Cannabis letter

8/7/2019 Cannabis letter

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The Hon. Bruce Golding M.P.Office of the Prime Minister of Jamaica1 Devon RoadKingston 6Jamaica W.I.

Greetings Mr. Prime Minister,

Fuel of the future:

With the world experiencing one economic crisis after another, there is a dire need for energyalternatives to clean up our polluted environment. An energy crisis is looming in the not too distantfuture with our continued insistence on fossil fuels as our main source of energy. The time is rightnow to shift our energy focus from a hydrocarbon energy source (fossil fuels, natural gas andcoal) to a carbohydrate source (biomass). Farmers who raise cattle should be converting theiranimals waste into energy. The technology exists where the liberation of methane gas from theirexcrement can be harnessed to produce heat, light and power. Solar and wind technology weatherstand alone or hybrid must become the norm especially for residences in rural communities.

The best source for transportation fuel however comes from the plant kingdom. Cannabisotherwise known as ganja, marijuana or hemp as a biomass fuel source has been shown to be abetter material source than most people would ever imagine. This one plant can efficiently producethe five basic essentials that can contribute to a successful environmentally friendly and sustainablecommunity i.e. food including medicine, clothing, shelter, fuel and energy, some of which areoutlined in the figures below.

We all need to familiarize ourselves with the various uses, as well as the long and controversialhistory surrounding this most unusual plant. It has beenknown as the worlds oldest and most

varied industrial plant forapproximately 10,000 years. AncientEgypt and China used this herb

extensively in their daily lives toproduce paper, textiles, medicinesand a host of other products. In 2009at Saqqara Egypt a 2,600 year oldperfectly preserved mummy wasfound wrapped in dark stainedcanvas. Today China is the worldleader in hemp textiles from finelinens to course canvas. The wordcanvas was derived from the wordcannabis, the scientific name for thisherb. It comes in three main varieties.

Cannabis Sativa, which is the typecentered around our discussion,Cannabis Indica and the least knownCannabis Ruderalis which is morepopular in Asia.There are a host of hybrids developedover the years through

experimentation for specific purposes and also in nature due to environmental adaptation.According to a 1993 report by Lynn and Judy Osburn, dried biomass materials has a heat energypotential of 5,000 to 8,000 Btu per pound with virtually no pollutants, depending on the process ofheat extraction. This approximates to 1.5 to 2.3 kW of electrical energy per pound. Of all the

Figure 1 Some uses of industrial cannabis.


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materials noted in the report, hemp stood out as the most exceptional and cost effective. Some ofthe other plants considered were eucalyptus and acacia trees. These however took too long to growand weed control was costly. The grasses yielded better results than the trees. Sugar cane wasexamined but again the cost of herbicides and fertilizers plus the drying out of the plant wasproving to be uneconomical.

Of all the plants examined in the report cannabis was found to be the most efficient for energyconversion. Oil from the seed can be used as a fuel source also but it is not the best use of the seed.There are much better uses for this seed especially for nutritional purposes. It is not very efficientin terms of the yield of fuel oil produced per acreage, approximately 30 gallons per acre. The innerwoody core of the stalk, otherwise known as the hurd of the plant is the most efficient part for usein fuel production. One way to utilize the cannabis hurd for energy is through a process calledthermo chemical decomposition. The process is principally burning the material in a chamber withlittle or no air, called the pyrolytic reactor, and collecting the gasses, condensed fuels and charcoalform the combustion. This process has been around since man became industrious, therefore withingenuity and resources it should not be too difficult for the small farmer to create this machine andproduce his own fuel.

Another process is biological digestion which is more suitable to produce ethanol from highmoisture content plants such as sugarcane and corn. It basically involves the process of anaerobic

(without air) digestion and fermentation. According to the authors the digestion process is moreexpensive because the materials suitable for this method, namely sugarcane and corn are morecostly to cultivate due to fertilizer and herbicide costs. The digestion process which can take up to aweek depending on the design before any fuel is realized is not as efficient in ethanol productionfor industrial use as pyrolysis is for fuel production which is almost instantaneous.

