"Comparisons of industrial hemp to hydrocarbon or other conventional industrial feedstocks show that, generally, hemp requires substantially less energy for manufacturing, often is suited to less-toxic means of processing, and provides competitive product performance (especially in terms of durability, light weight, and strength), greater recyclability and/or biodegradability, and a number of value-added applications for byproducts and waste materials at either end of the product life cycle."

Source

Smith-Heisters, Skaidra, "Illegally Green: Environmental Costs of Hemp Prohibition," Reason Foundation (Los Angeles, CA: March 2008), p. 31.
http://reason.org/files/1030a…