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Dear Reader,
I'm sitting here looking out my office window
at the beginnings of an early and significant
Spring snow here in Maine. I have taken care
of the afternoon chores, fed and watered the
chickens, collected eggs and attended to
my dog, Guinness. I took a walk around the
house and the crocuses and daffodils look a
little unhappy in the snow. Sometimes things
are like that.
The modern hemp industry had its beginnings
in Canada almost ten years ago. On May 14,
1997 the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
came into force, setting the stage for the
planting of 5,857
acres of industrial hemp in the Spring of
1998. Since then, the Canadian hemp industry
has expanded to produce 48,060
acres last year. Like all nascent industries,
there have been some setbacks and bumps in the
road, though
everyone has been able to work through them.
What was predicted by the USDA to be a "small,
thin market" has actually turned into one
of the fastest-growing segments of the
natural foods industry. The DEA tried to ban
hemp foods, but they were misguided as
well, and
in reality their efforts actually helped grow the
markets and increase overall awareness. Vote
Hemp
estimates that annual retail sales of hemp
foods in the
United States are now in the range of $14
to $16 million.
This goes to show that the marketplace should
determine the ability of farmers and
producers to grow and manufacture hemp, not some
government agency or committee. I may
never choose to grow hemp seed for my
chickens on my own fallow land, but a
farmer down the road should not be prohibited
from putting a few acres of hemp into his
crop rotation. Just like the crocus in the
fresh Spring
snow,
sometimes when things look the most bleak, really
beautiful things are not far away.
If you live in the United States, please take
a few minutes to send a
letter asking your U.S. Representative
to co-sponsor H.R. 1009, the Industrial Hemp
Farming Act of 2007. If you live in
Wisconsin, South Carolina, North Dakota, New
Hampshire, Hawaii or California, you can also
send
a letter to your elected state representative
in support of hemp legislation there.
Please make a contribution
to Vote Hemp today to help us continue fixing the
situation here in the U.S.
We need and truly appreciate your support!
Best Regards,
Tom Murphy
Weekly News Update Editor
| It's Time for a Victory for Hemp |
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Editorial
Appeal-Democrat
March 28, 2007
The Assembly Public Safety Committee held
hearings Tuesday on AB 684, the industrial
hemp bill sponsored principally by San
Francisco Democrat Mark Leno and Irvine
Republican Chuck DeVore. A similar bill,
allowing California farmers to grow
industrial hemp for food, fiber, cosmetics
and other products, passed the Legislature
last year but was vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
The Legislature would do well not to be
discouraged by this history and pass AB 684
overwhelmingly. Gov. Schwarzenegger, once he
understands that some of his stated reasons
for vetoing it last year are off-base, would
benefit all Californians by signing it.
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| Decade of Legalized Industrial Hemp Celebrated |
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By Ashley House
The Woodstock Sentinel Review
March 26, 2007
It only seemed fitting for the woman
responsible for Canada's hemp industry boom
to speak at the Ontario Hemp Alliance's
annual general meeting. Senator Lorna Milne
flew with her husband from Ottawa to attend
the meeting at Grace Presbyterian Church.
"She was the frontwoman behind it all," said
Geofrey Kime, president of Stemergy, a
renewable fibre company. "We presented the
issue to her, and she ran with it. Without her
support it would be difficult for the hemp
industry to grow as quickly as it did."
After being labelled a controlled substance
for its small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) and with a resemblance to marijuana, it
was Milne who headed the Senate committee
that made changes to Canada's Food and Drugs
Act and helped push for the Controlled Drugs
and Substances Act. The amendments allowed
hemp to be grown as an industrial crop.
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| Scientist Recommends Local Hemp Industry |
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By Jacqui Peake
ABC North Coast NSW
March 27, 2007
Northern Rivers farmers struggling with dry
conditions could consider hemp crops as a
farming alternative, says Dr. Keith Bolton, a
scientist who has been trialling the crop in
the region.
Dr. Bolton has been trialling industrial hemp
crops on the North Coast since 2001 and says
the results indicate the crop has commercial
potential. But he says government red tape is
preventing a potential hemp industry from
developing.
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DEA Won't Rule on ND Hemp Licenses in Time for Spring Planting |
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By Blake Nicholson, AP
The Bismarck Tribune
March 31, 2007
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration
has told North Dakota officials it is
"unrealistic" for them to expect the DEA to
approve industrial hemp production by Sunday.
State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson
sums up the DEA response in two words:
permission denied.
Farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge in
February were issued the nation's first
licenses to grow industrial hemp, a cousin of
marijuana that falls under federal anti-drug
rules even though it does not produce a high.
The state licenses are worthless without DEA
permission.
Hauge has said his crop must be in the ground
by mid-May, and he needs time to acquire seed
and prepare the land.
Johnson hand-delivered to the DEA federal
applications on Feb. 13 from Monson, a state
lawmaker who farms near Osnabrock, and Hauge,
a farmer from Ray, along with the farmers'
nonrefundable $2,293 annual federal
registration fees. He asked for a decision by
April 1.
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