Pyrolysis on the other hand has a high efficiency in fuel to feed ratio of over 95% in producing fueloil, non condensable gasses, acetic acids, acetone, charcoal and methanol which is at the heart ofmy discussion. Methanol not ethanol should be the fuel to power Jamaica and the world. Thesepyrolytic fuels are similar in characteristics to no.2 and no. 6 fuel oils. The hemp hurd is approx. 80% cellulose which is what provides the hydrocarbons necessary for fuel oil production. Pyrolysis issimilar to the process used to refine crude fossil fuel oils and coal therefore the process could

continue to be refined further to produce gasoline which would result in approximately half thevolume of ethanol or methanol.

China on the other hand is making a strong case for methanol and other alcoholic blended flexiblefuels as the main future transportation fuel supply. Attached directly below is an extract from aresponse by John Lynn of the Methanol Institute in the Energy Tribune Magazine July 2009 issue:In 2007, China firmly established itself as the driver of the global methanol industry, becomingthe worlds largest methanol producer and consumer. China also leads the world in the use ofmethanol as an alternative transportation fuel, blending over one billion gallons of methanol ingasoline last year. Taxi and bus fleets are running on high methanol blends (M-85 to M-100), andretail pumps sell low level blends (M-15 or less) in many parts of the country. At the same time,China is developing production capacity for dimethyl ether (DME) using coal-based methanol as

a feedstock for markets as a blendstock with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) used for home heatingand cooking and as a diesel substitute for buses.We dont have to be like China exactly since we can use a bio mass source as feedstock formethanol production instead of coal. It must be further noted that China is bringing theirtransportation fleet in line to match with their fuel production choice as is shown in the followingquote:

Chinas automotive industry is already stepping up to meet this challenge. The countrys fastestgrowing independent automaker, Chery Automobile, has completed demonstration work on 20methanol flexible-fuel vehicles now ready for full-scale production. Shanghai Maple Automobilehas announced plans to build 2,000 methanol cars. Changan has introduced the methanol-fueled


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BenBen car. Greely Automotive has put its Haifeng methanol car into production. Shanghai-basedHuapa Automotive has built a number of methanol fueled cars. Shanghai Automotive IndustryCorporation, one of the big 3 automakers in China, is developing a number of methanol-fueledcars. With the introduction of national methanol fuel standards, the large international automakers GM, Ford, Toyota, Audi, and BMW selling cars in the fast-growing Chinese market are alsoexpected to follow suit.

Biomass according to the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute holds the most promise in providingclean liquid renewable transportation fuels for the future. It also concluded that pyrolysis is themost economical method for producing these biofuels. This was the result of a 12 year researchculminating in a 1990 report from the Institute. Using the cost estimates from Hawaiian Institutereport, the authors concluded that 95,000 acres of hemp is more than capable of producing 1,700million liters (449 million gallons) per year of methanol in a facility that would cost U.S. $335million if it was built in 1990.This can replace the 1,200 million liters accounted for in 2007 in Jamaica for all combined fuelconsumption virtually without pollution. Whatever pollutant that may escape during the process isreadily reabsorbed by plant life making the process carbon neutral. Hemp can produce 9 tons ofdried biomass material per acre in subtropical regions. In tropical countries like Jamaica, 18 tonsper acre would not be uncommon at least 4 times per year.

In order to retrieve the valuable fibrous bark from the stem of the plant the age old process orretting was usually employed which involved leaving the stalks in the field for dew retting. Thewetting and drying out of the stalks loosens the bark from the woody core. This can take up to threeweeks to complete. Now with advances in technology this can be achieved in a matter of hours byusing an enzyme based process to extract the fibrous bark from the woody stalk. Dr. Wing Sung ofthe National Research Council of Canada,a world leader in this field, took the coarsehemp fibersand with a similar process produced soft silky fibrous material similar to cotton without losing thestrength of the hemp. There are also other processes developed using enzymes to extract methanolor ethanol from the high cellulose content stalks. This is an area which requires a lot more researchbut is at the cutting edge of main stream commercial application of biomas for energy that cannotbe ignored.

