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Dear Reader,
Election year politics are especially hard on
hemp farming and study bill legislation. Minnesota
had a hemp farming bill introduced in March
of 2007 which was carried over to 2008, the
second part of their two-year session. The
bill was well-received and passed in two committees,
but it was stuck in a third committee when
the House adjourned, thus killing it.
An agriculture committee omnibus bill was
introduced in the Minnesota House earlier
this year that passed and included a section
on "Industrial Hemp Development and
Regulation." There was also a companion bill
that passed in the Senate, but without the
hemp language. The related section from the
House bill was added to the Senate bill in
conference committee, but was then removed at the
insistence of the State Patrol and
Governor Pawlenty's Washington, DC lobbyist.
The omnibus bill was ultimately signed by the
Governor, but without any hemp language.
We hope that the popular hemp farming bill in
Vermont (H.267) does not suffer a similar
fate. The bill passed the House in February
by a vote of 126 to 9, and then passed the Senate by a
vote of 25 to
1 earlier this month. We are awaiting
word on when H.267 will be sent to Governor
Douglas for his veto or signature.
Unfortunately, the Governor's option to allow
bills to become law without his signature was
taken away this session when the Legislature
adjourned without
establishing a veto session.
There are still plenty of things to do while
we wait. You can register
to vote and then click
here to write your Representative in
Congress and ask him or her to co-sponsor HR
1009, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of
2007, which is currently stalled in committee.
We are also looking forward to the next
legislative season when we will have the
opportunity to introduce or re-introduce hemp
farming bills, study bills and resolutions on
the state and federal level. All of this will
take planning, coordination and funding.
Please make a contribution
to Vote Hemp today to help us continue our
work and bring hemp farming back to America.
We depend on and truly appreciate your support!
Best Regards,
Tom Murphy
Hemp News Update Editor
| New Direction for Hemp |
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Queensland Country Life
May 14, 2008
Agriculture could take on a new direction,
according to NSW Member for Barwon, Kevin
Humphries, who this week pledged his support
for the Hemp Industry Bill 2008.
Mr. Humphries said the bill would enable
low-THC hemp to be cultivated and supplied
for commercial production and other
legitimate purposes.
Speaking to the Parliament, Mr. Humphries said
he believed the hemp industry was a
significant player as a fiber crop, with hemp
already successfully grown in the Darling
Downs and Wide Bay areas of Queensland.
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| Line Between Hemp and Marijuana Still Blurry to U.S. |
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By Olivia Radcliffe
The
Lantern
Ohio State University
May
15, 2008
Weed, pot, hash, grass, hemp — all have
been used as nicknames for marijuana. As
studies increase, however, it turns out hemp
and marijuana might not have as much in
common as people think.
While technically a single species,
Cannabis sativa — better known
as marijuana — has evolved over the
years to present two very different plants:
industrial hemp used for its fiber and
typical marijuana harvested for its
hallucinogenic properties.
The question being debated is whether or not
the agricultural benefits of hemp are enough
to tip the scale in favor of legalizing
production of the specific form of
Cannabis sativa.
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| Point/Counterpoint - GOP Brought Leadership to House |
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Point:
Opinion by Rep. Steve Adams (R-Hartland)
Rutland Herald
May
15, 2008
As the leader of the minority party in the
Vermont House, people often ask me whether
I'm seeing more checks and fewer balances in
the Legislature. With all the concern about
the economy and job security, distractions
over industrial hemp and plastic bag taxes
left us all questioning the priorities of
legislative leaders this session.
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| Point/Counterpoint - 'Boutique' Issues Also Important |
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Counterpoint:
Letter to the Editor by Robert N.
Johnson
Rutland Herald
May 20, 2008
It is unfortunate that the Republican House
minority leader regards the issues of
industrial hemp and plastic bag taxes as
"distractions" and "boutique issues" (May 15,
"GOP brought leadership to House," by Rep.
Steve Adams).
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Hemp Catching on with NW Farmers |
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BBC News
May 20, 2008
Forget potatoes, wheat or barley ... hemp is
the newest crop gracing the fields of the
north west.
About a dozen farmers in County Londonderry
have started to grow the plant — a
variety of Cannabis — for its
non-intoxicating uses.
The material is primarily used in the
building industry, but can be found in
everything from pharmaceuticals to food.
Robert Moore grows 300 acres of hemp at his
farm at Ballougry outside Derry.
"I'm licenced from the department of health
and from the police, and before anybody
starts coming up to pinch some, you could
smoke it from now to Christmas and it
wouldn't give you any sort of charge.
"There is no drug value in it at all," he said.
[More...]
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