cannabisnews.com: Hemp Growing Finds Allies in Kentucky
function share_this(num) {
tit=encodeURIComponent('Hemp Growing Finds Allies in Kentucky');
url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/27/thread27333.shtml');
site = new Array(5);
site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
return false;
}
Hemp Growing Finds Allies in Kentucky
Posted by CN Staff on February 13, 2013 at 07:01:28 PT
By Trip Gabriel
Source: New York Times
Frankfort, Ky. -- In 1996 the actor Woody Harrelson, who has a sideline as an activist for legalizing marijuana, was arrested in Kentucky for planting four hemp seeds. Last month Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, announced his support for growing hemp in Kentucky, his home state. Between those jarringly disparate events lies the evolution of hemp from a countercultural cause to an issue championed by farmers in the heartland and conservative lawmakers.
On Monday, a panel of the Republican-controlled Kentucky State Senate unanimously approved a bill to license hemp growers. It was promoted by the state agriculture commissioner and three members of the state’s Congressional delegation, including Senator Rand Paul, who removed his jacket to testify in a white shirt that he announced was made of hemp fibers. If the bill is approved by the full Legislature, Kentucky will join eight other states that have adopted laws to allow commercial hemp growing, although the practice is effectively blocked by federal law that makes no distinction between hemp and marijuana. Mr. Paul, a Republican, said he would seek a waiver from the Obama administration for Kentucky hemp growers, while pressing Congress to delist hemp as a controlled substance, which hemp supporters say is a legacy of antidrug hysteria. Both plants are the same species, Cannabis sativa, but hemp has only a trace of the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Hemp’s champions see it as a source of agricultural jobs, an alternative for struggling tobacco farmers and a wonder plant with uses from bluejeans to building materials. Attitudes are changing in surprising places. At a hearing on Monday in Frankfort, the Kentucky capital, the state police commissioner’s opposition to hemp growing was challenged by a former C.I.A. director, R. James Woolsey. “The specter of people getting high on industrial hemp,” Mr. Woolsey said, “is pretty much exactly like saying you can get drunk on O’Doul’s.” Hemp supporters say it is only a matter of time before legalization comes as people more fully understand the plant. They also point to states where voters legalized recreational marijuana in November — Colorado and Washington — as inevitably forcing a change in priorities in the Obama administration. “The demonology of hemp is exposed as being not valid,” said Representative John Yarmuth, Democrat of Kentucky, a sponsor of a bill in the House to allow hemp cultivation. He said the movement to accept hemp has the same inevitability that he attributed to acceptance of same-sex marriage. Still, the federal government has been unyielding. Farmers in states that allow hemp must seek a waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration or risk being raided by federal agents and losing their farms. Dave Monson, a North Dakota wheat farmer and Republican state representative, has held a state hemp license since 2007, when North Dakota legalized cultivation. But he has no plans to plant. “I applied for a D.E.A. license, never got one,” he said. A spokesman for the drug agency said it did not keep statistics on permits to grow hemp, which it does not distinguish from marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. Mr. Monson knows farmers just north of the Canadian border who profitably grow hemp, and he argues that it can be an economic boon. “The more states that do what we have done in North Dakota, if we can keep the pressure on, I think we’re going to see some movement at the federal level,” he said. Hemp supporters claim a total retail value of products containing hemp at more than $400 million in the United States. But a Congressional Research Service report last year found that imported hemp raw materials was small, only $11.5 million. All hemp used in United States today — such as in Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps sold at Whole Foods — is imported, mostly from China. Rodney Brewer, the commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, said that if hemp farming were legal, marijuana growers would hide their plants in hemp fields and the police could not tell them apart. “They are identical in appearance when it comes to the naked eye,” Mr. Brewer said, predicting that legalizing hemp would create a boom for pot growers. But Mr. Woolsey, who said he favored hemp because of “my interest in prosperity for rural America,” argued that no pot farmer would hide plants in a hemp field for fear that low-potency hemp would cross-pollinate with marijuana and lower the concentration of THC, its psychoactive ingredient. Marijuana growers “hate the idea of having industrial hemp anywhere near,” he said. The Kentucky bill faces resistance from some lawmakers, including the speaker of the State House. Mr. Paul, after calling attention to his hemp shirt at the hearing in Frankfort, seemed to roll his eyes when he said, “You’d think you’re at a D.E.A. hearing.” “This is a hearing about a crop,” he said. “It’s a crop that’s legal everywhere else in the world except the United States.” Mr. Paul, elected in 2010 with Tea Party support, promised to introduce a Senate bill as a companion