Bringing It Home

Gr 9 Up—This documentary examines hemp, a highly versatile but illegal "super crop," which the film maintains is inaccurately compared to marijuana. Viewers will be hard pressed to find a downside to allowing legal hemp farming in the United States, as growers in Canada, Great Britain, and China currently reap the profits from products made with this crop. It focuses on hemp's positive aspects, such as light, nontoxic, pest-resistant hempcrete for buildings; hemp plastics in automobiles; and "eco-couture" hemp fabric for clothing. An illuminating and animated short in the style of Monty Python traces the history of hemp farming, which was legal until industrial hemp was put in the same legal category as marijuana. Hemp plants lock up carbon as they grow, making it a green crop in every sense of the word. There are informative interviews with innovators, such as a pro-hemp parent designing a school for children with severe allergies, and several manufacturers and a clothing designer. The film concludes with a young lobbyist working for the passage of the Industrial Hemp Farming Law. Schools could make best use of the film's specific subject and high price tag by including discussion on environmental issues and lobbying processes, as well as thinking "outside the box" about developing and marketing new products.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX