cannabisnews.com: Lawmaker Hopes Third Time's The Charm for Hemp





Lawmaker Hopes Third Time's The Charm for Hemp
Posted by CN Staff on January 30, 2007 at 08:03:44 PT
By Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Bismarck Tribune 
Boise, Idaho - State Rep. Tom Trail is stoked about industrial hemp. But other lawmakers keep killing his buzz about turning the plant - a cousin of marijuana - into an agricultural commodity.Trail, a Republican from Moscow, is preparing to ask state lawmakers - for the third time in eight years - to support a resolution that would ask the U.S. Congress to legalize hemp as a farm crop. His proposal was killed in committee in 2000, and died on the House floor in 2003.
But the moderate conservative has high hopes: This year, his proposal comes on the heels of newly issued rules in North Dakota that regulate hemp farming in that state.North Dakota's no hippie state, Trail said, and in fact, the first person to apply for a hemp farming license under those rules was none other than North Dakota's assistant House majority leader.Trail believes that could give his proposal the momentum it needs to pass.North Dakota's regulations require hemp farmers to be fingerprinted and to register the locations of their hemp fields. If those are effective, Trail said, he plans to introduce a bill to legalize hemp farming in Idaho. North Dakota is one of seven U.S. states that have authorized industrial hemp farming. The others are Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana and West Virginia, according to Vote Hemp, an industrial hemp advocacy organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts."I'm a bit more optimistic," Trail said. "About two weeks ago I wasn't going to do anything, until this news came out."Some of the proposal's past opponents aren't so reassured.Hemp is a member of the Cannabis family - the same genus that contains its more potent cousin, marijuana, but without marijuana's intoxicating properties. The sturdy, fibrous plant is used to make products ranging from paper and rope to lotions and carpet backing.But Rep. Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, said the two plants are difficult to tell apart, and legalizing hemp farming would make it easier to sneak marijuana farms past law enforcement, Lake said."It is presently illegal to grow in the United States and obviously I won't be supporting it," Lake said. "I think this is just a roundabout way to legalize the growing of marijuana."But Trail said Idaho farmers could make millions off the hardy plant, which is grown legally in Canada and Europe. And anyone hoping for a legal high will be disappointed, he said: "To get a kick out of smoking industrial hemp, it would take a cigar the size of a telephone pole." Source: Bismarck Tribune (ND)Author: Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer, Associated Press Writer Published: January 29, 2007Copyright: 2007 The Bismarck TribuneWebsite: http://www.bismarcktribune.comContact: http://www.bismarcktribune.com/forms/letters.phpCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on January 31, 2007 at 20:10:55 PT
Maybe...just maybe...it will eventually 
sink in on them...that you absolutely CANNOT hide a smoking marijuana plant in a field of hemp. You'd have to incase it in something airtight to keep the hemp out of it...and that would kind of make it stand out in the field for sure.It's the last place you would want to plant cannabis that you would like to use medicinally or recreationally. Nature took care of that "problem" for them. On the other hand. By not allowing hemp...they keep the smoking stuff from being diluted by contact with the hemp pollen that would be in the air and drifting from the hemp fields.We need hemp though. The animals and the earth need hemp and it's seeds...and probably, even it's pollen.We need the hemp AND the smoking cannabis...but the smoking cannabis will have to be specially protected from the hemp.In a way...they are protecting cannabis consumers. They keep you from getting ripped off with hemp leaves when you thought you were getting something smokable.They keep the blackmarket busy with their prohibition of cannabis...and they throw in a little protection for the black market consumer by not allowing the farmers to grow hemp. We'll be a healthier, stronger nation if they ever come to their senses.
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Comment #4 posted by John Tyler on January 31, 2007 at 18:37:31 PT
oops
Sorry for the typeo it should have said hemp promoted on the Today Show not of.
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Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on January 31, 2007 at 18:35:43 PT
hemp promoted of the Today Show
There was an article on cnn.com about a spot on the Today Show about the many health benefits and rising popularity of hemp based food.  Very positive.
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on January 31, 2007 at 06:59:43 PT
Fact-- crossbreeding will lessen THC content 
Last week on C-Span Washington Journal Senator Grassley was on talking about jobs. 
The Sen. was asked if he supported the American Farmers right to grow Hemp as Canada is growing 50,000 acres this year while not one acre is allowed to be grown by our farmers. No I do not support American Farmers growing Hemp because we can not separate the Hemp from the Marijuana Grassley said. The Sen. went on to say that back during WWII there were Hemp mills all over his state of IOWA it was done for the war effort. Now lets look at that statement ---- hemp was grown all over Iowa for the war effort -- what has changed -- how come Canada has been successful in growing both Med Cannabis and Industrial Hemp for over 10 years. Why does he not bother to at least say gee -- I will look into what the Canadian Farmers are doing so maybe we can help our own farmers. But NO came the reply not even now that our Country needs another War Effort can we be allowed to use Hemp for Cellulose Ethanol and other Chemicals and plastics to reduce the need for imported Oil. Where are the Lawmakers that are for American Jobs and renewable energy.
http://www.jackherer.com/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 30, 2007 at 18:54:55 PT
Marijuana Saved George Bush's Life
January 30, 2007Cannabis Sativa is the proper name for both marijuana and hemp. From 1619 until outlawed as "Marihuana" in 1937, Cannabis Sativa was the US' largest legal industry.On October 2, 1937, the US Federal government passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which put a prohibitive tax on production of the "drug menace." To grow Cannabis Sativa legally, a citizen of the United States would need to purchase a Special Tax Stamp. To obtain the tax stamp, citizens were required to possess Cannabis Sativa when trying to buy the stamp. However, because of the rules of the Marihuana Tax Act, anyone who possessed marijuana without the stamp was then arrested as a drug dealer. The Federal government refused to release these Special Tax Stamps, thus ensuring that anyone who grew this ancient crop would be deemed a criminal. This was the beginning of marijuana prohibition. The day the Marihuana Tax Act was passed, federal agents arrested Samuel Caldwell, 58, in Denver, CO, for selling two marihuana cigarettes. Samuel Caldwell became the first American convicted under the new federal law. He was sentenced to four years in Levenworth Penitentiary, and died a year after being released. Complete Article: http://www.progressiveu.org/140827-marijuana-saved-george-bushs-life
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