Dairy cows fed industrial hemp produced milk with detectable levels of THC, according to a new study from Germany that could influence the potential uses of hemp as an ingredient in animal feed.
The dairy cows also showed behavioral changes — yawning and salivating a lot, moving a little unsteadily on their hoofs, standing in one place for a protracted period, and having a “somnolent appearance.”
The peer-reviewed study, conducted on Holstein cows in Berlin and published Monday in the journal Nature Food, is one of the first major investigations of the use of industrial hemp as a potential supplement in animal feed.
For now, such use is illegal under U.S. law, which does not allow THC in the food chain. But the new research comes as hemp, which has many industrial uses, continues to emerge from an agricultural exile that dates to the ''reefer madness'' hysteria of the 1930s.
Hemp is the common name of the plant Cannabis sativa. Humans have cultivated it for thousands of years. Its fibers are prized in rope manufacturing, among many other uses. George Washington grew it at Mount Vernon in the late 1700s, and in recent years, the estate has grown it anew.
Vocabulary:
- THC - a compound that is present in cannabis.
- ''reefer madness'' - is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana.
Source: The Washigton Post