A new building material known as “hempcrete” is being used to some extent in the building of houses across the United States. A mixture of hemp, lime and water, the material is energy-efficient, non-toxic and resistant to mold, insects and fire.

As you can imagine however, this building material could cause problems for builders due to the fact that hemp is illegal under federal law. That’s why it’s just starting to catch on here and has been used extensively in Europe.

Throughout Europe, the use of hemp for construction purposes has spread across many countries. “We got started about three years ago and I was looking for sustainable building products, Hemp Technologies co-founder David Madera told GOOD Design. [Co-founder Greg Flavall] was in Europe, found Hempcrete and we basically did a tour of Europe and looked at everything that they had done in the U.K., France, Belgium, and Switzerland. We did our first seminar in 2009, and it was the most important thing that helped promote it.”

The fact that hemp is illegal in any form is ludicrous and proves that prohibition has nothing to do with health or kids and everything to do with profits for a group of corporations. Hemp cannot get you high and is a better material for a wide range of applications, including making paper and clothing.

Little by little the walls of prohibition crumble under the weight of their own lack of logic.

- Joe Klare