The ganja we are talking about is not the regular psychoactive type but a variety grown closelytogether to promote rapid growth mainly for its woody stalks and seeds. Through a process of

natural growth selection it produces a low THC content (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (9-THC, or

simply THC) the psychoactive ingredient. Less than 0.3 % THC is usual for this strain of cannabis.The local Jamaican jargon for this strain would be bush weed. The regular spliff will give youapproximately 5 to 10% and high grade to 20% THC and beyond. A spliff the size of a light postwith this low potency herb finished in about 10 minutes is an approximation to the regular joint.You would not want to plant high grade cannabis close to any low potency herb to hide it becausethey look alike. Cross contamination between the plants will usually reduce the potency of thehigher grade THC plant to match the potency of the lower one.

Some of the advantages of cannabis for fuel should be considered as follows:

1. The argument against corn and sugarcane as a biofuel source is that it converts an availablefood source into fuel and reduces the food supply which eventually leads to higher foodprices. Others also make the point that it adds to the carbon footprint instead of achieving theopposite by the use of herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers. The machines used in reapingthe crop and transporting the produce also use fossil fuels. The latter point can simply becountered by machines that use a biofuel source. Many flexible fuel vehicles are coming onthe market. Hemp on the other hand will not deplete the food supply but will addsignificantly to it with the use of seeds, oils and other by products associated with it.


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Figure 2 Fuel conversion comparison diagram2. Little or no fertilizers are necessary especially on good soil. Cannabis actually adds nutrients

to the soil and has a short growth cycle (90 days + -) making it ideal for crop rotation withother edible produce. While cannabis adds nutrients to the soil other crops will extract thedeposited nutrients developing a harmonious, ecologically and biologically sustainablebalance between crops that can last for years. This type of approach to energy and foodfarming along the lines of what is popularly known as permaculture is a necessary ingredientin developing fuel and energy self sufficiency.

3. Herbicides are virtually unnecessary as the fast growing cannabis planted close togetherchokes out any competing weeds. Over 12ft. in 90 days is normal for the sativa strain.

4. Mechanized harvesters are available by modifying existing hay cubers to accommodate theplant.

5. The pyrolysis process has the added advantage of producing chemical feedstocks for avariety of industries and materials including biodegradable plastics of all types. Charcoal,another by-product,can be used as a fuel source since it has the same heating value in BTUas coal without the dangerous mines or sulfites that pollute the environment. Charcoal can beused as a fertilizer and is also said to have medicinal properties. Products from thistechnology can be supplied on an on demand basis as it is renewable and easily adaptable tomarket conditions.


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6. The basic materials of cannabis are multifaceted. While using the woody core or hurd in thepyrolytic process, the bark,known as one of the strongest natural fibers, can be convertedinto numerous other uses, especially in textiles and paper. The seeds, as noted above, arenotonly known as the favorite food of birdsbut is also the most balanced source of essentialfatty acids, vital to good human nutritional health.

7. The 1938 report in the prime engineering magazines of the day cannot be ignored when forthe first time in history the figure billion dollars was attributed an agricultural crop. ThePopular Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering magazines forecasted a bright future forcannabis hemp when they list over 25,000 varieties of different products from the hurdranging from dynamite to plastics and over 5,000 textile products from the fibrous barkspanning a wide range of industries that can be created from this one plant. We will onlymention here that the flowering bud of the female plant, one which is high in THC contentpresents numerous opportunities for medicinal products. It is possible for the governmentthat can seize the moment by creating incentives for investors to develop the cannabisindustry in their country to the point of fuel and energy self sufficiency.

8. There are reliable forecasts and records by noted petroleum geologist Colin Campbel whonoted that fossil fuel oil production will peak within the next ten to twenty years. That newlarge fossil fuel oil deposits peaked forty years ago and older wells are more difficult and

slower to recover. New wells are deeper and cost more to retrieve the product. This can onlymean one thing; the cost of fuel will skyrocket in the future.

Figure 3 The Pyro-7 by Pro-Natura International of France

The main product of the Pyro-7 ischarcoal from bio-mass materials ofwhich cannabis tops the list. Thistechnique saves the forest treeswhich are the main source oftraditional charcoal production. Thetemperature is maintained by the

combustion of pyrolytic gasses thatare recycled and burnt in a separatereactor. Modifications to this machinecould mean more gasses condensedto methanol fuel using the charcoal asthe main fuel source for the reactorinstead of the gases. This machineneeds at least 6 persons to operateand is capable of producing 3 to 4tons of charcoal per day. Withmodifications it should produceapproximately 2,000 gallons, of

methanol fuel daily. If this scale model could be duplicated throughout the island then there would be no need

for total dependence on the main refinery in Kingston. Additional refinery and fuel production capacities willalso lead to more competition, lower prices and better quality products as long as production standards aremaintained. Each plant will spawn local industries with farmers supplying the raw hemp feedstock to the plantwhich in turn produces fuel and bio char back to the community and chemical feedstock to other industries.

