Tag Archives: Hemp

Civil Liberties, Drug War, Featured, Marijuana Prohibition, US

Hemp Legalization Bill Fast-Tracked By US Senate

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The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 was placed on a fast-track through the U.S. Senate on Monday, allowing it to skip the typical committee hurdles that newly-announced bills ordinarily face.

Truth in Media reported last month that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had introduced the bill along with bipartisan cosponsors Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

The proposal would legalize hemp by eliminating its status as a controlled substance. It would also allow the cultivation and sale of hemp, creating an industrial marketplace. Additionally, it would let scientists apply for Agriculture Department grants for research into hemp and farmers obtain crop insurance for hemp crops.

Michael Koempel of the Congressional Research Service, describing how fast-tracking works in the U.S. Senate, wrote:

When a Senator introduces a bill or joint resolution, or a House-passed bill or joint resolution is received in the Senate from the House, the measure is often referred to committee, pursuant to provisions of Senate Rules XIV, XVII, and XXV. The Senate may, however, use provisions of Senate Rule XIV to bypass referral of a bill or joint resolution to a Senate committee, and have the measure placed directly on the Senate Calendar of Business. Although placing a bill or joint resolution directly on the calendar does not guarantee that the full Senate will ever consider it, the measure is available for floor consideration and certain procedural steps or requirements may be obviated. Such procedural steps include committee reporting or discharging a committee from a bill’s consideration, and such procedural requirements include the two-day availability of a committee report.

A spokesperson for Senator McConnell told The Hill that the majority leader has yet to announce when the bill will be taken up for a vote.

“I am proud to introduce the bipartisan Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which will build upon the success of the hemp pilot programs and spur innovation and growth within the industry. By legalizing hemp and empowering states to conduct their own oversight plans, we can give the hemp industry the tools necessary to create jobs and new opportunities for farmers and manufacturers around the country,” Senator McConnell said in a statement.

Senator Wyden, a Democrat and cosponsor of the bill, wrote in a statement, “It is far past time for Congress to pass this commonsense, bipartisan legislation to end the outrageous anti-hemp, anti-farmer and anti-jobs stigma that’s been codified into law and is holding back growth in American agriculture jobs and our economy at large. Hemp products are made in this country, sold in this country and consumed in this country. Senator McConnell, our colleagues and I are going to keep pushing to make sure that if Americans can buy hemp products at the local supermarket, American farmers can grow hemp in this country.”

Congressman James Comer (R-Ky.) is set to introduce a companion hemp legalization bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Business, Marijuana Prohibition, Politics, States Rights, US

Alaska Legislature Passes Bill Legalizing Industrial Hemp Production

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Anchorage, AK –  Legislation to legalize the production of industrial hemp has passed both the Alaska Senate and House and now awaits the signature of the Gov. Bill Walker.

If signed into law, Senate Bill 6 would legalize the “regulation and production” of hemp, and would allow for individuals to register for a pilot program to grow industrial hemp. Additionally, the bill specifically denotes that “industrial hemp is not included in the definition of “marijuana,” and clarifies that adding industrial hemp to a food product does not create an “adulterated food product.”

The legislation reads:

An Act relating to the regulation and production of industrial hemp; relating to industrial hemp pilot programs; providing that industrial hemp is not included in the definition of ‘marijuana’; providing that cannabidiol oil is not included in the definition of ‘hashish oil’; clarifying that adding industrial hemp to food does not create an adulterated food product, and providing for an effective date.

Hemp, also called industrial hemp, is a specific variety of cannabis plant grown for industrial and commercial uses of its fiber, which contain almost no THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis that alters an individual’s mental state upon ingestion.

Industrial hemp has the potential to replace many of the currently used fossil fuel-based products as it can be used in a reported 25,000 products— perhaps explaining why a substance that has no psychoactive value is treated as a controlled substance by the U.S. federal government.

As a report, entitled Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes, “hemp is also from the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa, as marijuana. As a result, production in the United States is restricted due to hemp’s association with marijuana, and the U.S. market is largely dependent on imports…”

The CRS report specifies:

Under current U.S. drug policy, all cannabis varieties—including industrial hemp—are considered Schedule I controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA),1 and DEA continues to control and regulate hemp production.

“It was time to remove hemp from the marijuana statutes,” Republican Sen. Shelley Hughes said. “There’s no psychoactive impact from hemp. If you were to smoke acres and acres and acres of hemp, all you would get would be a sore throat and a cough.”

Alaska Public Media (APM) reported that Hughes introduced the bill more than a year ago after adapting legislation originally written by former Sen. Johnny Ellis, after she was approached by local farmers who wanted to grow hemp to use for livestock feed and bedding.

[RELATED: Jeff Sessions Wages War on Cannabis]

Alaska residents include Ember Haynes and her husband, who would like to grow hemp for use in products they make and sell such as balms, salves and other natural body products, in addition to growing hemp to supplement livestock feed. Currently, the couple must import hemp.

“I just want to use Alaska hemp,” Haynes told APM. “It’s been frustrating for us, just because our business is entirely made up of products that we wild-craft or grow ourselves. And so, the hemp seed oil, that would just change everything for us, to have it completely Alaska-grown and made herbs and plants in our products.”

