Commodities at a Glance: Special Issue on Industrial Hemp

This report discusses the general uses of industrial hemp and how they are reflected in international production and trade statistics. Based on current practical experiences and empirical expertise, it also defines the steps to be taken by developing countries where climate and agronomic characteristics would suit the cultivation of hemp, to exploit its economic and social potential. Industrial hemp is commonly known as not having intoxicant properties. Nonetheless, industrial hemp remains a controversial plant as it is still often mistakenly associated with an intoxicant use. A negative connotation still prevails despite several millennia of history of industrial and medicinal applications. Such connotation is due in part to confusion about the botanical characteristics and chemotype of the plant.