One of the oldest industrially useful crops known to man is hemp. It’s only been in the last century, literally about a hundred years or so, that hemp has become a demonized plant. Now that legalization is starting to sweep not just the United States, but the world as well, hemp is returning to the fold of industrial options.

Marijuana and hemp are varieties of the same plant, cannabis sativa. But they’re not the same plant once cultivated. Marijuana is the psychoactive version of the plant, grown and processed for the THC content in its leaves. Hemp is the non-psychoactive variety, with a THC level that’s considerably lower. Less than one percent in fact, compared to marijuana’s up to thirty percent. Hemp, however, is high in CBD compounds, which are medically valuable even though they lack the high effect of THC.

When processed, hemp is a fiber that can be used in almost any process where another fiber might be used. From clothing to paper to cordage, it can be treated just as other fibers can. And, as an organic material, it can be processed into bio-fuel products, folded into construction materials such as concrete, and even find uses in the cosmetic industry as part of makeup or skin products.