Montpelier, VT — May 2, 2008

A big thank you to all of you who made calls yesterday and over the past few weeks on the Vermont hemp bill. Your calls worked! Late Thursday, the Senate passed H.267 with a 25-1 vote (Senator Mazza was the only "no" vote.) Thanks to all of your action, Senator Sears agreed late in the day to allow the bill to move out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a small change. Senator Sears told the Bennington Banner that he had received about 150 calls and had seen several letters to the editor in the paper, and that's why he allowed the bill to go through. He listened to you!

His concern was that Vermont farmers would be subject to federal law, even if hemp were legal in Vermont. So, he added some language to the bill that says that the rules can't be written until federal policy changes. However, even with this new language, the Vermont statutes will still have a section added that says that industrial hemp is legal. There just won't be any way for farmers to get a license until we make some progress with the feds. We expect the House to agree with this change today, and then the bill will be on its way to the Governor.

We're not done yet, though. We need you to take two more actions to get this bill passed into law this year! We know it works when you take action, so please take a few more minutes for this bill today!

1) Call Governor Douglas — he has said that this bill is not a priority and he has concerns about it. We need to let him know that it is a priority for Vermonters this year and we want him to sign it. Please call him today, over the weekend, or on Monday at the latest. Call 800-649-6825 and leave a message asking Governor Douglas to "please sign the Hemp bill H.267." Please remember to leave your name, town and phone number.

2) Write a letter to the editor — please take a moment to thank the heroes in the statehouse who really worked hard on this bill. Look at the list below and write a quick letter to the editor thanking one or more of them, and send it to the papers in their counties.

Say that you appreciate the efforts of the legislators to pass the hemp bill, and explain why the bill is important to you. Your letter should be no more than three paragraphs. Please be sure to mention the legislators by name (you can pick one or more).

For a full list of daily newspapers and their contact info, please visit the Rural Vermont Media Archive, or you can use our Vote Hemp Media Tool and compose and send your message from there.

Please thank one or more of the following legislators in your letter for their efforts to pass the hemp bill:

• Representative David Zuckerman (Burlington Free Press) — Rep. Zuckerman worked very hard "behind the scenes" to help negotiate the process for moving the hemp bill. Without his help, the bill would likely not have passed. Also, earlier in the year, he shepherded the bill through the House, helping to garner the strong 127-9 vote in that body.

• Senator Hull Maynard (Rutland Herald) — Sen. Maynard has been the champion for hemp in the Senate this year. He helped to educate Senators about the benefits of hemp and helped to garner the strong vote (25-1) on the Senate floor.

• Senator Dick Sears (Bennington Banner) — Even though he had concerns about the bill, Sen. Sears listened to Vermonters and worked to resolve his concerns so the bill could pass.

• Senator John Campbell (Valley News) — Sen. Campbell worked to garner support in the Senate and as Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee was also helpful in getting the bill out of that committee.

• Senator Peter Shumlin (Brattleboro Reformer) — Sen. Shumlin helped to negotiate the language in the bill to alleviate Sen. Sears' concerns.

Your letters may help to convince newspapers to write editorials in favor of the hemp bill, like the Bennington Banner did today in their editorial "Pass the Hemp."

Please also forward this email to at least two friends in Vermont and ask them to call and write letters as well.

We're almost there!

More information on the hemp issue in general and this bill can be found on the Rural Vermont Hemp page and on the Vote Hemp Vermont State page.

Stay informed on agricultural policy and related legislation in Vermont. Join Rural Vermont's Farm Policy Network and receive regular email updates.

About Vote Hemp

Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow the crop.

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