9. While bio-fuels are eco-friendly, fossil fuels are not. The effects of the1989 Exxon Valdes oilspill in Alaska are still being felt today. In its 2009 annual report, the Exxon Valdez Oil SpillTrustee Council, made up of U.S. State and Federal government representatives noted thatresearchers are still finding pockets of oil that seeped into the ground, affecting wildlife suchas sea otters that dig pits looking for food. In some places where you dig, the oil is as toxicas the day it contaminated the beaches. Rebecca Talbott the councils spokesperson. Now


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we have the deep water Horizon oil Rig explosion off the coast of Louisianan considered tobe the worst oil disaster in USA history gushing more than 206 million gallons of oil into theGulf of Mexico. The environmental impact of this disaster will not be known for years tocome. Just like the Exxon Valdes incident oil will be settling on the seafloor and seeping intoit. It has also been reported that in any given year an average of one shipload is spilled in thegulf. The Caribbean cannot afford even one spilt barrel.December 2008 saw the worst land contaminated spill in US history. This occurred inKingston Tennessee, estimated to be 50 times larger than the Exxon Valdes catastrophe inAlaska. 130 million tons of coal ash from a containment pond broke through its sixty foot tallembankment contaminating the nearby Emory River and the surrounding neighborhood.

Figure 4 The Deep Water Horizon rig explosion of April 20, 2010.

Our Caribbean waters cannot afford anything remotely close to this.

Canada is now producing oil from tar sands. This process to date is the most destructive tothe environment than any of the others mentioned so far, mainly because it is intentional, not

a mistake like the others. First land is cleared to provide access to the sands causingdeforestation. An enormous amount of water is used in the process which becomescontaminated and must be stored. Carbon dioxide and other toxic emissions are also releasedduring the process. No where in the Caribbean or in the developing world can afford even afraction of any of the above disasters. That is why Bio fuels are the best alternative fuel fortransportation and power generation as opposed to fossil fuels because it has none of thesehazards associated with it.

10. It is often said that the cost to produce bio-fuels is not competitive with that of fossil fuels. Ido not believe that to be true. We need to look at the overall cost of getting the oil from outof the ground to the pump and the subsidies granted to oil companies by the US governmenteven-though over the past couple of years they were raking in record profits. An example is

the new Nobel Corporations Therald Martin Deep Seawater Rig which costs billiondollars to build and then it is rented out to oil companies at close to million dollars daily,weather they find oil or not. Compare that to a bio-fuel plant costing the same amount tobuild, which would not require million dollars a day to operate. The bio-fuel plant wouldbe turning out the finished product while the sea and land rigs for fossil fuel may go dayswithout finding any oil and even then would be turning out a product that requires furtherrefining thus additional costs. Finding the oil is another associated expense as opposed toplanting and nurturing the seed to the fully grown plant. Here the cost is more predictableand stable which can lead to more efficiencies and lower costs. When you add up theassociated costs on both sides, it is clear that bio fuels are cheaper than fossil fuels takinginto account total production costs and government subsidies.


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11.Nuclear energy as an energy source has the disadvantages weighted against it with thebyproduct of radioactive waste detrimental to human health and habitation that can last morethan 10,000 years. This is totally out of the question for places like the Caribbean and Africa.Not unless the appropriate cold fusion technology can be developed that is safe and secure.This will have tremendous impact in future energy production and may even contribute to thecleanup of existing radioactive waste materials. I believe this is something for the nextgeneration to tackle since the political, business, industrial and scientific communitiesworldwide of the present generation are lacking the will and expertise to tackle this issue.

