The letter below is from Sen. Dianne Feinstein to a Vote Hemp supporter in reply to a letter asking her to introduce a Senate version of H.R. 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

If you receive a reply from one of your elected representatives please email a copy of it to us at hempinfo@votehemp.com. It will help with our lobbying efforts to know the contents of these letters. We will not publish your name or address and hold them in confidence.

January 11, 2011

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing regarding the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009" (H.R. 1866). I appreciate hearing from you and apologize for the delay in my response.

As you know, H.R. 1866 was introduced by Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) on April 2, 2009. This legislation would amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow the cultivation of industrial hemp in states that have permitted the substance to be grown. This legislation has been referred to the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary Committee. Please know I will keep your thoughts in mind should the Senate consider H.R. 1866 or a related bill.

You may be interested to know that in 2006 and 2008, the California State Legislature passed legislation that would have allowed for industrial hemp to be grown in California. However, both of these bills were subsequently vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Once again, thank you for writing. Should you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the Nation are available at my website, Feinstein.senate.gov. You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list. Click here to sign up. Feel free to checkout my YouTube Page.