Hemp was going to save the world, or so the Baja hoodie-wearing hippies hanging out at California’s Venice Beach back in the ‘80s would have it. The fast growing, fibrous stalks could be used for insulation, rope, construction, and fabric—even the soft striped pullovers popular with surfers at the time. The founding fathers grew it, they claimed, and the first two iterations of the United States’ Constitution were drafted on hemp paper. The oil-rich seeds were good in granola, high in protein, and perfect for beauty products from shampoos to facial creams. When soaked and pressed, the seeds make a tasty milk, far creamier than soy. The plant was touted as a climate warrior as well: able to absorb massive amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere and suck toxins from the soil while requiring little water, no pesticides or herbicides, and few fertilizers to flourish. It could be used as a substitute for fossil fuels and engineered into compostable plastics.

There was only one problem: as a close cousin of marijuana, hemp farming had been banned in the United States as part of the crackdown on illicit drugs. The solution, hemp advocates said, was to legalize weed. As a ploy to decriminalize a popular drug, it was pretty transparent. But now that marijuana can be legally used in 37 states, and hemp farming—at least the non-psychoactive kind—is legal in all of them, does the miracle weed deliver on its fevered sales pitch? [Read More @ Time]