BMW and Mercedes Use Hemp in Their Cars

Remind me why hemp is illegal to grow in the U.S.:

…if you drive a BMW or a Mercedes Benz, or wear Armani jeans or Patagonia shirts, you could be consuming hemp.

Its fiber turns up in car door panels, insulation and clothing. Its seeds make tasty granola and frozen desserts, its oil expensive cosmetics and ecologically friendly soap.

If you use these products, you won’t be jailed for possession. But would-be hemp farmers’ fear of arrest is what keeps the U.S. importing the stuff instead of growing its own. [Bloomberg]

I don't write about hemp often, mainly because it's not actually a drug, but it bears repeating that the only reason hemp cultivation is illegal is because a bunch of paranoid drug warriors are utterly terrified of it. As stupid as the arguments against legalizing marijuana are, the case against hemp is even more mindless and pathetic.

Just pause for a moment and think about the fact that the DEA banned a substance used to make door panels for luxury cars, simply because it's related to marijuana. That level of marijuana hysteria probably wouldn’t be possible in the current political climate, but we're stuck with it until Congress admits this is ridiculous.

And I guarantee you that if Congress attempts to legalize hemp cultivation in the U.S., there will actually be people who freak out about it and try to argue that hemp somehow endangers America's youth.