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HONOLULU —Gov. Neil Abercrombie is scheduled to sign SB2175
into law on Wednesday. The bill authorizes the University of Hawaii at
Manoa to establish a two-year industrial hemp remediation and biofuel
research program.
This year, the United States Senate approved the
Agriculture Act of 2014, also known as the "Farm Bill," and industrial
hemp is now allowed to be grown for research purposes. According to the
National Farm Bill, any university can now grow industrial hemp without
obtaining a Drug Enforcement Agency permit.
Interesting
topics Civil Beat includes a hearing by lawmakers for authorizing
industrial hemp. Civilbeat.com reporter Chad Blair has more information. More
Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Industrial Hemp Research Program
Rep. Cynthia Thielen stands before a hemp crop in France
REPORT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
- HONOLULU – Gov. Neil Abercrombie today signed Senate Bill 2175 (Act
56), a measure that allows the University of Hawaii (UH) College of
Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) to establish a two-year
industrial hemp remediation and biofuel crop research program.
Act
56 authorizes the growth and cultivation of industrial hemp in
accordance with requirements established by the federal Agriculture Act
of 2014, which allows higher education institutions and state
departments of agriculture to conduct industrial hemp research.
JEFFERSON CITY,
Mo.. – April 24, 2014. Yesterday, a Missouri house committee gave
approval to a bill which would authorize the growing and production of
industrial hemp within the state, effectively nullifying the
unconstitutional federal ban on the same.
Introduced by Rep. Mike Colona and cosponsored by Reps. Galen Higdon and Paul Curtman, House Bill 2054 (HB2054) passed by a vote of 16-1 in the house committee on economic development.
The
bill states, quite simply, “Industrial hemp production, possession, and
commerce in industrial hemp commodities and products shall be permitted
in this state.”
HB2054 sets up “shall issue” licensing program.
In short, the Missouri department of agriculture will be required, under
broad parameters, to issue licenses to those wishing to grow industrial
hemp or become an industrial hemp seed producer. A similar requirement
was included in a bill passed by the Tennessee legislature earlier this month.
Three
other states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed bills
to authorize hemp farming, but only in Colorado has the process begun
in practice. Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in
2013 and the state began issuing licenses on March 1, 2014. In Vermont
and Oregon, hemp farming was authorized, but no licensing program was
mandated, so implementation has been delayed due to regulatory
foot-dragging. HUGE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL
Experts suggest that the U.S. market for hemp is around $500 million per year.
But,
since the enactment of the unconstitutional federal
controlled-substances act in 1970, the Drug Enforcement Agency has
prevented the production of hemp within the United States. Many hemp
supporters feel that the DEA has been used as an “attack dog” of sorts
to prevent competition with major industries where American-grown hemp
products would create serious market competition: Cotton, Paper/Lumber,
Oil, and others.
COLUMBIA,
S.C., May 14, 2014 - Today, the South Carolina House gave final
approval to a bill which authorizes the growing and production of
industrial hemp within the state, effectively nullifying the
unconstitutional federal ban on the same. Introduced by Sen. Kevin Bryant along with cosponsors Sen. Lee Bright and Sen. Tom Davis, S.0839 passed by a 72-28 vote. It has previous passed by a vote of 42-0 in the senate, and will now go to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk for a signature. The
bill reads, in part, “It is lawful for an individual to cultivate,
produce, or otherwise grow industrial hemp in this State to be used for
any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to, the manufacture of
industrial hemp products, and scientific, agricultural, or other
research related to other lawful applications for industrial hemp.” Three
states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed similar
measures. Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013,
effectively nullifying federal restrictions on such agricultural
activities. A similar bill passed the Tennessee legislature this year
and awaits action from Gov. Haslam. Experts
suggest that the U.S. market for hemp is around $500 million per year.
They count as many as 25,000 uses for industrial hemp, including food,
cosmetics, plastics and bio-fuel. The U.S. is currently the world’s #1
importer of hemp fiber for various products, with China and Canada
acting as the top two exporters in the world. During
World War II, the United States military relied heavily on hemp
products, which resulted in the famous campaign and government-produced
film, “Hemp for Victory!”
An outdoor hemp
plantation in the UK. This particular varietal of Cannabis sativa is
"industrial hemp" which contains ultra-low levels of Delta-THC and other
cannabinoids, which makes it useless for recreational/medicinal
purposes.
By: Nabokov
Wikipedia.org
.....
NASHVILLE,
May 15, 2014 – Yesterday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill
which some supporters consider the strongest pro-hemp legislation in the
country. House Bill 2445 (HB2445),
introduced by Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), would mandate that the
state authorize the growing and production of industrial hemp within
Tennessee, effectively nullifying the unconstitutional federal ban on
the same. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 28-0 and the House by a vote of 88-5. It reads, in part:
“The department shall issue licenses to persons who apply to the department for a license to grow industrial hemp.”
Mike
Maharrey, communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center, noted
that one word strengthened the bill considerably. “By including the
word ‘shall’ in this legislation, it has a great deal of impact,” he
said. “This means that rather than keeping it open-ended like other
states have done, hemp farming will be able to move forward in Tennessee
whether the regulatory bureaucrats there want it to or not.” ‘Shall’
is a legal term which creates a specific requirement far stronger than a
word like ‘will.’ The former is more closely interchangeable with the
word “must,” while the latter allows leeway for the object of the term
to delay. In this case, the bill states that the Tennessee department of
agriculture will have a mandate to license farmers for growing hemp. Three
other states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed bills
to authorize hemp farming, but only in Colorado has the process begun.
