I have been on the Vote Hemp board of directors for six years now. I found the "Welcome to the Board" email as I was doing research in my archives earlier this week. Then, as now, I collect hemp news stories to pass along to people who are interested. I never dreamed that the list would grow from a couple of dozen to the many thousands that receive my work today. I also never dreamed that people would seriously work on GE/GMO hemp with no THC and visual identification markers in it.

I am going to come out very strongly against attempts to create GE/GMO varieties of Cannabis to overcome law enforcement objections to hemp farming or for any other reason. I have seen first-hand their irrational, emotion-based opposition to hemp farming bills while presenting testimony to legislative committees on the state level here in the U.S. The best example of the was displayed by a Major in the New Hampshire State Police at the hearing for HB 399 in the New Hampshire House Environment and Agriculture Committee earlier this year. When the Major was asked if he would change his position on the legalization of hemp farming if DEA changed theirs, he replied no, he would not.

Trying to change laws on farming hemp by taking out the THC and putting in identification markers using GE/GMO techniques is futile. Even if bills are proposed and varieties developed law enforcement will still say no because they say it has always been their position to oppose these bills and always will be and consumers will also say no - with their wallets and more - to the products that come from these Frankenhemp plants, which will also cross pollinate with other plants and forever contaminate the Cannabis gene pool. I know that this is something that the hemp industry will come together over and fight against.

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Best Regards,

Tom Murphy
Hemp News Update Editor