose materials to help reduce cracking.ìWhen you compare hempcrete to concrete, the amount of energy required for concrete is in mining and processing, and almost none of that is required for a mixture of hemp and lime,î said Zev Paiss, executive director of the National Hemp Association. ìYou still have to mine the lime, but it’s one-seventh the weight of regular concrete, so working with it is quite a bit less difficult.îìIn concrete, they do use fiber reinforcing like fiberglass,î said Roger Lovell, director of building operations for the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department. ìIt doesn’t take the place of steel reinforcing, but it helps limit cracking. It’s interesting; it’s the first I’ve heard of this. I don’t know what the difference would be between fiberglass as a synthetic product versus a cellulose product like hemp. My question would be to see what happens over time.îBuilding codes used by Pikes Peak Regional Building allow for alternative building styles and materials, as long as an engineer licensed by the state approves the plans. ìIt speaks to the thought that the intent of the code is not to limit new materials in any way, shape or form; itís just to hold them to a minimum standard,î Lovell said.Patterson said there are several licensed engineers who have taken an interest in hempcrete and other alternative building styles such as straw-bale and rammed earth. ìThe officials have a job to do and want safe houses for everyone,î Patterson said. ìThe engineers understand that and speak their language as well. For the most part, the building industry is open and receptive. The building officials just need a little educating that it’s not pot.îIndustrial hemp and recreational or medical marijuana come from the same species of plant ó cannabis sativa. The strains, flowering habits and growing styles result in industrial hemp having very little THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids related to the recreational and medicinal versions.ìThe simple difference is the level of THC, which has been arbitrarily defined by .3 percent by weight,î Paiss said. ìIf it’s less, it’s hemp. If over, itís considered marijuana. That number’s been used in Canada and the European Union, so legislatures here have used it. The plants come from the same genus, but you can’t get high. So, it’s used for every other purpose.îHemp grown for building materials and fiber products has won some legal battles at the federal level that marijuana has not. ìHemp has been different for a while,î Patterson said. ìWe fought the battle back in the 90s that we can import hemp, and we can use it because it doesn’t have THC. But we couldn’t bring live seed in.îThe small number of farmers actively growing industrial hemp in the United States has been a challenge to hemp entrepreneurs. ìBecause we’re just beginning to grow it in the U.S., we don’t have the volume to make those products here,î Paiss said. ìIf someone is using it for a building product or fiber, they’re importing it. The E.U. is a large exporter, and there are companies in Australia.îìRight now, I have to import the hemp all the way from Holland,î Patterson said. ìBut if I can buy it in quantity, we’re going to be right in there as far as cost, compared to other green home custom building.îGrowing and processing larger quantities domestically would also give companies enough product to submit for testing agencies to approve materials for more frequent construction use. Individual projects using alternative materials could find it less expensive to pay for engineering plans for that permit. Manufacturers hoping to sell a new building product en masse must be evaluated by an organization that code officials will recognize.ìRegardless of what the product is made out of, any building materials used would have an International Code Council Evaluation Service report,î Lovell said. ìThey, in general, set the acceptance standards. Much like the federal government does with crash tests: Here’s what the car has to be able to withstand. When they come up with a new building product, it has to be tested and evaluated. That says that it does what it says it does.îThe ICCES and other similar testing agencies are similar to the Underwriters Laboratory process for consumer products. ìIf you look at a toaster, it has a UL report to make sure it won’t shock you or set your house on fire,î Lovell said.Environmental concerns and overall material efficiency are also driving interest in industrial hemp for building materials. ìImagine the time to grow a pine tree to where you can cut it down to make lumber,î Paiss said. ìAn entire field of hemp can be ready in three, four months and be used right away. The volume per period of time is vastly better in hemp than in trees.îHempcrete and pressed hemp products don’t burn well and generate almost no psychoactive effects. ìWith hempcrete, the entire wall system is very fire resistant or non-combustable,î Patterson said. ìFor fire prone areas, I would recommend hempcrete, along with good building design.îIf federal and state lawmakers continue to make industrial hemp farming and the production of hemp less of a legal risk for growers, consumers can expect to see many new hemp products on the market. ìThere’s research going on to take the ground-up center of the stalk and press it into OSB (oriented stand board) or plywood,î Patterson said. ìAny of the fibers can be spun into insulation, woven into carpets, drapes, seat cushions ñ- anything you would make out of fabric. It’s just unbelievable how many products can be made from it.îFrom the Hemp Industries Association

1. Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to about 8,000 BC.
2. Presidents Washington and Jefferson grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and U.S. farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program. In 1937, Until February 2014, drugs laws passed in 1937 forbid anyone from growing hemp in the U.S.
3. Hemp seed is nutritious and contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is a good source of dietary fiber. Hemp seed is not psychoactive and cannot be used as a drug.
4. The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers, which are among Earth’s longest natural soft fibers and are also rich in cellulose. The cellulose and hemi-cellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp stalk is not psychoactive. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.
5. According to the Department of Energy, hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. The hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of bio-fuels could significantly reduce consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power.
6. Hemp can be grown organically. Only eight, out of about 100 known pests, cause problems; and hemp is most often grown without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides. Hemp is also a natural weed suppressor due to fast growth of the canopy.
7. Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp’s low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and its creamy color lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical by-products.
8. Hemp fiber paper resists decomposition and does not yellow with age when an acid-free process is used. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. Hemp paper can also be recycled more times than wood-based paper.
9. Hemp fiberboard produced by Washington State University was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard. No additional resins are required due to naturally occurring lignins.
10. Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products. Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil, to name a †few examples. Over two million cars on the road today have hemp composite parts for door panels, dashboards, luggage racks, etc.

President Obama signed into law Feb. 7, 2014, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, which amended the †Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, allowing American farmers in any state to grow the crop.According to a Los Angeles Times op-ed published in June 2014, “American farmers have been watching as Canadian farmers clear huge profits from hemp: $250 per acre in 2013. By comparison, South Dakota State University predicts that soy, a major crop, will net U.S. farmers $71 per acre in 2014.”