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Dear Reader,
Good news from California! AB 1147, the California Industrial
Hemp Farming Act, passed the Senate Public Safety Committee
on Tuesday. The bill now goes to the Senate Committee on
Agriculture for a hearing this Thursday, June 29. This is just
one day before June 30, the last day for policy committees to
meet and vote on bills. If you are a farmer interested in
testifying before the committee, please contact Alexis Baden-
Mayer at alexis@votehemp.com immediately.
Progress is also being made in North Dakota, the first state to
take action to implement a hemp farming law. On the 15th,
Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson held a hearing on the
department's proposed rules for licensing farmers to grow
industrial hemp under state law.
An official sponsor of the California bill and the impetus behind
North Dakota's recent decision to implement its 1999 hemp
farming law, Vote Hemp is the moving force of pro-hemp
policy.
Thanks again for your ongoing support!
Sincerely,
Eric Steenstra
President
Vote Hemp
| CA: Leno-Devore Bill Passes Senate Committee |
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Assemblyman Mark Leno
News Release
June 20, 2006
LENO-DEVORE BILL TO PERMIT FARMING OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP
PASSES SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
U.S. consumers spend $270 million each year on
hemp products, increasing by $26 million annually
SACRAMENTO ÑAssembly Bill 1147 authored by Assemblyman
Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore
(R-Irvine), permitting California farmers to grow industrial
hemp for the sale of seed, oil and fiber to manufacturers
passed the Senate Public Safety Committee today on a vote of
4 to 2.
ÒCalifornia farmers are missing out on a multimillion dollar
market that already exists in California,Ó said Assemblyman
Mark Leno. ÒHundreds of hemp products are made right here
in California, but manufactures are forced to import hemp
seed, oil and fiber from other countries. This measure will
allow California to lead the way in tapping into a $270 million
industry thatÕs growing by $26 million each year.Ó
Sponsored by Vote Hemp, AB 1147 would permit California
farmers to grow industrial hemp, a variety of cannabis that
grows up to 16 feet tall, resembles bamboo, and has no
psychoactive properties. Under the bill, industrial hemp is
defined as cannabis having 0.3% THC or less and its cultivation
is only permitted as an agricultural field crop or in a research
setting. Cultivation in groves, yards, or other locations is
prohibited.
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| ND: Farmers urge lifting ban on industrial hemp |
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AGRICULTURE: Farmers urge lifting ban on industrial hemp
DEA doesn't attend hearing, opposes plan
By James MacPherson, Associated Press
Grand Forks Herald
June 16, 2006
BISMARCK - Stark County farmers George and Earlene
Frank
say they're
willing to get fingerprinted and undergo criminal background
checks
to grow hemp, the biological cousin of marijuana.
The elderly couple, who grow small grains and raise cattle
south of
Dickinson, say industrial hemp would be a much-needed
alternative
cash crop for North Dakota farmers.
"There is a definite need for more crops that can grow in this
area,"
Earlene Frank said. She called law enforcement fears about
hemp
"silly."
The couple were among about 20 people who attended a public
hearing
on Thursday on proposed state rules for the production of
industrial
hemp.
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