Resident Jack Bennett told KTVA that he planned to build the first hemp home in Alaska and touted hemp’s value for lowering energy costs. “With hemp as a 100 percent natural insulation material, you are saving a minimal of 50 percent— up to 70 percent— in your energy savings annually,” said Bennett, according to KTVA.

The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that currently, at least 34 states have passed legislation related to industrial hemp. In 2017, 15 states—Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, North Dakota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—passed legislation establishing new licensing requirements and programs for hemp. At least 27 states have passed laws creating or allowing for the establishment of industrial hemp research or pilot programs.

While many state governments have moved to pass state legislation to legalize the growing of industrial hemp crops amidst the continued federal prohibition, the Congressional Research Service noted that the U.S is the “only developed nation that hasn’t developed an industrial hemp crop for economic purposes.”

While, in contrast, “farmers in more than 30 countries worldwide grow industrial hemp commercially for fiber, seed, and oil for use in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including food.”

Drug War, Featured, Government Accountability, Marijuana Prohibition

Menominee Indian Tribe Says DEA Destroyed Hemp Crop

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The Menominee Indian Tribe says that the Drug Enforcement Administration raided what it characterized as a legal hemp crop last Friday. DEA officials acknowledged the raid over the weekend, but claimed that it was 30,000 marijuana plants, not hemp plants, that were seized during the raid on 20 acres of tribal property.

Menominee Indian Tribe Chairman Gary Besaw said in a statement:

[pull_quote_center]I am deeply disappointed that the Obama administration has made the decision to utilize the full force of the DEA to raid our Tribe. We were attempting to grow industrial hemp for research purposes in accordance with the Farm Bill. We offered to take any differences in the interpretation of the Farm Bill to federal court. Instead, the Obama administration sent agents to destroy our crop while allowing recreational marijuana in Colorado. I just wish the President would explain to tribes why we can’t grow industrial hemp like the states, and even more importantly, why we don’t deserve an opportunity to make our argument to a federal judge rather than having our community raided by the DEA?[/pull_quote_center]

[RELATED: Santee Sioux Tribe to Launch First-in-the-Nation Pot Resort in South Dakota]

DEA officials asserted that marijuana was being grown on the premises by non-tribe members from Colorado. CBS 58 Milwaukee pointed out the fact that no arrests were made during the raid and “the investigation is ongoing.”

The Menominee Tribe had reportedly been involved in face-to-face negotiations with the DEA prior to the raid and had offered to destroy some hemp strands from the crop which had been identified as problematic under the Farm Bill’s regulations.

[RELATED: DEA Records Show Punishment is Rare Among Rampant Misconduct]

North American Industrial Hemp Council founder Erwin Sholts told Fox 11 News, “There is always a little bit of THC [in hemp] because the one flower may in the harvesting process spill some THC onto the stalk and so on, but 3/10 of 1 percent is a general level of THC in industrial hemp and you can’t make a drug out of it.”

The Menominee Indian Tribe’s statement on the raid said:

[pull_quote_center]In May 2015, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin legalized the growing of low THC non-psychotropic industrial hemp by Tribal licensees on its lands. Notice of this change in Tribal law was provided to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. This action was intended to comply with Congress’ actions in 2014 Farm Bill which recognizing [sic] a distinction between marijuana and industrial hemp that created an exception to the Controlled Substance Act to allow for growth, cultivation and the study of industrial hemp in certain circumstances. The Tribe’s industrial hemp crop was always intended to be a legal crop as allowed by the 2014 Farm Bill.[/pull_quote_center]

Civil Liberties, Drug War, Government Accountability, Marijuana Prohibition, Politics, States Rights, US

Maine Legislature Nullifies Federal Hemp Farming Ban

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Last year, lawmakers in Maine passed a bill which would authorize hemp farming in the state as soon as the federal government lifts its ban on the practice. However, the US Congress has been slow to respond to America’s rising hemp movement and an amendment to the 2014 farm bill signed by President Obama only allows hemp cultivation for research purposes.

On Monday, Maine officially nullified the federal government’s ban on commercial hemp farming in the state when the Maine Senate voted 27-6 to override Republican Governor Paul LePage’s veto of LD4, a GOP-sponsored bill that removes the requirement that farmers obtain federal approval from last year’s hemp farming legalization bill. The Senate vote follows Friday’s veto override effort by the Maine House of Representatives, which passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 135-6.

Governor LePage said in a May 8 statement defending his decision to veto the bill, “I simply cannot support inadvertently putting Maine’s hard working farmers at risk of violating federal criminal laws, which is the practical effect of this bill.” However, lawmakers in the state House and Senate were able to meet the 2/3 vote threshold necessary to override his veto.

Representative Deb Sanderson (R-Chelsea), one of the sponsors of the bill, told the Portland Press Herald, “We have people in this state who are ready to make capital investments – real investments – in this (hemp) industry, capital investments that will create jobs and inject money into this economy. All the pieces are in place with the people behind them, ready to go with the flip of a switch.”

Tenth Amendment Center founder and executive director Michael Boldin wrote, “An amendment to the bill included an ’emergency clause,’ which bypasses the normal 90-day waiting period for a law to take effect. The bill notes that ‘farmers need adequate time to prepare for their upcoming growing seasons,’ and supporters wanted to make sure the process moved forward immediately.”