Figure 5 Henry Ford Swinging an Axe at his

1941 car to demonstrate the toughness of the

plastic trunk door made of soybean and hemp

(From the collections of Henry Ford Museum &Greenfield Villiage)

Figure 6 C-Class Mercedes-Benz automobiles have more

than 30 parts made of natural fibers, including hemp

(courtesy of T. Schlosser Daimler-Chysler)

It is time that the governments of the Caribbean, Africa and the world to reverse the antiquated andnonsensical cannabis laws and heed the advice of the Jamaican 2000 Ganja Commission Report

presented by the late Professor Barry Chevannes. This report was a catalyst in my writing this pieceto complement what the professor was trying to say and look at the plant not only from the socialand religious aspects highlighted in the report but also its industrial implications. We also need totake a look at the report of the former Mayor of New York City Fiorello LaGuardia (1938-1944)and the role the New York Academy of Medicine had in influencing this report.

This cannabis law originally propagated by Harry Anslinger former head of the Federal Bureau ofNarcotics and his cohorts including William Hurst the newspaper tycoon of the day along withtheir reefer madness mania propaganda forced it into law in 1937 without any scientific evidence.The famed former Mayor LaGuardia of New York City voiced his opposition to this law andprovided scientific evidence to back his claim but to no avail. However this law was brieflyrepealed during WWII when Japan cut off the hemp supply from Manila. The U.S. had to resort to

propaganda of another kind, this time in favor of cannabis by producing the classic 1942 filmHemp for Victory, encouraging farmers to grow cannabis for the war effort to make rope formarine rigging and towing, heavy duty tackle, parachute webbing and many more items toonumerous to list here for the army, navy and marine forces. Former president George Bush wassaved by a hemp made parachute when he had to bail out of his downed aircraft during WWII.

The Secretary of the United States Navy General Ray Mavis recently announces that by the year2020 half of all the energy used by the Navy will be from non fossil fuel sources. This includes allair and sea vehicles as well as land based permanent, temporary and nomadic structures. They havealready flown Black Hawk helicopters and F-18 Hornet fighter jets on bio fuels. Tested ships onbiofuels and launched their latest hybrid ship that saved two million dollars (US $2,000,000.00) on


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its maiden voyage from the factory to the home port. The military is usually a step ahead of thecivilians anyway so I would not be surprised if they are currently using hemp in their experimentsas they have used it before as noted above.

We would like to see the scientific community in Jamaica and the Caribbean follow in the footstepsof the esteemed scholars and researchers Professor Manley West and Dr. George Lockhart whodeveloped the extract cannasol from cannabis which is used successfully in the treatment ofglaucoma. The same can be done for cannabis as it relates to fuel and energy. The Governments ofthe Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Asia should take a leadership role in this developmentwhich can spawn new industries and thus help to turn around the downward economic andenvironmental spiral.

Recently it was announced that the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Research andDevelopment Division in a J$13.5 mill. Partnership with the Petroleum Corporation of JamaicasCenter of Excellence for Renewable Energy will be doing research looking for bio diesel crops. Apilot project will focus on 10 acres at the Bodles Research Station planting jatropha and castorbeans and if successful they plan to expand the program. This is a step in the right direction. If theyare seriously seeking a successful program I would advise this partnership to heed my suggestionsabove, save yourself the trouble by going straight to the number one energy producing crop i.e.cannabis sativa. I guarantee they will be surprised at the possibilities this once derided plant can

bring to solving our energy and fuel problems. The Scientific Research Council, UWI, and Utech.along with any other public and private institutions must make their resources available to providethe research necessary for bio fuel development. Utech is uniquely poised along with the manytechnical high schools throughout the island to launch a program to design and install small scalepyro reactors and distillers throughout the island to complement the crop production. There is nomore time to waste; it is paramount that we realize the urgency of the situation. Best of all theanswer is right there in front of us.

Respectfully,

Ray. (judahlion) [email protected]

c.c.Minister of Energy and Mining, Hon. Jame Robertson M.P.Minister of Industry Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda M.P.Ministry of Agriculture and fishries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton M.P.Ministry of Transport and works, Hon. Michael Henry M.P.Leader of the Opposition, Mrs. Portia Simpson MillerThe University of the West IndiesThe University of Technology JamaicaPetrojam LimitedThe Jamaica Manufacturers AssociationThe Scientific Research Council of Jamaica

The Jamaican Daily GleanerThe Jamaican ObserverNorthern Caribbean University (NCU)Dr. Dennis Minott

Documents

Cannabis letter