A similar bill was passed in South Carolina this week and awaits action
by Gov. Nikki Haley. Farmers
in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013 and the state began
issuing licenses on March 1, 2014. In Vermont and Oregon, hemp farming
was authorized, but no licensing program was mandated, so
implementation has been delayed due to regulatory foot-dragging. With
passage of HB2445, Tennessee will most likely become the 2nd state in
the country to actively produce hemp. The legislation also ensures that
not only will hemp licenses be issued, but the process for doing so will
start quickly. It reads:
The
department shall initiate the promulgation of rules … concerning
industrial hemp production within one hundred and twenty (120) days of
this act becoming law
In other words, now that the bill has become law, the process in Tennessee will start no later than November, 2014.
Hemp
has numerous uses and could replace many crops that require heavy
irrigation and pesticides, but the most interesting fact about hemp is
that it “eats” radiation.
Activists have been shouting they want an end to GMO foods for more than a decade now, and Cannabis Sattiva L.
supporters have been at it for even longer, so why has the US
government finally given farmers the right to legally grow industrial
hemp, the non-hallucinatory, sister plant of medical marijuana?
It
is safe to say that industrialized hemp should have been legalized
years ago. With THC levels so low, you would have to smoke more of it
than Snoop Dogg to get ‘high’ – and that’s a lot of Cannabis,
it is ridiculous that it was classified as a drug at all. It has
numerous uses and could replace many crops that require heavy irrigation
and pesticides, like cotton, for example. Here’s the most interesting
fact though – hemp plants ‘eat’ radiation.
When
the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Reactor 4 accident caused severe
radioactive contamination in 1986, families within a 30-kilometer area
of the site had to be evacuated. Radioactive contamination was later found at 100 kilometers from the accident site, and Fukushima radiation levels are still to be determined, with the Japanese government planning on dumping their overflowing radiated water tanks into the Pacific as we speak.
What if today's plastics could
be made from materials that were not only sustainable but non toxic?
Today, our plastics are made from oil which means not only are we
putting toxic chemicals into our atmosphere, but we are also filling our
environment with products that cannot bio-degrade.
A new company out of Australia has
created a promising new product called Zeoform and it is made only from
water and cellulose take from hemp plants. This means their plastic is
not only eco-friendly in production but is also biodegradable!
As stated on their website:
Zeoform is a revolutionary material that changes
everything. Made from cellulose fibres and water – and absolutely
nothing else! Our patented process converts cellulose fibres into a
super strong high tech moulding material capable of being formed into a
multitude of products. ZEOFORM is 100% non-toxic, biodegradable and
‘locks up’ carbon from waste into beautiful, functional forms.
According to Zeoform, their product is
very durable and relies only on the natural process of hydrogen bonding
that takes place when cellulose fibres are mixed with water. No glue or
bonding material is necessary because the bond created is already so
strong. The final material can be formed into almost anything and can be
cut, routed, machined, drilled, screwed, nailed and glued in the same
way wood and wood composites can be. It can also be coloured/dyed, and
finished in any way creators like.
Volunteer walks
through a hemp field at a farm in Colorado during the first known
harvest of industrial hemp in the US since the 1950s. Photo: P Solomon
Banda/AP
Ryan Loflin, a farmer from southeast Colorado,
tried an illegal crop this year. He didn't hide it from neighbors, and
he was never afraid that law enforcement would come asking about it.
Loflin is among about two dozen Colorado farmers who raised industrial
hemp, marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin that cannot be grown under
federal drug law, bringing in the nation's first acknowledged crop in
more than five decades.
Emboldened by voters in Colorado and Washington last year giving the green light to both marijuana and industrial hemp production,
Loflin planted 55 acres of several varieties of hemp alongside his
typical alfalfa and wheat crops. The hemp came in sparse and scraggly
this month, but Loflin said he is still turning away buyers.
"Phone's
been ringing off the hook," said Loflin, who plans to press the seeds
into oil and sell the fibrous remainder to buyers who will use it in
building materials, fabric and rope. "People want to buy more than I can
grow."
Hemp's prospects, however, are far from certain. Finished
hemp is legal in the US, but growing it remains off-limits under federal
law. The Congressional Research Service recently noted wildly differing
projections about hemp's economic potential.
However, America is
one of hemp's fastest-growing markets, with imports largely coming from
China and Canada. In 2011, the US imported $11.5m worth of hemp
products, up from $1.4m in 2000. Most of that is hemp seed and hemp oil,
which finds its way into granola bars, soaps, lotions and even cooking
oil. Whole Foods Market now sells hemp milk, hemp tortilla chips and
hemp seeds coated in dark chocolate.
Colorado will nt start
granting hemp-cultivation licenses until 2014, but Loflin didn't wait.
His confidence got a boost in August, when the US Department of Justice
said the federal government would generally defer to state marijuana
laws as long as states kept marijuana away from children and drug
cartels. The memo did not mention hemp as an enforcement priority for
the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"I figured they have more
important things to worry about than, you know, rope," a smiling Loflin
said as he hand-harvested 4ft plants on his Baca County land.
Colorado's
hemp experiment may not be unique for long. Ten states now have
industrial hemp laws that conflict with federal drug policy, including
one signed by California Governor Jerry Brown last month. And it's not
just the typical marijuana-friendly suspects: Kentucky, North Dakota and
West Virginia have industrial hemp laws on the books.