Boldin continued, “Since the emergency clause was enacted, the new law goes into effect immediately. While there are some rules that will need to be created by the Department of Agriculture, the sponsors of LD4 expressly included in the measure that all will be ‘routine technical’ rather than ‘major substantive’ rules, and required the commissioner to issue them… Once this process is completed, it will be up to individuals and businesses in Maine to strike the final blow against federal bans on hemp farming. Should courageous farmers start growing industrial hemp without further authorization from Washington DC, the decades long prohibition will be effectively nullified in practice.“

Civil Liberties, Drug War, Editor’s Pick, Government Accountability, Marijuana Prohibition, Police State, Politics, States Rights, US

EXCLUSIVE: Cannabis Oil Activist Shona Banda, Now Facing Felony Charges, Speaks Out

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In April, Truth in Media published an exclusive interview with Shona Banda, a cannabis oil activist and Crohn’s disease survivor whose home was raided by Garden City, KS police and 11-year-old son was seized by the Kansas Department for Children and Families after her son spoke out about medical marijuana during an anti-drug presentation in school.

Banda’s ordeal became a national issue after her interview with Truth in Media was picked up by Radley Balko at The Washington Post and discussed on a wide range of mainstream media outlets and television talk shows including ABC’s The View. Truth in Media has been covering Banda’s activism since 2014, when she went public in an interview with Ben Swann about how she uses cannabis oil to treat her Crohn’s disease.

[RELATED: The Cannabis Oil Invention Shona Banda Wouldn’t Hold Secret]

Meanwhile, The Garden City Telegram is reporting that Finney County Attorney Susan Richmeier announced on Friday that five criminal charges are being filed against Shona Banda pursuant to the April raid by Garden City police. The charges, three of which are felonies, include distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school property, endangering a child, unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, and two drug paraphernalia infractions. The Garden City Telegram notes that Banda could be facing anywhere between 138 to 204 months behind bars.

On Monday, Truth in Media spoke exclusively with Shona Banda about the charges that have been filed against her and her views on the cannabis oil movement that is exploding across the nation.

“I do believe that they’re trying to make an example out of me,” said Banda about the criminal charges she now faces.

She said of the state’s decision to press charges against her despite an overwhelming public show of support for her plight, “Well, they had a choice. People have made petitions [in support of Banda], over 130,000 signatures on one petition alone. I want to say that there are four or five different petitions out there. Phone calls have been made to the DA Susan Richmeier in Garden City. Letters have been written, and they still chose to charge me with felony 1 charges. They’re charging me with child endangerment, and they’re calling my machine a lab, and anyone can go on YouTube and look up what that lab consists of, because it’s ridiculous what they’re trying to charge me with.”

Garden City police claim that the raid on Banda’s home produced, according to The Garden City Telegram, “1.25 pounds of marijuana in plant, oil, joint, gel and capsule form and drug paraphernalia” along with what was characterized as a “lab used for manufacturing cannabis oil.”

Banda took particular offense to the fact that she was charged with child endangerment and said, “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. There was no endangerment of a child, for one. For two, this plant is the most non-toxic substance on the planet, so, it’s safer to have around my house than aspirin. So the child endangerment charges I can not believe.”

Regarding the charge related to allegedly possessing or selling cannabis in close proximity to a school, she said, “They’re trying to say that it’s 1000 feet from a school. I’m several blocks away from a school. I sure would like to challenge that.”

Banda also pointed out the fact that Finney County Attorney Susan Richmeier took almost two months to come up with criminal charges after the April raid on her home. “How serious of a criminal am I really if it took them this long to charge me? How much of a danger to society am I really? How can you charge someone with a level 1 felony and have those charges be out for so long. If I’m such a danger to society, why did it take this long to charge me?”

In March of 2014, Truth in Media’s Evan Mulch reported on Banda’s innovative process for inexpensively extracting cannabis oil. “My oil was the first CBD oil tested in Colorado. I literally am one of the first patients to come out publicly with this oil… I really did help start an online social media revolution of paying it forward with healing yourself and telling others about it. I helped start all this, and I couldn’t make it in Colorado, so I just moved back home [to Kansas] so I could survive,” said Banda. “I wrote my book [Live Free or Die: Reclaim your Life… Reclaim your Country!] and went to Colorado to get it published. I helped start the medical movement in Colorado.”

[RELATED: Shona Banda Explains Her Remarkable Story On How Cannabis Oil Saved Her Life]

Meanwhile, a frenzy of non-psychoactive cannabis oil legalization bills have been passing in even the most conservative of state legislatures of late, with Tennessee and Texas recently joining the list of states that have legalized low-THC cannabis oil to treat intractable seizures. Said Banda of the low-THC movement, “I’m still for these people who are trying to pass CBD-only laws because hemp is completely legal here, you can use hemp, and use can use the materials from hemp.”

However, she said that the bills did not go far enough and that bans on psychoactive forms of cannabis oil put some sufferers at risk who need it to treat their illnesses, “I fully believe that you need the full spectrum of cannabanoids in the cannabis plant, not the hemp plant, to create homeostasis and healing within the body… Why would you continue to pervert this process by taking out one constituent from an entire plant that is helpful and only allowing that one constituent? Because it doesn’t get you ‘high’? Our endocannabinoid system is made to accept it and work with it, and it works best when it is in its whole form.”

