cannabisnews.com: Hemp Push Pits U.S. Against States, 30 Countries Hemp Push Pits U.S. Against States, 30 Countries Posted by CN Staff on January 21, 2005 at 07:58:16 PT Editorial Source: Vermont Guardian Washington -- The United States is the only developed nation that does not cultivate industrial hemp as an economic crop, according to a Congressional Resource Service report.“In all, more than 30 countries in Europe, Asia and North America grow hemp,” concluded the report, “Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity.” In the 1990s, the European Union instituted a subsidy program for hemp fiber production. “The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop,” the report says. Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa that contains only minute amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Farmers worldwide grow hemp commercially for fiber, seed, and oil for use in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including food.U.S. law makes no distinction between cannabis and industrial hemp, and makes it illegal to grow hemp without a license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.According to the CRS, “The DEA has been unwilling to grant licenses for growing small plots of hemp for research purposes,” even when the research is authorized by state law, because the agency believes that this would “send the wrong message to the American public concerning the government’s position on drugs.”As an example, the report noted that the DEA “has still not ruled on an application submitted in 1999 by a North Dakota researcher” to grow a trial plot of hemp in compliance with state law.More than a dozen states have passed laws authorizing the licensed cultivation of hemp for research purposes.“The federal ban on hemp cultivation and production is a direct outgrowth of the government’s absurd war on cannabis,” said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre. “This report should help to galvanize support among U.S. farmers, industrialists, and environmentalists for the legalization and regulation of hemp as an agricultural commodity.”Source: Vermont Guardian (VT)Published: January 21, 2005Copyright: 2005 Vermont GuardianContact: editorial vermontguardian.comWebsite: http://www.vermontguardian.com/NORMLhttp://www.norml.orgCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by observer on January 23, 2005 at 10:27:17 PT Propaganda: Hemp as Total Legalization According to the CRS, "The DEA has been unwilling to grant licenses for growing small plots of hemp for research purposes," even when the research is authorized by state law, because the agency believes that this would "send the wrong message to the American public concerning the government’s position on drugs." Hemp as Total LegalizationIndustrial hemp plants, grown for fiber, have been have been cultivated since ancient times. Planted densely, this no-THC variety typically grows to heights of 12 to 14 feet. In the US, hemp was cultivated from colonial times right up until the 1940s. George Washington has been quoted as commanding Americans to "Make the most of the Indian Hemp Seed and sow it everywhere." Such industrial hemp is bred for fiber, not THC content. The Chinese, Europeans, Canadians and many other cultures and nations have gown and used hemp for hundreds of years, even millennia.Still, enthusiastic prohibitionists see danger upon the land, should farmers no longer be jailed for growing industrial hemp. Why? Because drug warriors simply know that all marijuana is evil and must be totally prohibited. Drug warriors know that any lessening of the laws for hemp would be the same as, or lead to, total access to the sinful marijuana by everyone. ...The perception of "young people" (as reported by prohibitionists) is the reason for total prohibition. "I talk to many young people about the dangers of drugs. Even teens who do not use marijuana tell me they think marijuana is now an acceptable drug. They use two main arguments to explain why all marijuana ought to be legal. One is that marijuana is 'medicine,' and the second is that 'marijuana hemp' is going to save our farmers," complained one writer. The hated drug culture must be eliminated. "Our kids are bombarded by the drug culture with many of the same arguments . . . Is it any wonder that adolescent marijuana use is increasing at an alarming rate in Nebraska? Nebraska can either follow the agenda of the drug culture or we can fight for drug-free children. We cannot have it both ways."[23] When farmers talk of changing the law to stop arrest of hemp-growers, the prohibitionist propagandist knows it is time to talk of "marijuana" access by "children." (_Drug War Propaganda_, 2003 http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/book/drugwarpropaganda ) the drugsense drug news bot ~ 700 drug-related articles each day [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by The GCW on January 23, 2005 at 06:18:14 PT Hemp is not a weapon of mass D. It is time to re-introduce hemp as a component of American agriculture.*Hemp seed oil contains gamma linolenic acid (GLA) which is found in only 5 locations. Evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, borage and hemp seed oil & mother's milk share GLA. GLA is thought to contribute to a strong immune system. The daily recommended amount of hemp seed oil only supplies about four per cent of our needs. I am thankful I can buy imported Canadian hemp seed oil at my local health food store, (since free American farmers are prohibited from growing hemp) BUT I'D RATHER BUY IT FROM AMERICAN FARMERS. * It seems the 9th Circuit Court decision last (app.) Feb. 6, 2004, stopping the Fed. Gov. from banning hemp food products, at the same time ended an important facet of the Feds. that was stopping American farmers from growing hemp. *GREEN LIGHT [ Post Comment ] Post Comment