to the pro-hemp bill in the House, which has 28 co-sponsors. He is following in the family footsteps, since the first House bill allowing hemp was introduced several years ago by his father, Ron Paul, a former Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate. Ron Paul’s embrace of the issue fit his deep libertarian streak, which also at times embraced legalizing marijuana and other drugs. Those positions placed hemp far outside the mainstream in many lawmakers’ minds, just as the image of its products — soaps, sandals and natural foods sold at co-ops — placed it in a counterculture. But no better sign exists that hemp’s image is changing than its embrace by Mr. McConnell, the minority leader, who said in a statement last month that his mind had been changed “after long discussions” with Rand Paul and the Kentucky agriculture commissioner, James Comer, a Republican. “The utilization of hemp to produce everything from clothing to paper is real,” Mr. McConnell said. A version of this article appeared in print on February 13, 2013, on page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: Hemp Growing Finds Allies of a New Stripe in Kentucky.Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Trip GabrielPublished: February 13, 2013Copyright: 2013 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/h77eB1A6CannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
Comment #24 posted by FoM on February 17, 2013 at 18:03:56 PT
Hope
I am glad I was able to help you like you have helped me. I believe if we are people who don't care then we are missing one of the most important reasons why we are on this earth. I think I have helped my nephew. I have no judgement in me for people and particularly for those who struggle with addiction. It's an illness and no matter the outcome I have done the best I can and will keep hoping that he makes it but I also know the odds are against him. 40 years of drinking isn't easy to quit. He called tonight and we had a good talk. He has an appointment to see a Psychiatrist tomorrow. I do hope this doctor can help him. He is a good hearted person.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #23 posted by Hope on February 17, 2013 at 17:03:33 PT
FoM
I've done something good, more than I had imagined, if I helped you keep on keeping on. You are a very caring person. I suspect that your nephew wouldn't be doing as well as he is without you. It has to mean something to him that you care so much.It certainly meant a lot to me that you were always there and always listening to my grieving and complaining during my sickness. You comfort people and that's a good thing. Comfort means so much to the suffering. Love and caring are like bandages and medicine for the soul and spirit, and sometimes they are so desperately needed. Maybe, just maybe, your caring will help your nephew's spirit rise up and push back against all the bad stuff happening to him. I hope so.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #22 posted by FoM on February 17, 2013 at 10:47:18 PT
Hope
I would have quit a long time ago without you. I couldn't have taken it. You are my strength.When I was falling asleep watching SNL last night when Alabama Shakes started to play my eyes popped open. It has been a very hard week or two. My nephew almost didn't make it again. He started drinking again after trying hard for a few days after he got out of the hospital for the second time. I was so discouraged. Hours and hours of talking to him trying to make him understand that alcohol was killing him had me mentally exhausted. That song gave me strength for what and when the next crisis with him will be. I don't even know what he wants us to do about his funeral. What a shame at 59 years old. And they fear marijuana. If it wasn't so discusting I would laugh.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #21 posted by Hope on February 17, 2013 at 09:43:28 PT
Hold On
It was serendipitous that just the other day, you said, "I don't know how we've managed to hold on this long."Part of it is that we have gathered in groups. And groups keep their fire hotter. Just as one lone coal will cool easier, grouped coals get hotter and last longer. Whoo hoo! We lasted! We stayed hot! Some of us are gone, sadly, but some of us managed to hold on, by Grace and all good things. Our cause is righteous. That helps in the hold on department.I haven't put the work in that you and Storm Crow have put in. I haven't accomplished the things you all have, but I'm glad to be part of a group of people and those that speak out against a true evil running amok in the world disguised as something good or even holy. We've, all of us, stepped out and spoken out against a huge and powerful monolith of a monster that was consuming our fellow man at an alarming rate. We've been part of the noise that is the truth. I love that.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #20 posted by Hope on February 17, 2013 at 09:19:14 PT
Alabama Shakes... Hold On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le-3MIBxQTw
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #19 posted by FoM on February 17, 2013 at 07:04:38 PT
Off Topic: Alabama Shakes
I never heard of this band until I saw them last night on SNL. The song Hold On blew me away. I hope others got to see them perform.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #18 posted by FoM on February 17, 2013 at 04:27:26 PT
Hope
Storm Crow and you have been an inspiration to me.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #17 posted by Hope on February 16, 2013 at 23:54:59 PT
Storm Crow and FoM.
