Vote Hemp Report: 2011 Strategy & News Update
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The Vote Hemp Report 
Volume VI, Number 1
February 26, 2011
Dear Reader,

With each new election cycle we are given a new opportunity to present our case for domestic hemp farming and processing to Congress. We are excited that every one of the 26 supporters of our hemp legislation in the House was reelected. Rep. Ron Paul plans to reintroduce The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011 in April. We are excited that there are 96 new members in the House and 12 in the Senate that we can lobby for the first time on industrial hemp. Many come from state government positions and some have already supported hemp in the past at the state level. We expect to pick up a number of new supporters after the bill is introduced.

Even more exciting is our prospect for a bill in the Senate! We have been working on a Senate hemp bill and expect to see it introduced this spring. This will be the first time a hemp bill has ever been introduced in the Senate and it will be a big step forward.

We could not have continued to make progress without your support! We are already working on Capitol Hill to build support for our hemp farming legislation. We have prepared information packets for each new Member of Congress, including the new, updated version of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity. With this information, and personal contact with staff members, we will build on our success in 2010. With the new Congress we have updated our strategy a little from last year. But we can't continue this without your support. Please make a donation to Vote Hemp. Once again this year, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps has generously agreed to match every dollar you donate, doubling the impact of your contribution:

Donate to Vote Hemp!

With your generous help, in 2011 we will:
  • Introduce hemp legislation at the state level with the help of supportive legislators. A new hemp farming bill was introduced by Senator Mark Leno in California last Friday.
  • Build support for the Industrial Hemp Farming Act which will be reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in April.
  • Get a hemp farming bill introduced in the U.S. Senate for the first time ever.
  • Continue our discussions with officials at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
  • Get the Department of Justice to meet with state officials and work out a plan that would allow them to regulate hemp farming under state law.
  • Urge President Obama and Attorney General Holder to change our federal policy and allow U.S. farmers to once again grow industrial hemp.
  • Update The Vote Hemp Guide to Hemp Activism, A Concise Guide to Citizen Lobbying on the Hemp Issue.
  • In cooperation with the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), hold the second annual Hemp History Week in May, which will be a much larger celebration than it was in 2010.
The lack of hemp farming and processing in the U.S. is not an issue that needs to be addressed, it's a problem that needs to be solved!

Please make a contribution to Vote Hemp today to help us continue fixing the situation here in the U.S. We need and truly appreciate your support!

Sincerely,

Eric Steenstra
President
Vote Hemp
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In This Issue
State Industrial Hemp Legislation
Be Stylish and Save the Planet: Wear Hemp
Minnesota 2010 Industrial Hemp Report
Current Action Alerts
State Industrial Hemp Legislation

Map of the U.S. 

2011 Legislative Session


California had a hemp farming bill, SB 676, introduced on 2/18/11 and it was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules for assignment.

Kentucky had a hemp farming bill, SB 30, introduced on 1/4/11 and it was referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee.

New Hampshire had a hemp farming bill, HB 101, introduced on 1/5/11. A public hearing was held on 1/18/11. An executive session was held on 1/25/11. Committee report issued with a recommendation of Inexpedient to Legislate (the full House should vote the bill down) with a vote of 11-7 on 1/25/11. Inexpedient to Legislate: MA RC (Motion Adopted, Regular Calendar) by a vote of 304-51 on 2/9/2011, thus the bill is dead.

[More...] 

 

Be Stylish and Save the Planet: Wear Hemp

Rack of Hemp Clothes 

By Ashley Goldsmith
City's Best
February 5, 2011

San Francisco - Sometimes being fashion-forward isn't just about wearing the latest styles. Eco-savvy San Franciscans are fashion forward not necessarily with what they're wearing, but with what they're wearing is made of. Hemp plants are one of the fastest-growing plants and don't require pesticides for growth, so garments made of hemp are a great way to dress stylish and help the planet while you're at it.

[More...] 

 

Minnesota 2010 Industrial Hemp Report

Minnesota 2010 Industrial Hemp Report 

The commissioner of agriculture shall identify and analyze industrial hemp laws and procedures in Canada or one or more of the other 30 nations where industrial hemp is grown as an agricultural crop. In particular, the commissioner shall report on how law enforcement and other authorities differentiate between industrial hemp and marijuana growing in the field.

2010 Industrial Hemp Report
Minnesota Law 2010, Chapter 333 - S.F. No. 2737, Art. 1, Sec. 37
Anthony Cortilet
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
December 2, 2010
10 pages

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Current Action Alerts
Take Action

URGENT ALERT: Click here to write Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ask her to help Mostafa Soliman get a new passport so he can leave Egypt. Over 1,300 emails have been sent so far and he has still not been able to get a new passport yet. Please write!

Mr. Soliman, an America citizen who has lived in the U.S. for 40 years, was wrongly imprisoned by Egyptian authorities on December 30, 2010 for importing organic hemp seed oil. Mr. Soliman is being falsely accused of importing 'hash oil' and, if convicted, is potentially facing death by hanging. Please write to Secretary of State Clinton and ask her to help Mr. Soliman get a new passport so he can leave Egypt and return to the U.S.

Nationwide: Click here to write to President Obama and Attorney General Holder and urge them to change our federal policy and allow U.S. farmers to once again grow industrial hemp.

Click here to write to Your Senators in Congress and ask them to introduce a Senate version of H.R. 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009.

Click here to write to Your Representatives in Congress and ask them to support a new House version of H.R. 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009.

Click here to sign the official Hemp History Week petition to allow U.S. farmers to grow non-drug, industrial hemp.

[More...] 
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