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This is an Idea whose time has come.  

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http://environment.change.org/blog/view/cannabis_electric_cars_canada_1_us_0?me=nl

Cannabis Electric Cars: Canada 1, U.S. 0
by Nikki Gloudeman August 27, 2010 06:00 AM (PT) Topics: Energy Efficiency, Transportation

Hippies, rejoice: The world's first cannabis electric car may soon hit the roads of Canada. And guess what? The amusing auto is a truly inspiring feat of engineering.

Developed by Alberta-based Motive Industries, the car prototype—known as the Kestrel—is made from a biocomposite partly derived from local hemp. Because the material is uber-light, it reduces the car's electricity consumption. And it's cheaper, more renewable and less health-hazardous than standard fiberglass to boot. (The only possible hitch so far is the speed of the vehicle. It is projected to max out just under 60 miles an hour at maximum.)

As the car's designer told Fox News (which wrote a surprisingly positive story about it), "Electric Cars need to be efficient, therefore the Kestrel design had to be simple and light weight, while still being unique and eye catching."

Unfortunately, while the idea is nifty, Americans shouldn't get too excited about driving their own cannabis coupe soon. Strict hemp laws in the U.S. mean we will be unable to develop similar contraptions here—which, if you think about it, is kind of silly. Cars are notoriously inefficient energy sippers, and it's no secret our auto industry has done a poor job keeping up with the Joneses. Now here comes a vehicle that aims to be highly functional, eco-friendly and affordable to the masses—not to mention pretty snazzy-looking, if this prototype of a similar car is to be believed—and we can't do anything because we have a grudge against the plant it comes from?

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This is even more frustrating when you consider the inanity of our country's cannabis-hating mentality. The substance is chemical-free, multi-purposeful and can't even get you high (it is not, contrary to popular belief, the same thing as weed). In Canada, the national government owns a company involved in the Kestrel's development, so they clearly have a far more enlightened view on the plant than the U.S. feds. And that progressive thinking could one day leave our auto industry in the dust.

Click here to tell the U.S. to lift the ban of industrial hemp, and get us moving on a better future.

Photo credit: Erik Fendersson/Wikimedia Commons

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Nikki Gloudeman is a senior fellow at Mother Jones magazine where she writes about the environment and other topics.