Two ladies that I've been honored to stand in resistance to injustice with this many years. You'll have done amazing work for the cause.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #16 posted by FoM on February 16, 2013 at 20:09:03 PT
Storm Crow
Thank you. That is so sweet of you.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #15 posted by Storm Crow on February 16, 2013 at 18:25:18 PT
FoM, sweetie,
You have done FAR more than just "help"!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #14 posted by FoM on February 15, 2013 at 08:09:12 PT
Ekim and Hope
If I helped it makes me happy.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #13 posted by Hope on February 15, 2013 at 07:42:19 PT
ekim
So true. She gave us Cannabis News and keeps it sharp, fresh, and informative, and C-News has certainly helped us all "hang on" on this very long, very rough ride to reach our shared goal of ending the injustice and deadly danger of cannabis prohibition.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #12 posted by ekim on February 14, 2013 at 14:38:23 PT
everyone here knows
Its all because of you.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #11 posted by Quax Mercy on February 14, 2013 at 08:33:22 PT:
Last of the Breed?
Swear to goodness I thought we’d seen the Last of the Breed, but mark it well: Rodney Brewer, the commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, is still willing to attach his name to that lamest of claims: MJ growers will ‘hide’ their dope in the hemp fields!
Is it clear now? If the Police have come down to this in their attempt to contribute to the discussion at this point, could it be any clearer they haven’t got a significant contribution to be making, & maybe should get disinvited to the discussion, but certainly not quoted as anything approaching authority on this matter. Sheeeeesh!Just one more: Brewer, still: During the hearing, Woolsey (yeah, THAT Woolsey) said there’d been no documented case of such nonsense in any of the 30 countries at any time, & Brewer countered, “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”That these KnowNothing Neanderthals are permitted to distract, derail & devalue the discussion with their exposed & debunked lies, & paranoid projections at this extremely late date compromises the entire enterprise. We need a Super Bowl of Debunkment to lay these frauds out, finally, & forever. Stake it out, burn it, bury it.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #10 posted by HempWorld on February 14, 2013 at 07:40:00 PT
Hemp Growing Finds Allies in Kentucky...
Oh, I am so happy about that! Some people are finally understanding it. Mitch McConnell? Have you gone insane? A republican, no less, you are committing political suicide man. What has gotten into you? Didn't you get the memo from Rocky? Are you tired of life?Yeah, well, I guess we'll never know that one.As for this spark of hope and continued show of insanity or results of deep corruption, it will continue on a federal level, unabated.
Legalize it!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 13, 2013 at 14:51:59 PT
Hope
I find it hard to believe Republicans but since they said it that will make it easier for the administration to say yes to Hemp. Obama wants the approval of the Right and now he is getting it at least for the Hemp issue.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by afterburner on February 13, 2013 at 14:50:02 PT
Hope #5 'Who did it?'
