SALEM, OR — Business leaders, farmers and legislators in Oregon are backing Senate Bill 294, legislation that would bring back hemp farming for the first time in almost 50 years. The Oregon Senate Environment and Land Use Committee will hold a hearing on the bill on Wednesday, April 6 at 3:00pm in Hearing Room B. The bill would permit production and possession of industrial hemp and trade in industrial hemp commodities and products, and would create a licensing, permitting and inspection program for growers and handlers of industrial hemp. Five representatives from the hemp industry will testify before the committee.
WHO: Oregon Senate Environment and Land Use Committee
The following industrial hemp advocates will testify in support of Senate Bill 294:
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Carolyn Moran, founder of Living Tree Paper, a Eugene, OR company that uses industrial hemp in its products
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Monte Matthews, from University Lip Balms, a Eugene, OR company that uses hemp oil in its products
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Patrick Goggin, attorney for Vote Hemp and the hemp industry in the landmark Hemp Industries Association v. Drug Enforcement Administration case
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Sue Kastensen, founder of Sun Dog Body Care, now partnered with Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the top-selling natural soap in North America
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Candi Penn, Executive Director of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA)
WHAT: Hearing on hemp farming bill, Senate Bill 294, introduced by Senator Floyd Prozanski
WHERE: 900 Court Street NE, Hearing Room B
WHEN: Wednesday, April 6 at 3:00pm
Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed that industrial hemp is legal to import for any use in Hemp Industries Association v. Drug Enforcement Administration; however, their ruling had no impact on farmers that want to grow industrial hemp for profit. This year, Oregon is one of four states considering industrial hemp legislation that would allow farmers and researchers to grow industrial hemp. Since 1995, twenty-five states have considered legislation supporting industrial hemp and 14 states have passed hemp-related laws and resolutions.
“Industrial hemp has become a lucrative crop for farmers in Europe, Canada and Asia, so farmers here are asking ‘Why are we being left out?’” says Patrick Goggin, legal counsel for Vote Hemp. For thousands of years different varieties of Cannabis have been cultivated for non-drug uses such as paper, canvas, body care products, food, building materials and recently high-tech bio-composites used in automobiles. Hemp and marijuana come from different varieties of the Cannabis plant.
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Vote Hemp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow hemp commercially.