Mary Jane. Cheeba. Weed. Pot. The names alone conjure up countless images of marijuana…which is inevitably tied to smoking. Or is it?
As more and more states legalize the once-feared drug, questions begin to arise about the uses for marijuana besides your typical “roll’em up, light’em up, puff’em up and pass’em” type. With the help of some experts, we’ve compiled this verified list of uses for marijuana that doesn’t involve Swisher Sweets. Peep it!
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15. Compost
Marijuana is well-known, in the farming community, for being the ideal compost…especially if you’re trying to grow mushrooms. Compost is great for landscaping, fertilizing your soil, and growing a great garden!
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14. Textiles
Because of the durable nature of woven hemp, nearly any article of clothing can be made from it. From diapers to denim, from shoes to shirts…even carpets and drapes can be made from the material, which lasts much longer than cotton!
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13. Hygiene Products
Forget the notion that pot-smokers are nothing but a bunch of “dirty hippies.” Marijuana has been used as the base of many a hygiene product throughout the years! Amongst the places you can find Mary Jane being used to keep you smelling daisy fresh: shampoos, soaps, and cosmetic products!
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12. Cooking Oil
Need your all-important omega-3’s but don’t like (or, because you’re a vegetarian/vegan, don’t eat) fish oil? Hemp oil is your solution! Aside from the all-important omega-3’s, hemp oil is filled with omega-6’s and omega-9’s…both essential to prevent heart disease and cancer! Best of all, hemp oil is non-hallucinogenic!
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11. Car Fuel
Got a diesel car? Running low on gas? Never fear: when Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine, he designed it so it could run off of vegetable oils. The best oil to use, in this case? Hemp oil! (Think we may have found a solution to the oil crisis?)
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10. Building Materials
Historically, hemp has been integrated into many a building material, including (but certainly not limited to) fiberglass (and fiberglass boards), cement blocks, stucco, and mortar.
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9. Paper
If it’s good enough for the Founding Fathers, it’s good enough for you. Hemp paper is actually stronger (more resistant to wear) than wood or fiber paper (which is why the Constitution is still in pretty good shape).
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8. Bedding
Who needs a SleepNumber bed when you have a hemp bed? Bedding that’s stuffed with hemp is actually much softer, and much more durable, than their cotton/wool counterparts.
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7. Food
Hungry? Don’t grab a Snickers…grab some hemp seeds! They’re rich in fatty acids (the “good” fats that your body needs to metabolize fats and certain vitamins), have lots of fiber, and (according to Buddhist legend) was the sole food that the Buddha ate in order to reach enlightenment. Like hemp oil, hemp seeds are non-hallucinogenic.
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6. Industrial Products
You don’t realize how important hemp is to manufacture until you realize how many products we take for granted wouldn’t be here without hemp: oil paints, putty, clutch lining (for those who drive manual/”stick” shift cars), and brake pad lining are all, in some way, dependent on hemp in order to exist.
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5. Condiments (specifically, butter)
Much like food products, hemp in condiments isn’t hallucinogenic. In fact, it has a lot of medicinal qualities, and is recommended by doctors (in states where such things are legally allowed) to be used to prevent and alleviate edema and other arthritic-type pains.
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4. Medicine
Medicinally speaking, marijuana, hemp, and its various components have been used to treat such diseases as glaucoma, nausea, vomiting, autism (some symptoms), multiple sclerosis, and it even helps alleviate some cancer pains!
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3. Vaping
Vaping — the process of inhaling water vapor alongside an essential oil — is quickly becoming a preferred, safe alternative to smoking (both tobacco and other products). Even in states where medical marijuana isn’t legal, vaping hemp oil is quite popular amongst the “in” crowd. And, experts say it has the same expectorant (decongestant) effect as traditional medicinal marijuana does!
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2. Tincture
This is perhaps the easiest way to ingest marijuana without getting into any sort of trouble. What is a tincture? It’s the basis of all medicines…it’s sort of like a “make your own salve” that’s the basis of all other salves.
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1. Rope
No hemp, no rope. Simple as that.
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Bernadette Giacomazzo is all in favor of legalizing cannabis, in whatever name you call it. Talk to her on Twitter at @berngiacomazzo or on Instagram at @kbprfirm.