Some might call the perpetrator: "the spirit of division." Modern civilization has built an artificial substitute reality for the natural laws and processes. Hence, we have GMOs instead of organic food, synthetic chemicals instead of medicinal herbs, animal control instead of farm animals, pesticided herbicided lawns instead of gardens and farms, tract houses instead of woods and wetlands and beaches, pavement choking the growth of wild foods and herbs, google and facebook instead of family and friends. 19 "This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%2030:19&version=NIVSomeone in their overly exaggerated fear of nature has chosen death and curses instead of life and blessings as the pattern for business and government.Choose life!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by FoM on February 13, 2013 at 14:47:40 PT
ekim
I have no idea how we all have hung on this long. It is happening now.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by ekim on February 13, 2013 at 14:10:23 PT
12 years ago imagine what could have been
http://cannabisnews.com/news/6/thread6818.shtml
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #5 posted by Hope on February 13, 2013 at 13:46:03 PT
Blue jeans.
Hemp makes the best denim. It was the first canvas/denim. It's durable and be fine linen as well as rope and tarps. The first denim was cotton. The first Levi Strauss jeans, in the Gold Rush in California, was made from tough hemp canvas and riveted where it had stress on seams. Powerful pants and still powerful to this day, but they had to switch to cotton.Cotton and tobbaco are hard on the land. Plants can strip land of it's nutrients and some plants can add to the nutrients. Hemp is one of the healing, even to the earth, plants. It strips out poisons and adds worthy nutrients to the soil structure and chemical nature. Hemp/cannabis farming COULD be a very worthy addition to the farmers ability to produce amazing and very useful things from the earth and while providing a valuable product, making a good living for the farmer and the farmer's family, or families, and for it's workers and their dependents.We need hemp farming. Our lands are falling fallow and we are going to foreign lands for all our needs. What the hell is that all about?Bring back our farms, our factories and infrastructure building and maintenance! We must. We would, if we had any sense as a society at all.Whose idea was it to make it this way? Prohibiting herbs and flowers, jailing everyone they possibly can, and sending all our work overseas? Who did it? Who is it? Our wealthy? Our industry? Our government? Who? The villain or the mastermind in this situation sure isn't the citizens of this country that want to make a decent living for themselves and their families and be the backbone of the nation... in every way. It isn't the manufacturer that wants to pay it's workers a decent wage and let them benefit and share in the profit and satisfaction that comes from their production abilities. It's not them and those that want to protect them and see them grow and flourish. It's someone very selfish, foolishly greedy, and cold and unfeeling to the realities of all life. They need to be stopped and we all, as individuals and as a whole, need to look very seriously at making life better for everyone... or it's going to be worse. For everyone.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by Hope on February 13, 2013 at 13:09:58 PT
That's impressive.
"On Monday, a panel of the Republican-controlled Kentucky State Senate unanimously approved a bill to license hemp growers. It was promoted by the state agriculture commissioner and three members of the state’s Congressional delegation, including Senator Rand Paul, who removed his jacket to testify in a white shirt that he announced was made of hemp fibers."Unanimously, no less!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #3 posted by Hope on February 13, 2013 at 12:30:49 PT
I can't believe that was seventeen years ago!
"In 1996 the actor Woody Harrelson, who has a sideline as an activist for legalizing marijuana, was arrested in Kentucky for planting four hemp seeds."Nearly two decades! My Lord! How slow is our society to do what is right? Dang quick, it often seems, to do what's wrong, to shed blood, or destroy, but so disgustingly slow to do what's right?Oh my Lord.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by ekim on February 13, 2013 at 08:32:24 PT
maybe GOP is starting to believe in science
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatewood_Galbraith
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by The GCW on February 13, 2013 at 08:21:47 PT
O.J. has trace amounts of alcohol also...
“The specter of people getting high on industrial hemp,” Mr. Woolsey said, “is pretty much exactly like saying you can get drunk on O’Doul’s.”It could also be said:The specter of people getting high on industrial hemp, is pretty much exactly like saying you can get drunk on orange juice.
[ Post Comment ]
Post Comment