The hemp plant or Cannabis sativa, is a versatile raw product with the potential to be used in the food industry, holistically, and in paper and textiles (Bouloc, 2015). The crop can be used from its early stage as a seed, and then once the plant is farmed, there are further uses for the hemp leaves and the white bast fibre in the plants stem (Meeks, 2011). The hemp plant is often confused with the production of the drug marijuana, yet these are two different products. It is important to be aware that hemp has many universal uses. Although it is in the same genus as the drug marijuana, the chemical compound found in the drug that provides users with the “high” - tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is only found in trace amounts. The hemp plant that is used specifically for food and other materials, is different from the plant producing marijuana (Bouloc, 2015).
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