“I started this whole process because I wanted to live and grow and be with my children. I just want to live and survive with my kids and raise my children and live long enough to see grandchildren. It’s an inalienable right to live and I shouldn’t be punished for pursuing that… I shouldn’t be prosecuted for that,” said Banda. She continued, “The people of Kansas want [medical marijuana] available to them. It makes no sense to me that people’s lives in Colorado are more important than people’s lives in Kansas. How is this the United States of America when your life means more if you’re in California, Washington, Colorado, than when you’re in Kansas or Oklahoma or Texas?”

Banda, whose supporters have launched a GoFundMe page that has raised $43,000 so far for legal expenses, said that her legal quagmire has escalated to what is likely a “150 to 200 thousand dollar process.” She called on her supporters to “get this out there as absolutely to the masses as possible, because the mainstream media is not paying attention.” She continued, “There are still too many people who do not know what is going on. This is the most heinous of crimes. Why would you take a child away from his mother because his mother is trying to live. How is that protecting anyone in my family?”

Banda’s next custody hearing where she will learn more about her chances to reunite with her son is set for July 10. She has not yet been arrested on the aforementioned five criminal counts, which have been filed but not yet processed.

She believes that her fate “depends on whether Garden City is willing to accept science.”

She continued, “Wasn’t Kansas the state that said they weren’t going to teach evolution at one point? I mean, the state of Kansas is pretty scary. I’m just hoping that they’ll accept this science with a much more open mind.”

To find out more about Banda’s story, click here.

In September of last year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media episode tackling the federal government’s mixed messages on medical cannabis. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://youtu.be/zuX9y0hiqWE

Health, US

DEA continues obstructing marijuana research, report says

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A new report released by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, says the DEA has spent the last four decades thwarting marijuana research which carries the potential of reclassification for the drug.

“The DEA has argued for decades that there is insufficient evidence to support rescheduling marijuana,” reads the executive summary of the report.  “At the same time, it has… acted in a manner intended to systematically impede scientific research.”

Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning the federal government does not recognize any acceptable uses for the drug, including medicinal uses.  The status of Schedule I also means the drugs in this category cannot receive federal funding for research, medicinal or otherwise.  Marijuana is joined on the Schedule I tier by peyote, LSD, and heroine.

“This concerns me greatly as someone who has studied marijuana and given thousands of doses of the drug,” says Professor Carl Hart of the department of psychology and psychiatry from Columbia University.

Professor Hart continues saying, “The notion that the DEA has not thought about reconsidering scheduling of marijuana seems to be against scientific evidence and what we’re trying to do as a society that relies on imperial evidence to make decisions.”

The report also states the DEA has been forced by several court orders to release a decision on the reclassification of marijuana.  Two of these times, multiple lawsuits were brought forth against the DEA to act instead of simply sitting on their hands for years.

This report is released a few weeks after the House of Representatives approved of three amendments focused on restricting the DEA’s grasp on marijuana and hemp laws.  Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California was one sponsor of the amendments.

“Nobody should be afraid of the truth,” says Rohrabacher.  “Is the downside of marijuana a harmful side effect? Or is there a positive side that actually does help? That needs to be proven.”

A few studies have already shown marijuana has many potential medical uses, including slowing or stopping the spread and growth of cancerous cells, including leukemia.

Dr. Wai Liu from St. George’s University of London told the Huffington Post, “Cannabinoids have a complex action; it hits a number of important processes that cancers need to survive.”

The growing support for the legalization of marijuana has seen 22 states and the District of Columbia legalize medicinal use of marijuana, and Colorado and Washington have legalized the recreational use of the drug.

Politics, US

Thomas Massie Eats Hemp On “The Independents”

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Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) appeared on “The Independents”, a libertarian-leaning talk show airing on Fox Business, to discuss the Drug Enforcement Administration’s efforts to impede agricultural research of hemp in Kentucky.

“I’m asking the President, maybe somebody didn’t get the memo at the DEA, because he’s not enforcing the marijuana laws in other states. Why is he enforcing a hemp law that no longer applies after the Farm Bill was passed and he signed it?” Massie told host Kennedy after taking a bite out of an energy bar filled with hemp seeds on the air.

Kentucky made the beginning steps to legalize industrial hemp with the passing of SB 50 in 2013, although the bill had been passed on the condition that the federal government needed to lift its national ban. In February of this year, President Obama signed a Farm Bill that partially lifted the federal ban, allowing hemp cultivation for research purposes.

Last week, after 250 pounds of hemp seeds were ordered from Italy and headed to the University of Kentucky, the DEA intercepted the shipment and seized the batch of seeds, triggering a lawsuit from the state of Kentucky.

Massie explained that the DEA has no authority to attempt to dictate what hemp bill’s language means to the cosponsors of the bill – “we wrote it,” he said- then told the hosts of the show what the hemp bill really means:

“Get out of Kentucky, let us grow our hemp.”

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Politics, US

South Carolina Passes Bill To Nullify Federal Hemp Ban

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COLUMBIA, May 14, 2014– Yesterday, the South Carolina House gave final approval to a bill which authorizes the growing and production of industrial hemp within the state, effectively nullifying the unconstitutional federal ban.

Introduced by Sen. Kevin Bryant along with cosponsors Sen. Lee Bright and Sen. Tom Davis, S.0839 passed by a 72-28 vote in the House. It has previous passed by a vote of 42-0 in the senate and will now go to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk for a signature.

