About

Hemp Benefits

Hemp is one of the most studied botanical’s on the planet. It is believed by botanical and health communities around the world that the properties of hemp’s many active product ingredients could have beneficial effects for a wide variety of health concerns in the future.

[NOTE: The benefits of Natural Advancement products are narrowly defined under our current Health Canada Licenses and we do not make claims beyond what our license allows. Third party studies are increasingly indicating that the potential health benefits of hemp are indeed broad. Natural Advancement continues to apply to Health Canada to expand its’ lineup of NPN numbers.]

Research is exploring the many health benefits that hemp’s active product ingredients have on a variety of ailments. Benefits for hemp’s active product ingredients have yielded encouraging results for pain and sleep disorders, psychiatric and neurological disorders, eating and digestive disorders and stress**.

**NOTE: These statements have not been evaluated by Health Canada and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or make health claims.

History of Hemp

Hemp is one of the earliest domesticated plants known and it has been cultivated by civilizations for as far back as we have historical records. Hemp was brought to the western hemisphere in the 1600’s by the Spaniards and became a staple crop in the American agriculture of the 1800’s, and reflected historically in town names like “Hempfield” and “Hempstead.” Many American presidents including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams grew hemp and actively advocated for commercial hemp production. Because of its significance as a crop, at one time, it was illegal NOT to grow hemp in many parts of the US.

Hemp’s experienced a sharp decline in North America with the passing of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which levied an exorbitant tax on anyone who dealt commercially in cannabis, hemp, or marijuana. It has been argued that the law was passed to destroy the US hemp industry in order to advance the economic interests and modern technologies of Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst and the Du Pont family.

Hemp crops made cyclical comebacks since then, particularly during war times. During World War II, hemp was such a necessity that the USDA made a short film, Hemp for Victory, encouraging farmers to grow hemp.

Today, France dominates the hemp production market, producing more than 70% of the world’s output, followed by China at more than 24%. In Canada, commercial production of industrial hemp has been permitted since 1998 under license and authorization issued by Health Canada.

At the same time, in the US it is illegal to grow hemp without a permit and U.S. manufacturers currently import that vast majority of raw hemp from Canada, Europe, and China. The US hemp issues are further exacerbated with the differences of legislation between federal and state. However, progress is being made and more and more states are passing laws to enable hemp licensure. As a sign of shift in perception, the US Congress included a provision in the Agricultural Act of 2014 that allowed colleges and state agencies to grow and conduct research on hemp in states where it is legal.

It is anticipated by many that hemp will be more accessible in the US as the laws on Cannabis in the US continue to relax, which would be good news for the hemp industry.