May 18, 1999

From United Press International

Slowly, the campaign to allow U.S. farmers to grow industrial hemp again is making progress. North Dakota became the first state to pass and enact such authorization. Gov. Ed Schafer signed the measure April 19. Virginia and Hawaii also have passed similar legislation and bills are pending in Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico and Vermont.

In Wisconsin, the state Assembly’s Agriculture Committee has held its first meeting on the proposal. That hearing was held primarily to let legislators hear the arguments on the issue. Law enforcement agencies in the state are opposing the idea because of hemp’s identification with marijuana.

Geof Kime, president of Hempline Inc., of Ontario, Canada, testified in the Wisconsin hearing by telephone. Canada has approved the production of hemp under government controls, and Kime said his organization is Canada’s main producer of hemp fibers for textiles and paper. He said Hempline exports the majority of its fiber to the United States.

Kemp said drug use has not been an issue in Canada because industrial hemp cannot be converted readily to the drug trade.
Copyright: 1999 United Press International

ILLINOIS HOUSE VOTES TO STUDY HEMP FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES

May 19, 1999
From The Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- The Illinois House voted Wednesday to study turning hemp—a close cousin of marijuana—into a new source of cash for farmers, but don’t expect that to lead to legal joints any time soon.

Legalizing industrial hemp is a far cry from legalizing marijuana, supporters said.

"The tragedy would be if we couldn’t overcome that stereotype and the Illinois economy would go into the tank," said Rep. Judy Erwin, D-Chicago.

House members voted 78-35 to form a task force to study planting and harvesting of industrial hemp. North Dakota is the only state that allows it now.
(Marijuananews note: The Illinois Senate approved a similar resolution, S.R. 49, on March 23, 1999.)

Rep. Ron Lawfer, R-Freeport, said Canadian farmers raising hemp can earn a profit of about $283 per acre—between four and five times what the average Illinois farmer makes.

Erwin and Lawfer hope the task force will develop standards to ensure the hemp contains little THC, the ingredient that gives marijuana its mind-altering qualities.

Industrial hemp has over 25,000 known uses including clothing, medicines, paints and paper.

Some lawmakers expressed concerns that the industrial hemp would be used to make marijuana, but supporters say that’s not the case.

The resolution is HR168.
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press

LET FARMERS GROW HEMP

May 17, 1999
From The Capital Times
tctvoice@madison.com
http://www.thecapitaltimes.com/

Name any crop grown by Wisconsin farmers and then check the prices those same farmers are getting for their efforts. Nobody’s putting money in the bank.

And yet there is a cash crop that has the potential to be a money-maker. Until now, it’s been one that American farmers were not legally allowed to grow—industrial hemp.

When the former director of the CIA, James Woolsey, is hired by the North American Industrial Hemp Council to lobby for repeal of the federal ban on industrial hemp, something is in the air, and not what you’re thinking.

See
Chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council
Replies To Attack On Its Former CIA Director By Drug Watch/Minnesota
In Letter To Washington Post. And The Post Leads With An Insult.

Now Wisconsin agricultural groups have joined state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who say this is the time to move forward on the issue. The sticking point is the fact that federal law defines hemp as a form of marijuana even though experts say the plant has less than 1 percent of the psychoactive chemical that gets folks high.

Hemp was once grown commercially in the United States until federal drug laws were changed. Today the United States allows hemp and hemp products to be imported. In fact, we use 75 percent of the hemp produced worldwide. Its fibers can be used in everything from auto body parts to paper-making, and its root structure makes it a natural herbicide and insecticide.

(Marijuananews note: Except at the Drug Czar’s office. They assure us that DEAland narcs are uniquely stupid and unable to tell the difference between a bush and a stalk. Well, if the Czar says it, then it must be true.)
See
Hemp Opposed By Authorities In Ohio:
"The Drug Enforcement Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
have said that permitting hemp farming would send the wrong signal to young people."

It’s an ideal crop that the United States is forced to import because of outdated drug policies. This is the ideal time for Congress to lift the ban and let American farmers—including those in Wisconsin— grow hemp legally and profit from it.
Copyright: 1999 The Capital Times

TIME FOR KENTUCKY TO JOIN MARCH TOWARD HEMP FARMING

May 18, 1999
By Andrew R. Graves
From The Lexington Herald-Leader
hleditorial@herald-leader.com
http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/
http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?lexingtn

Now, nearly four years after then-Gov. Brereton Jones’ Task Force on Hemp and Related Fibers was unceremoniously disbanded over farming members’ objections, industrial hemp is thriving in Canada.

In 1998, our Canadian neighbors grew their first commercial crop in nearly 50 years with the production of 6,000 acres of industrial hemp. This year, Canadian farmers are projected to grow 30,000 acres of the crop --- a five fold increase. A number of university studies, including work by the University of Kentucky College of Business and Economics, have indicated that industrial hemp production would have a positive economic effect on farmers and rural communities across the United States.

While Kentucky was busy dismissing industrial hemp as a viable crop, a number of other states have continually moved the issue forward, leaving Kentucky far behind --- again. North Dakota and Hawaii have just passed legislation allowing their farmers and universities to grow industrial hemp. A significant number of other states have legislation and resolutions supporting the commercial production of industrial hemp, while Kentucky continues to miss a golden opportunity to become a leader in something other than ignorance and poverty.

Even the Drug Enforcement Agency is considering changing its draconian rules and regulations relating to industrial hemp. In letters to Hawaiian officials, the DEA says it "will consider setting the level of THC content for Cannabis sativa L. hemp that may be grown for industrial purposes. This review is based on the premise that public and commercial interest may be better served if the cultivation of Cannabis sativa L. hemp is authorized by the appropriate federal and state entities."

See
Hawaii Authorizes Industrial Hemp Seed Variety Trials.
"...DEA will consider setting the level of THC content for Cannabis Sativa L., hemp
that may be grown for industrial purposes."

Canada’s Bureau of Drug Surveillance reports "no law enforcement problems related to the planting and cultivation of hemp in this country."

As Kentucky farmers are facing a major lose of income from declining tobacco production, why aren’t we very seriously considering industrial hemp, the historic foundation of Kentucky’s agriculture and our leading cash crop for more than 100 years?

With National Tobacco Settlement funds comes a frenzied grab for the spoils of a dying industry. In Canada, tobacco diversification monies were used for industrial hemp research and development projects to help jump start their industries. Would it ever occur to Kentucky leaders to consider emulating this Canadian model?

Understanding the Canadian model will take little time and effort. The Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative will soon be providing a public forum for legislators and all Kentucky leaders to become more informed on industrial hemp. We are at a critical crossroad for determining the direction of Kentucky’s agricultural future. Isn’t it time to review the dissenters’ objections to the controversial conclusions of Kentucky’s hemp task force?