The bill reads, in part:

“It is lawful for an individual to cultivate, produce, or otherwise grow industrial hemp in this State to be used for any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to, the manufacture of industrial hemp products, and scientific, agricultural, or other research related to other lawful applications for industrial hemp.”

Follow Michael Lotfi On Facebook & Twitter.

Politics, US

Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Hemp Cultivation

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NASHVILLE, May 15, 2014– Yesterday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam (R) signed a bill which some supporters consider the strongest pro-hemp legislation in the country. House Bill 2445 (HB2445), introduced by Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) and Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) mandates that the state authorize the growing and production of industrial hemp within Tennessee.

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 28-0 and the House by a vote of 88-5. It reads, in part:

“The department shall issue licenses to persons who apply to the department for a license to grow industrial hemp.”

Mike Maharrey, national communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center, noted that one word strengthened the bill considerably. “By including the word ‘shall’ in this legislation, it has a great deal of impact,” he said. “This means that rather than keeping it open-ended like other states have done, hemp farming will be able to move forward in Tennessee whether the regulatory bureaucrats there want it to or not.”

‘Shall’ is a legal term which creates a specific requirement far stronger than a word like ‘will.’ The former is more closely interchangeable with the word “must,” while the latter allows leeway for the object of the term to delay. In this case, the bill states that the Tennessee department of agriculture will have a mandate to license farmers for growing hemp.

Three other states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed bills to authorize hemp farming, but only in Colorado has the process started.  A similar bill was passed in South Carolina this week and awaits action by Gov. Nikki Haley.

Farmers in Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013, and the state began issuing licenses on March 1, 2014.  In Vermont and Oregon, hemp farming was authorized, but no licensing program was mandated, so implementation has been delayed due to regulatory foot-dragging.

With passage of HB2445, Tennessee will most likely become the 2nd state in the country to actively produce hemp. The legislation also ensures that not only will hemp licenses be issued, but the process for doing so will start quickly. It reads:

“The department shall initiate the promulgation of rules … concerning industrial hemp production within one hundred and twenty (120) days of this act becoming law.”

In other words, now that the bill has become law, the process in Tennessee will start no later than November, 2014.

The bill was lobbied for by the Tennessee Hemp Industries Association and the Tennessee Tenth Amendment Center.

Follow Michael Lotfi On Facebook & Twitter.

Politics

BREAKING: Tennessee effectively nullifies federal hemp ban

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NASHVILLE, April 17, 2014– Yesterday, the Tennessee General Assembly took the final necessary steps to send legislation to Governor Haslam, which if signed, will nullify the federal ban on hemp.

House Bill 2445 (HB2445), introduced by Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), would mandate that the state authorize the growing and production of industrial hemp within Tennessee, effectively nullifying the unconstitutional federal ban on the same. Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) is the chief Senate sponsor of the legislation.

Local media point to federal law citing hemp production is still banned on the federal level, and that the Tennessee legislation will only set Tennessee up to begin cultivation once the feds change the law. However, the legislation makes no such stipulation with regards to waiting on the feds.

The bill reads, in part:

“The department shall issue licenses to persons who apply to the department for a license to grow industrial hemp.”

Mike Maharrey, communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center, noted that one word strengthened the bill considerably. “By including the word ‘shall’ in this legislation, it has a great deal of impact,” he said. “This means that rather than keeping it open-ended like other states have done, hemp farming will be able to move forward in Tennessee whether the regulatory bureaucrats there want it to or not.”

‘Shall’ is a legal term which creates a specific requirement far stronger than a word like ‘will.’ The former is more closely interchangeable with the word “must,” while the latter allows leeway for the object of the term to delay. In this case, the bill states that the Tennessee department of agriculture will have a mandate to license farmers for growing hemp.

Three other states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed bills to authorize hemp farming, but only in Colorado has the process begun.  Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013 and the state began issuing licenses on March 1, 2014. The feds haven’t said a word. In Vermont and Oregon, hemp farming was authorized, but no licensing program was mandated, so implementation has been delayed due to regulatory foot-dragging.

With passage of HB2445, Tennessee will most likely become the 2nd state in the country to actively produce hemp. The legislation also ensures that not only will hemp licenses be issued, but the process for doing so will start quickly. It reads:

The department shall initiate the promulgation of rules … concerning industrial hemp production within one hundred and twenty (120) days of this act becoming law…

Federal laws still remain on the books. However, the United States Department of Justice announced that it would no longer presume enforcement of federal hemp and marijuana laws last August. The announcement delivered a return of state police powers with regards to cannabis strains.

Follow Michael Lotfi on Facebook and on Twitter.

Politics, US

South Carolina legislators vote to override federal hemp ban

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COLUMBIA, March 14, 2014– On Thursday afternoon the South Carolina senate sent a bill over to the state house which would authorize the growing and production of industrial hemp within the state, effectively nullifying the unconstitutional federal ban on the same.

Introduced by Sen. Kevin Bryant along with cosponsors Sen. Lee Bright(R) (challenging US Senator Lindsey Graham) and Sen. Tom Davis(R), S.0839 passed by a 42-0 unanimous vote this week.

The bill reads, in part, “It is lawful for an individual to cultivate, produce, or otherwise grow industrial hemp in this State to be used for any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to, the manufacture of industrial hemp products, and scientific, agricultural, or other research related to other lawful applications for industrial hemp.”

