Sunday, September 29, 2013

California enters Industrial Hemp

SB 566 is the California Industrial Hemp farming Act and it is now law.  Governor Jerry Brown signed the Bill this past Wednesday.  State Senator Mark Leno (democrat) has been on this issue since 2005.  The bill authorizes California to cultivate Hemp as soon as the government allows it.  But technically it already does.

In 1970, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 "explicitly excludes nonpsychoactive hemp from the definition of marijuana," a decision that the federal government never appealed.

Several California governors have issued a veto to the Hemp bills in the past, but due to the economic success of Hemp in other countries and coupled with the fact we important Hemp, it seems California is waking up.

 Currently more than 30 countries (including Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany and China) and nine states have gone in this direction.  Of first legalizing its cultivation and then waiting to see what the Federal government will do with it.  Many speculate that with Holder's admission that the Federal government would not pursue states that have legalized Marijuana use through ballot iniatives, this seems to support a sense of security for farmers.

Only time will tell how this will play out but as far as Industrial Hemp is concerned; it is still a no brainer. Sb 566 is a reactionary bill that is dependent on the Federal.  But it is still a sign that the fear is beginning to wane.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Vermont raises Hemp Flag at Capitol

To celebrate constitution day in Montpelier the Vermont capitol adorned a Hemp fiber flag to acknowledge the legislative victories on Hemp cultivation.  The flag had already been flown over the nations capitol and also Colorado.  The Hemp flag has become not only  a symbol for Hemp farming but also a rallying point for people fighting for farm sovereignty.

The new legislation, passed by Vermont lawmakers earlier this year, removes barriers to hemp production in the state. Vermont joins eight other states with similar legislation on the books.

Vermont's rules currently stand at odds with federal policy. Although hemp fabric can be imported, federal law places restrictions on hemp cultivation in the United States, due to the plant's trace amounts of THC, the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana. While industrial hemp contains an extremely low concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the Drug Enforcement Agency makes no distinction between recreational marijuana and its non-psychoactive cousin -- all cannabis plans are classified as Schedule I substances.

Betsy Ross had made the entire flag out of hemp fiber material.  It has been reborn throughout America.