Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jul 2015 Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI) Copyright: 2015 Star Advertiser Contact: http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154 HEMP MIGHT HAVE BRIGHT FUTURE HERE The best way to protect agricultural land from future development is to cultivate needed crops on the acreage. So we sure hope that state Rep. Cynthia Thielen is right about hemp. The Windward Oahu Republican has been promoting industrial hemp for years, helping overcome numerous hurdles to farming it, hurdles related to its controversial cousin, marijuana. Now that University of Hawaii researchers are harvesting their first industrial hemp crop in Waimanalo, the potential of the versatile, fast-growing plant as an agricultural mainstay seems wide open. The plant has thousands of uses, including in health products, as a fuel source and in the building material "hempcrete." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom