Campuses:
By Martin Moen
Midwestern farmers have watched as Canadian farmers have benefited from a growing niche market for hemp and hemp oil during the past decade. Bell museum curator of plants George Weiblen hopes to change all that.
Weiblen’s research threads a path loaded with social, political and economic land mines. He is one of only a handful of researchers permitted by the U.S. government to study Cannabis sativa, the plant species that includes marijuana and hemp. Staying on the good side of drug enforcement, marijuana advocates and the hemp industry is challenging. But it’s a tightrope walk that Weiblen appears to relish.
Hemp and marijuana are different varieties of the same species, and federal law prohibits all Cannabis plants regardless of their drug content. Meanwhile, hemp farmers in other countries supply fibers that are used to produce paper, clothing, canvas, and rope. But the recent increase in demand is for hemp seed that contains oil that is rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It is used in nutritional, cosmetic and industrial products.
“Working on a controversial plant is exciting,” Weiblen says. “I can’t think of another plant that is regarded as a miracle by some and a menace by others. Our research is challenging opinions on all sides of the debate.”
Last fall Weiblen published a paper with Department of Plant Biology colleague David Marks, identifying the genes that govern production of the psychoactive drug, tettrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Understanding the genetic basis of drug production in Cannabis could aid in developing new varieties suitable for planting in the U.S.
Weiblen’s research found that the genes responsible for THC are active (expressed) in tiny hairs located on Cannabis flowers. A hairless Cannabis variety would be drug free and visually distinct from marijuana. However, hemp industry advocates strongly oppose the genetic modification of Cannabis to exempt it from current U.S. drug policy. They argue that existing hemp varieties are already low in THC; that genetically modified hemp would not appeal to consumers, and that federal drug policy should be amended to permit cultivation of existing varieties.
Weiblen says hemp is an ideal crop alternative for the Upper Midwest. “It grows well on marginal land and, as opposed to cotton, it yields large quantities of durable fibers, survives northern climates and is resistant to pests and disease.” Also, hemp seed oil could provide a source of biofuels. Given its hardiness and weedy characteristics, it could be grown on land that is unsuitable for other crops.
“My research attempts to bring honesty and scientific facts to the debate over Cannabis,” Weiblen says. “Hopefully that can lead to sound legislative decisions in the future.”
Weiblen says his research has reached a sort of crossroads. Without additional funding to better understand Cannabis or the opportunity to grow experimental plants in the field, the idea of new American hemp will remain but a pipe dream.
