Now that hemp has been legalized in the U.S. through the passage of the Farm Bill in late 2018, we’re bound to start seeing all kinds of products putting the plant to good use.
Porsche, which builds its cars in Germany and wasn’t subject to the former laws prohibiting hemp in the U.S., was already experimenting with it as a strong-but-lightweight material for its race cars. The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport uses hemp for parts of its doors and rear wing spoiler.
The company says hemp is a similar material to carbon fiber but is more eco-friendly.
This probably isn’t the last we’ll see of hemp in race cars and it’s likely society will eventually stop making such a big deal over products being made with the plant that is essentially a sibling in the cannabis family to marijuana. Hemp was de-listed as a Schedule I Drug by passage of the Farm Bill after spending 48 years on the list even though its primary best use always was in manufacturing.
Hemp is known to have thousands of likely applications. Not only can it be turned into oils and lotions and dietary supplements, it has a bast fiber inside the stalk that is said to be stronger than steal. Consider how many products use steal and you can begin to understand how hemp is likely to be a big part of future manufacturing.
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