Experts spoke about the prospects for growing cannabis in Russia

Until the middle of the twentieth century, hemp was a traditional product for many peoples of Russia. Today, enthusiasts across the country have decided to revive these traditions. It’s gotten to the point where food experts are predicting that dishes made from this infamous herb will be the top restaurant trend of 2023. And hemp producers will educate people on proper nutrition. What is hemp and what it is eaten with, the MK columnist found out.

Mankind has been growing hemp for agricultural purposes for over 6,000 years. For thousands of years, people used hemp seeds and oil for food, and later, ropes and sails began to be made from fiber. The first known mention of the use of Cannabis is documented in Ancient China. And in Ancient Rus’, hemp porridge and hemp oil were very popular goods. Peter 1 called it a strategically important commodity along with oil and gas. The fiber was used to make twine and ship rigging, and the Gutenberg bible was printed on hemp paper.

Russia was the world leader in the export of hemp fiber for the European sailing fleet. Hemp is still depicted on the coats of arms and flags of several Russian cities. Ships under sails made of Russian hemp discovered America and completed the first circumnavigation of the world.

At one time, the USSR had the largest cannabis sown areas in the world. Soviet academician Nikolai Vavilov in the 1920s, during his foreign expeditions, collected the world’s largest collection of 700 varieties of wild and cultivated hemp. It is stored at the Institute of Plant Growing in St. Petersburg and survived the blockade. For 68 years, the monthly trade magazine “Flax and hemp” was published in the USSR. The Friendship of Peoples fountain in the center of VDNKh is decorated with gilded sheaves of hemp, wheat and sunflowers.

However, in the middle of the 20th century, hemp fell under the anti-drug campaign – and the area under crops began to decline everywhere. When the UN classified hemp as a narcotic crop, in 15-20 years Soviet breeders bred varieties of industrial hemp, in which psychotropic tetrahydrocannabinol is practically absent. It is not only safe, but also wildly useful.

In the 90s, a hemp renaissance happened in the world – hemp crops began to revive in Europe, Canada and the USA. Significant volumes of industrial hemp are now grown in China and Australia. In these countries, hemp has again become a traditional industrial and food crop.

In the 2010s, the hemp boom also came to Russia, and many farms in the country are trying to return hemp to the fields. Today, 31 varieties of technical hemp are officially allowed for agricultural cultivation in the vast Russian Federation. All of them are included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation. As Alexander Kuchinsky, head of the Hemp Growers Association, says, the term “technical hemp” protects against an unpleasant trail: “Permitted hemp is an absolutely legal crop, a license for its cultivation is not required. And it is cultivated in the fields in the same way as corn and wheat. The only thing is a culture that is not yet understood by everyone.

True, there are nuances. Suppose if you want to grow such a legal crop on your six acres, nothing will come of it. Seeds will be sold to you only if you register as an individual entrepreneur or a peasant farm – and even then, after a lot of permits. And even this will not save you from the fact that “good” neighbors will not hit you where they should.

At the same time, the possibilities of using the plant in everyday life are enormous. The outer layer of the hemp stem contains the strongest fiber of all plants, which is traditionally called hemp. In the old days, hemp was a raw material for ship gear, yarn, and textiles. It can be used to make ropes, ropes, furniture, insulating and building materials, stuffing for toys, decorative items, and much more. “Our producers are experimenting with cellulose and yarn,” continues Alexander Kuchinsky. “For example, fire (the so-called lignified part of the stem, compared to fiber, which has high porosity and good absorption) is used to make mulch, bedding for livestock. “beds” for horses, then began to be used in building materials, and today it is already used as an analogue of chipboard. In addition, non-woven fabric is produced from hemp.”

If we talk about the gastronomic potential of hemp, then it is simply inexhaustible. From it you can make the first, second and compote. Hemp is a highly digestible vegetable protein source. Unique hemp protein is as close as possible to the reference; in terms of amino acids, it is the most useful among plants. For example, it contains 18 out of 21 amino acids, and all 9 essential for humans are present. This protein is absorbed by the human body by 99%.

In addition, hemp is a low-allergenic product that does not contain gluten, but contains vitamins B and E, minerals magnesium, potassium, zinc, and selenium. But the main value is polyunsaturated fatty acids (Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9), in terms of the quantity and composition of which hemp oil is equal to fish oil. The ratio of fats in hemp oil is the same as in salmon fish.

Today, hemp is used to produce butter, flour, crackers, baking mixes, halva, chocolate, marzipan, pasta, vegetable milk … Hemp oil is considered much more useful than olive, sunflower or palm oils. It has been known to man for four thousand years, and until the Second World War it remained the most famous vegetable oil in the world. Until 1773, when the first production of sunflower oil appeared in Europe, people ate only hemp and linseed oil.

Hemp is a multi-purpose crop that is processed without residue and is effective in crop rotation. “Our goal is to expand hemp production in every region. This plant is relatively unpretentious, but for a normal harvest, you need to prepare the soil well. It sprouts quickly and grows rapidly, which allows you not to use chemistry. It can be grown from the south of the Krasnodar Territory to the Ivanovo Region – in the same regions where flax grows well. Today there are hemp farms in Mordovia,” says Kuchinsky.

True, when distributing products, manufacturers sometimes face problems. Sometimes network aggregators react to a suspicious word and block sales; and it happens that compassionate citizens see the word “cannabis” – and immediately run with statements to the police. “Unfortunately, there are few educated people. However, the situation is changing in a positive direction. Previously, chain buyers were wary of such products, today they are included in the range of many chain stores. And many people, especially those who follow a healthy lifestyle, are looking for hemp oil on marketplaces , and hemp flour, and hemp paste. And hemp has been known in the world for a long time: India, China, the USA, Canada have been using it as a food product for many years,” notes Alexander Kuchinsky.

– Hemp is not bad, but useful and also tasty, – says Tatyana Vyugina, an expert on the hemp processing market. – We hope that 2023 will be declared the Year of Cannabis in Russia – it deserves it.