Hemp is turning a new leaf in Taranaki, with a house made of the marijuana-like plant featuring on tonight's Grand Designs NZ.

Hemp isn’t just for hackin’ the sack at Phish shows or making rope. This amazing plant, a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis grown specifically for industrial purposes, has a vast number of applications for a greener planet.

Alaska became the third state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2015, but it’s not exactly ahead of the curve on hemp, which comes from the same plant.

Alaska became the third state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2015, but it’s not exactly ahead of the curve on hemp, which comes from the same plant.

Hempcrete — a mixture of hemp stalk, water and lime — could pave the way toward a sustainable future.

As marijuana laws continue to loosen across the country -- and the world -- it looks like hemp could be brought back in a big way.

One acre of hemp can reportedly yield up to 5,300 pounds of straw, which can be turned into 1,300 pounds of wood fiber.

While plenty of cannabis goes up in smoke in coffee shops around the Netherlands, Dutch researchers have found a new use for it - as an environmentally friendly building material to rival cement or steel.

31 states have passed legislation allowing hemp research or production.

Though commercial marijuana became legal in Alaska in February 2015, hemp is not yet legal.

Though commercial marijuana became legal in Alaska in February 2015, hemp is not yet legal.

The plant is almost magical, advocates say, with a range of applications from paper to medicine. So why is it illegal to grow?

As interest in industrial hemp has grown, so too has interest in hemp-centric production.

Every part of the hemp plant has great market value‒the seeds, stalks, leaves and hurd (the woody core of the stalk). Traditionally, Natives used hemp to make medicinal salve, fishing nets and clothing.

A cutting-edge refinery is processing specially bred hemp and researching innovative new biomaterials that could help build future eco-friendly homes.

There’s one piece of legislation that seems to be getting broad bipartisan support in Springfield.

There’s one piece of legislation that seems to be getting broad bipartisan support in Springfield.

RALEIGH -  The state commission charged with fostering an industrial hemp industry in North Carolina is considering joining a lawsuit against a government agency that it agrees is making things difficult: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

RALEIGH -  The state commission charged with fostering an industrial hemp industry in North Carolina is considering joining a lawsuit against a government agency that it agrees is making things difficult: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Hemp is a low impact, fast-growing and clean plant to produce, and extremely versatile.

Bruce Kennedy ~ WeedWorthy.com ~

A recent law seminar on industrial hemp underscores the industry’s challenges and opportunities.

Use of hemp as a construction material is part of the revival of the crop in America, thanks to entrepreneurs who are thinking big — and small, including a Colorado firm that hosts workshops on hempcrete and builds tiny hemp houses.

New law allows people to obtain license to cultivate hemp for commercial products.

New law allows people to obtain license to cultivate hemp for commercial products.