No smoking, no chewing: other ways to get your green

Imagine a world where marijuana isn’t demonized or illegal. Imagine a world where hemp is used for basically everything because of its eco-friendly properties and prosperity. In 2017, there are already several ways to administer cannabis (even if smoking and edibles aren’t your thing), and hemp and marijuana products now have many uses beyond pleasure and pain relief.

Marijuana’s uses have expanded by leaps and bounds in the medical industry. If you are interested in using weed instead of painkillers, it’s quite handy for arthritis, glaucoma, mental health, and maybe, just maybe even the stress of college. Obviously there is the edible route: Who wouldn’t want chocolate and a high? But for other medical purposes, there are various oils and extracts which can be rubbed on joints and other aching areas of the body.

Patrick Stewart recently came forward and discussed his cannabis use. Before using cannabis ointment and spray, his arthritis crippled his knuckles so badly he couldn’t make a fist! Now, with the help of his marijuana spray, he can make a fist quite easily. He says he would much rather use this because the over-the-counter pills he was taking to manage his pain could have, if taken long enough, deeply damaged his liver.

Cannabis is also making its way into the beauty industry. I personally believe that whatever you massage into your scalp is quite important, since it is such an absorbent part of the body. Also, the fewer ingredients listed on the bottle the better. Organic and cruelty-free hair products are important, but sometimes expensive, so I suggest buying a small bottle and seeing how your head and hair react to the new cannabis shampoo, and then going from there.

Most of these products are hemp-infused, but it all comes from the same place! Hemp oil is full of fatty omega acids, which are also found in fish oil. Fish oil helps hair and nails grow, and lubes up the joints; since the same stuff is naturally found in hemp oil, even better!

There are some plants that grow buds and some that do not; hemp is the non-bud bearing plant. There are so many things it can be used for! Besides eating hemp seeds as an after-class snack and using hemp oil for cooking, hemp can help around the house. If you are a cat lover like myself, a cat tree is a must! If you have some hemp rope, it is a natural way to create a makeshift cat scratcher. By wrapping the hemp rope around a table leg, you have just made your furry friend a brand new thing to scratch apart!

Hemp is an extremely diverse plant, allowing it to be customized into pretty much anything. As far-fetched as it sounds, why can’t hemp fuel the world? More scientists need to get on this: Imagine if hemp fuel was the new thing! Sustainable, environmentally friendly, and plentiful!

Hemp can also be used instead of plastic. It’s called “hemp plastic” and doesn’t pose any health risks. It is, of course, fully biodegradable.

Beyond the high marijuana can produce for an individual, its value is a universal thing. From the buds to the plant, to the spray to the oil, to the shampoo to the plastic, hemp and weed can be used for pretty much anything. It’s extremely helpful and may very well be the solution for the problems the world is currently facing. So grab a bong and some hemp plastic, and let’s get to work!