Hemp is cultivated virtually everywhere in the world except for the United States, and its cultivation in western countries is growing steadily. China and other eastern countries never prohibited its cultivation and use it extensively. Hemp, from Old English hænep, is the common name for plants of the family Cannabis, although the term is often used to refer only to Cannabis strains cultivated for industrial (non-drug) use.

Industrial hemp has countless potential uses, from paper and textiles to biodegradable plastics, health food, and fuel. It is one of the fastest growing biomasses on the planet, one of the earliest domesticated plants known, and is right in line with the "Green and Sustainable Future" objectives that are becoming increasingly popular. Hemp requires little to no pesticides, replenishes soil with nutrients and nitrogen, controls erosion of the topsoil, and produces lots of oxygen, considering how fast it grows. Furthermore, Hemp could be used to replace many potentially harmful products, such as tree paper (the process of which uses bleaches and other toxic chemicals, apart from contributing to deforestation), cosmetics (which often contain synthetic oils that can clog pores and provide little nutritional content for the skin), plastics (which are petroleum based and cannot decompose), and more.

Licenses for hemp cultivation are issued in the European Union and Canada. In the United Kingdom, these licenses are issued by the Home Office under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. When grown for non-drug purposes hemp is often called industrial hemp, and a common product is fiber for use in a wide variety of products. Feral hemp or ditch weed is usually a naturalized fiber or oilseed strain of Cannabis that has escaped from cultivation and is self-seeding.
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp ]