Document Type

Report

Publisher

Utah State University

Publication Date

2026

First Page

1

Last Page

14

Abstract

Medical cannabis production generates large quantities of stem biomass that is typically discarded despite its potential as a source of natural hemp fibers. This study developed and evaluated two methods for recovering fibers from greenhouse-grown medical cannabis using water retting and compared their composition with commercially produced industrial hemp fibers. Fiber quality was assessed using detergent fiber analyses to quantify cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin fractions. Both harvest methods produced usable fibers, although one approach (method A) yielded cleaner fibers after shorter retting durations, while the second approach (method B) offered greater potential for large-scale processing. Increasing retting duration improved fiber separation, increased cellulose content, and reduced non-cellulosic components. Water-retted medical cannabis fibers exhibited chemical compositions comparable to well-retted industrial hemp fibers. Our data indicate that detergent fiber analyses provide a rapid, inexpensive, and standardized method for characterizing hemp fiber quality. These results demonstrate that medical cannabis stems can serve as a viable source of natural fibers and establish practical methods for fiber recovery and compositional characterization to support future applications in cementitious composites.

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