Regulation of Cannabis sativa L. is complicated by the fact that
there are two common varieties of the plant with very different
properties: the agricultural variety, known by the common name
hemp, and the pharmacological variety, marijuana. Prior to
prohibition in the United States, industrial hemp was the
subject of considerable excitement and speculation. The same is
true today, as lawmakers and stakeholders in many states are
considering the potential for reintroducing industrial hemp into
the domestic economy. The environmental performance of
industrial hemp products is of particular interest because, to a
large degree, environmental inefficiencies impose costs on
society as a whole, not just on the producers and consumers of a
specific good. Many commodities which came to replace
traditional uses of industrial hemp in the United States in the
last century and a half have created significant environmental
externalities. Assessments of industrial hemp as compared to
hydrocarbon or other traditional indust