Experts suggest that the U.S. market for hemp is around $500 million per year. They count as many as 25,000 uses for industrial hemp, including food, cosmetics, plastics and bio-fuel. The U.S. is currently the world’s #1 importer of hemp fiber for various products, with China and Canada acting as the top two exporters in the world.

This month, President Barack Obama signed a new farm bill into law, which included a provision allowing a handful of states to begin limited research programs growing hemp. The new “hemp amendment”

…allows State Agriculture Departments, colleges and universities to grow hemp, defined as the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis, for academic or agricultural research purposes, but it applies only to states where industrial hemp farming is already legal under state law.

Three states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed similar measures. Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013, effectively nullifying federal restrictions on such agricultural activities.

S.0839 now moves on to the state house where it will first be assigned to a committee for consideration before the full house has an opportunity to send the bill to Gov. Haley’s desk for a signature.

Follow Michael Lotfi on Facebook and on Twitter.

Politics, US

BREAKING: Washington State Legislators Pass Hemp Nullification Bill

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Rep. Matthew Shea Gets Hemp Bill Passed in Washington State House
Rep. Matthew Shea Gets Hemp Bill Passed in Washington State House

Olympia, Wa., February 17, 2014– State legislators in the Washington House of Representatives just voted unanimously (97:0) to approve HB1888, which effectively nullifies the federal ban on hemp within the state of Washington.

State Rep. Matthew Shea (R-Spokane Valley) is the bill’s main sponsor. “This is a phenomenal bill, expanding freedom, allowing jobs to be created – a new market here in Washington state – the potential state economic impact is in the tens of millions if not hundreds of millions,” said Shea.

From the bill:

“This act attempts to reassert this original meaning of the commerce clause over wide areas of policy and effectively nullify federal laws and regulations that violate such limitations by regulating commerce and other activities that are solely intrastate.”

Experts count as many as 25,000 uses for industrial hemp, including food, cosmetics, plastics and bio-fuel. The U.S. currently imports hemp products, primarily from China and Canada.

Last week, President Barack Obama signed a new farm bill into law, which included a provision allowing a handful of states to begin limited research programs growing hemp. The new “hemp amendment”

…allows State Agriculture Departments, colleges and universities to grow hemp, defined as the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis, for academic or agricultural research purposes, but it applies only to states where industrial hemp farming is already legal under state law.

Tenth Amendment Center executive director Michael Boldin weighed in on the Washington state legislature’s move:

“While Pres. Obama and the federal government play games by allowing limited hemp growing for “research,” legislators in Washington State are telling the feds to butt out by moving forward with a bill to allow full scale farming and production of this essential crop,” he said. “Every state should nullify these unconstitutional federal restrictions on industrial hemp.”

Three states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed ssimilar measures. Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013 and have essentially ignored the limitations set forth in the new federal Farm Bill.

The Washington State Senate will now take up the bill. A vote is expected within the coming weeks.

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Politics, US

Federal Government Legalizes Hemp

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marijuana

WASHINGTON, February 5, 2014- After three years of negotiations, the Farm Bill passed both chambers of Congress on Tuesday. Hemp wasn’t necessarily one of the largely debated topics. However, hidden deep within the bill, a clause lurked that allows for colleges and universities to grow hemp for research purposes pending the respective states have legalized hemp.

So far, Oregon, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, California, Kentucky, Vermont, West Virginia and Maine have legalized hemp. Also, more than a dozen states are moving pro-hemp bills through their state legislatures this season.

The bill still has to be signed by Obama before becoming law. He is not expected to oppose it.

Tenth Amendment Center executive director Michael Boldin notes that it isn’t “completely legal”, but many states are already growing hemp regardless of the federal ban, and this move will certainly propel the movement to an unstoppable pace.

“Fields of hemp growing in Colorado already. Vermont legalized late last summer, and multiple other states are considering bills to do the same this year,” said Boldin. “Credit doesn’t go to the feds on this one. It belongs to the states, which had the courage to stand up to unconstitutional laws, and force the change on a national level.”

The Tenth Amendment Center is a national think tank pushing for the passage of pro-hemp bills within each state.

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US

Farm Bill with Hemp Resolution Passes House

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This article was submitted by guest contributor Derrick Broze

In what could be the beginning of a new attitude towards hemp, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a major farm bill on Wednesday that included a provision to allow the cultivation of the long prohibited plant. Hemp is the term for varieties of Cannabis Sativa plants and its products, which contain only trace amounts of THC and are not used as a recreational drug. THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant and found only in trace amounts in hemp fiber, oil, and seeds.

The House voted 251-166 to pass the bill with a resolution allowing universities and state departments of agriculture to grow hemp for research. The resolution only applies to states where industrial use of hemp is legal. The ten states that allow legal growing of hemp include: Colorado, Washington, California, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer stated, “We can go ahead and proceed with the pilot project.”

The measure had bipartisan support from Democrats in states where medical marijuana is legal and Republicans interested in using the plant as a cash crop in their home states. Eric Steenstra, president of the advocacy group Vote Hemp, was supportive of the action stating, “We’ve been pushing for this a long time”. The bill now heads to the Senate for a vote.

Despite federal law declaring hemp to be illegal, the United States experienced it’s first cultivation of a hemp plant last October. Farmer Ryan Loflin planted 55 acres of hemp after Colorado passed the historic law to allow recreational use of marijuana and cultivation of hemp.

