Why is Hemp illegal?

Hemp is a plant with over 50,000 known uses: industrial, food and medical. this plant however is considered a schedule 1 Drug by the United States government; this means that is on of the most dangerous drugs in the entire spectrum of illicit drugs. This might be true for Hemp's close family member marijuana however, hemp is a completely separate plant. Marijuana is best defined by its THC content and averages over 10% with high quality marijuana topping 30% - the average hemp plant has less then 1% THC. THC is the main psychoactive compound in the plant that causes the high associated with marijuana.