The letter below is from Rep. Dan Benishek to a Vote Hemp supporter in reply to a letter asking him to become a cosponsor of H.R. 1831, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011.

Rep. Dan Benishek
R-MI 1st District

If you receive a reply from one of your elected representatives please email a copy of it to Tom Murphy, Vote Hemp's National Outreach Coordinator, at tom@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.

May 18, 2011

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for making an effort to contact me regarding industrial hemp. As your elected representative, I support your views on this issue.

As you may know, H.R. 1831, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011" was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on the Judiciary. This bill, should it be enacted, amends the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana.

I have been contacted by many concerned citizens of the First District regarding their support for H.R. 1831. In response, I have recently signed on as a cosponsor to this bill. Although I do not serve on either of these committees, I look forward to voting in favor of this bill should it reach the House floor.

Thank you again for contacting me. I value hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Dan Benishek M. D.
Member of Congress