Colorado’s Hemp Advisory Committee developed rules for the farming of hemp which are then approved by Colorado’s Department of Agriculture. Farmers must register, pay an annual fee of two hundred dollars, and one dollar per acre planted. Plants will also be regularly inspected for traces of THC higher than .3 percent.

If the farm bill is signed by President Obama private cultivation will still be illegal on a federal level but universities within states with legal hemp will be allowed to grow. Individuals within those states who choose to plant and cultivate will still be operating in a legal gray area but it is unlikely the federal government will pursue individual growers.

Currently the hemp industry is a multibillion dollar industry worldwide. The United States alone imported $11.5 million of legal hemp in 2011. China is currently the number one producer of hemp products. The legal cultivation of hemp plants is hoped to spark an economic revolution not seen since the second World War.

A Brief History of Hemp

Hemp has been cultivated around the world for thousands of years. Historical records show the importance of the crop as a method for making rope, paper, textiles, and as a food source. However, as early as 1906 the United States began passing legislation to ban or limit the growth of hemp. The International Opium Convention of 1925 banned exportation of “Indian hemp”, also known as hashish, to countries where it was prohibited. The convention also set up a system of regulatory certificates for importing of the crop.

Between 1914 and 1933 thirty three states passed laws restricting hemp production to strictly industrial. The laws were part of a growing effort to restrict access to marijuana and its effects. In 1937 the Marihuana Tax Act labeled hemp as a drug and effectively killed the expansion of the crop.

During World War II the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched production of hemp to provide for the war effort. Citizens were encouraged to grow hemp and a pro hemp war movie was even produced (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xHCkOnn-A). The hemp was used for laces on shoes of American soldiers, parachute webbing, tack and gear, and many more used on Navy ships. (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32725.pdf) Eventually the United States hemp production reached over 150 million pounds a year.

Since that time hemp has been regulated as a narcotic and cultivation prohibited. There are a number of great books that delve deeper into the history of hemp and marijuana and the reasons the plants were made illegal and the disastrous Drug War initiated. I recommend “Cannabis: A History” (http://books.google.com/books/about/Cannabis.html?id=O7AoY6ljSygC) for anyone wanting to understand the financial interests and racist mentality that existed at the time Cannabis was made illegal.

The Future of Cultivation

With an abundance of uses for hemp one wonders why the United States would continue policies that restrict financial growth, and carry forth policies based on fear, greed and racism. Hemp is capable of creating more fuel efficient cars, as well as cars made from hemp itself much like Henry Ford’s famous hemp car (www.youtube.com/watch?v=srgE6Tzi3Lg‎). Hemp can be used to create “hempcrete” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hempcrete) a sustainable alternative for building homes. Hemp could potentially revolutionize the way you drive your car, the clothes you wear, the way you harness energy and much more.

Perhaps the United States is on the way towards a more sensible attitude on products that were once deemed dangerous to moral society. By shaking off the misconceptions of the past we can ensure a more prosperous, free future.
One final note: Knowing that legislators often craft large bills with many unseen resolutions and agendas I suggest more research on the full contents of the Farm Bill that is currently headed to the Senate. It would not be the first time the authorities show us one hand (hemp cultivation) while carrying out more detrimental actions with the other. Be ever vigilant, and educate yourself.

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Derrick Broze is an investigative journalist, community activist, gardener and promoter from Houston, Texas. He is the co-founder of The Houston Free Thinkers, and co-host of Free Thinker Radio. Broze also hosts and produces a weekly podcast under the name the Conscious Resistance Live. His writing can be found on TheConsciousResistance.com , The Liberty Beat, the Anti-Media, Activist Post, and other independent media sources.

Politics, US

West Virginia moves to nullify federal hemp ban

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state hIf passed, HB3011 would effectively nullify the federal ban on hemp cultivation. The West Virginia House joins many other states who are seeking to nullify the federal ban this legislative season.

H.B. 3011 has strong bipartisan support. The bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Manypenny (D), with Reps. Walker (D), Swartzmiller (D), Canterbury (R) and Ambler (R) signed on as co-sponsors.

The bill would allow for farmers to apply for state permits that allow cultivation of industrial hemp.

The preamble of the bill is stated as to allow the state to “remove the provision that requires an applicant to meet federal requirements concerning the production, distribution and sale of industrial hemp prior to being licensed to grow hemp for industrial purposes in the state.”

Follow Michael Lotfi on Facebook & on Twitter: @MichaelLotfi

Politics, US

Two States Move To Nullify Hemp: One Moves For Marijuana

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Tennessee and South Carolina are both moving this legislative season to nullify the federal ban on hemp.

Last month South Carolina introduced SB0839, which would effectively nullify the federal ban on hemp. The bill would “provide that it is lawful to grow industrial hemp in this state; to clarify that industrial hemp is excluded from the definition of marijuana; to prohibit growing industrial hemp and marijuana on the same property or otherwise growing marijuana in close proximity to industrial hemp to disguise the marijuana growth; and to define necessary terms.”

South Carolina’s proposed law simply ignores the federal ban on industrial hemp, which falls under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.

The Tennessee state legislature began talks last Summer about introducing a hemp nullification bill. That bill has now been filed in the general assembly. State Rep. Jeremy Fasion has filed the House bill, and Senator Frank Niceley is expected to file the Senate bill.

