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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Hidden secrets of the dreaded weed
The Telegraph
Saturday 14 Jun 2003 The Isochanvre manufacturing process is a closely guarded secret said to involve crystallisation of the silica-rich hemp sap at low temperature, using very little energy and without the use of additives. The result is a rot-proof, fire-resistant, lightweight and strong substance which is unpalatable to vermin. Architect Ralph Carpenter (pictured above) admits that it all sounds too good to be true: "It is alchemy. The mineralisation process means the material remains vegetable but is not biodegradable . . . I know because I've had some in my compost heap for four years and it still hasn't rotted down," he says. The material's inventor is every bit as enigmatic as her product. According to Mr Carpenter, France Perier (named by her parents in defiance of the German occupying forces during the Second World War) worked as a rural midwife and field radiologist until she developed skin cancer. She cured herself with a mysterious preparation containing hemp oil. "She realised that crystals in the hemp oil must have had some beneficial effect and that's what encouraged her to explore its properties," says Mr Carpenter. Whatever the curative properties of hemp, they are unlikely to influence its use as a building material. What might make a difference, though, is the plant's affordability and low environmental impact. There's nothing mysterious about that.
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