Original scientific paper

HEMP – SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF GROWING AND USE

Nikša Dubreta

Abstract

In this paper the author considers the social mediation of discontinuity and unevenness of growing hemp in the world during the 20th century. These are being evident in the course of the several decades long suppressing of hemp on the margins of industrial development, and the renewed interest gradually became evident in industrial countries, predominantly European countries, for the past fifteen years, especially within the pattern of different environmental topics – biodiversity, renewable resources, sustainable industry and agricultural economics etc.
The author reports on more significant social and cultural elements that marked the long standing integrated state of hemp within civilisation developments, in order to indicate that the production breakdowns at the beginning of 20th century had a dual character: conditioned by internal reasons implicit in intensive quality of the working process of hemp production, with inadequacy of solutions that would enable its machine‐made processing, although also supported socially by sudden and scientifically unfounded images on its hazardousness , uselessness and a series of other disqualifying
stereotypes attributed to their growers and users. The immediate social and cultural context of establishing key features connected with the dubiousness of hemp and its prohibition refers to American society at the beginning of the last century, with a reflection to future periods by incorporating prohibitive forms of regulation of growing hemp, within key international documents. Sociological analysis f this context directs to the three approaches to the interpretation of social
causes of prohibitions and restrictions of growing hemp that on this level of dominant perceptions on hemp can be discernible even today.
And finally, comparatively recent results of the research on the possibility of growing, processing and use of hemp are considered here, including their main advantages and problems, that direct to the need for resumed greater societal opening towards integrating hemp within future industrial development.

Keywords

social prejudices; social power; cannabis; hemp; renewable resources; prohibitionism; ‘war against drugs’; FBN; machine‐made processing

Hrčak ID:

7543

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/7543

Publication date:

7.7.2006.

Article data in other languages: croatian german

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