Alaska looks to become the third state to legalize marijuana. The state’s plan will closely mirror that of Colorado’s. A recent state ballot initiative received more than 45k signatures. The petition only needed 30k verified signatures to land a spot on the state ballot for this year.

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Politics, US

Vermont Completely Nullifies Federal Hemp Ban

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Vermont has become the most recent state to take a stand against the federal government and nullify the federal ban on hemp cultivation. Governor Shumlin signed the new bill into law in June.

Vermont Nullifies Federal Hemp Ban
Vermont Nullifies Federal Hemp Ban

Hemp is an agricultural product which may be grown as a crop, produced, possessed, and commercially traded in Vermont pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. The cultivation of hemp shall be subject to and comply with the requirements of the accepted agricultural practices adopted under section 4810 of this title. –Senate Bill 157

According to VoteHemp, a hemp advocate website, Vermont is actually the 9th state to lift the ban on hemp, and 20 states have introduced industrial hemp legislation for the 2013 legislative season. However, what makes Vermont unique is that the new law does not hold a stipulation or amendment requiring the federal government to first lift the ban on hemp cultivation. Much like Colorado, Vermont will proceed regardless of the federal law banning hemp cultivation.

Mike Maharrey, national communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center, tells us:

“I like hemp. The Vermont bill is more aggressive than the other bills we’ve seen pass. I’ve been heavily involved in Kentucky with the passing of their hemp bill, but they are waiting for the feds to actually lift the ban. This means that farmers still will not be able to cultivate. Vermont’s bill allows farmers to go straight ahead regardless of the federal law. This is a straight nullification bill. It gives them the green light as soon as they receive the licence from the state. I think this development is extremely important for the states because you will see markets develop and flourish. If more states begin to follow this path then the federal government may be forced to lift the ban. The US is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t allow cultivation of hemp. We have to import all of it. In fact, the US imports 1/2 of all Canada’s hemp. We have thousands of manufacturing companies and stores importing raw hemp and hemp products.“

Maharrey says that many opponents argue the market for hemp doesn’t exist in America. “How can you say there isn’t a market when you have never allowed one to exist,” he counters. Maharrey adds, “If we are importing 1/2 of another country’s entire production- there is obviously a market. If not let’s lift the ban, and if the market isn’t there then it will simply vanish.”

According Ray Hanson with the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center:

“The combined retail value of hemp food and body care products sold in the United States in 2010 was $40.5 million, up more than 10 percent from 2009, according to the market research firm SPINS. (The same firm estimated that 2009 sales of hemp products reached $36.6 million.) The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) estimated that the retail value of North American hemp food, vitamin and body care products was in the range of $121 to $142 million in 2010. When clothing, auto parts, building materials and other non-food or body care products are included, the HIA estimates that the total retail value of U.S. hemp products is about $419 million.“

Politics, US

Tennessee Moves to Legalize Hemp

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NASHVILLE:  The hemp root seems to be growing deeper into the South. State senator Frank Niceley (R) is currently in the process of drafting legislation that will allow TN to follow in the footsteps of KY by bringing hemp to Tennessee. Kentucky was the first state to re-legalize industrial hemp. Niceley will wait until KY moves forward to see how successful they are in the endeavor before introducing his bill in the next legislative season. Niceley says, “The first flag of the Revolution made by Betsy Ross was woven from the strongest fabric availible, hemp.”

State Senator Frank Niceley (R), A Farmer From Strawberry Plains, TN.
Picture: State Senator Frank Niceley (R), A  Businessman & Farmer From Strawberry Plains, TN.

State representative Andy Holt (R) is assisting Niceley in the journey to legalize hemp. Representative Holt tells us:

“Let me start off by saying that I am the farthest thing from a weed-smoking hippie. I am simply an advocate for strong & sound agricultural policy, and this is one issue that should be addressed so that Tennessee Farmers can begin participating in a new and potentially thriving market. There are innumerable products that can be derived from hemp and I am an advocate for bio-based product development where a balance of symbiotic benefit can be achieved by those in production agriculture and those buyers of products that can be effectively and economically produced with the use of industrial hemp fiber. It’s a win, win. We diversify the agricultural opportunities of the Southeastern United States and supply a locally derived product, or product substitute, to individual or industrial consumers.”

Niceley has a rich history of introducing bills that nullify federal laws, which he views unconstitutional. He introduced a bill to nullify the United Nations within the state of Tennessee. He has also introduced legislation to nullify the 17th amendment and restore the constitutional election process of US senators in Tennessee. He is a bit of a hero to local Tenth Amendment advocates.

If successful, Tennessee will still endure backlash from the feds. Hemp has been illegal to cultivate in America since the late 1930s. In Kentucky, US senators Rand Paul (R) and Mitch McConnel (R) have promised support from D.C.. However, Tennessee may not be so lucky in getting support from their two US Senators as they are consistently at odds with their constituents. In fact, US senator Bob Corker (R-TN) came out strongly against Niceley’s attempt to effectively nullify the 17th amendment in Tennessee because it would have meant a more difficult re-election process for the embattled senator. Many noted this was the first time Corker had ever gone out of his way to be involved in state politics, which drives home the issues of the 17th amendment for Niceley.

Supporters of Niceley and Holt have set up an “Industrial Hemp for TN” Facebook page for Tennesseans to stay interacted with the legislators’ progress. Niceley and Holt are expected to have an influx of grassroots support for their legislation.