ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE OKS HEMP BILL

[Tafari]

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE OKS HEMP BILL

SACRAMENTO--Legislation that would allow California farmers to grow industrial hemp, a distant cousin of marijuana that can be used in making myriad products, has been approved by a state Assembly committee.

The measure by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, cleared the Public Safety Committee on Tuesday night, 4-2, and was sent to the Appropriations Committee, the last stop before the full Assembly.

Hemp is imported to the United States from Canada and other countries and can be used to make clothing, cosmetics, food, paper, rope, jewelry, luggage, sports equipment, toys and a variety of other products.

But hemp can't be legally grown in the United States without a federal Drug Enforcement Administration permit that often is difficult to obtain. Hemp contains a trace of tetrahydrocannabinols, or THC, the drug in marijuana.

Leno's bill would allow California farmers to grow hemp to sell to California manufacturers of hemp products, a limit the bill's supporters hope will avoid legal challenges to the legislation under the U.S. Constitution's interstate commerce clause.

Leno said the bill provides a "great opportunity to assist family farmers."

"California can import the entire plant to manufacture thousands of products, so manufacturers are benefiting from current law, the environment benefits, retailers benefit, consumers benefit," he said. "The only one losing out is the California farmer."



Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jan 2006
Source: Sacramento Union, The (CA)
Copyright: 2006 The Sacramento Union
Website: http://www.sacunion.com/

[DdC]

Local Ag Leader Sees Benefits in Growing Hemp By Larry Mitchell  
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record January 28, 2006 Calif. 
A local Farm Bureau leader sees potential benefits for farmers in a bill that would legalize growing "industrial hemp," a plant related to marijuana. "If it's something farmers in the area can grow and make money, and it's legal, I don't see any problem with it," said Tod Kimmelshue, a member of the boards of directors of both the state and Butte County Farm Bureau organizations.
Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21530.shtml

Cannabis for the Environment 04 Nov, 2005
Cannabis has many environmentally friendly uses...

Plants Are Targeted By Anti-Drug Corporations
Environmental Weed 31 Oct, 2005

Calif. Assembly Passes Hemp-Farming Bill By Tom Chorneau
Source: Associated Press January 26, 2006 Sacramento, CA  
A bill approved by the state Assembly Thursday would add California to the growing number of states seeking to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp — a biological relative of marijuana. Supporters claim that despite its family links, hemp is a completely safe product that could become a cash crop for California farmers because of its use in a long list of products from soap and cosmetics to rope, jewelry and even luggage.
Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21525.shtml

Mechanical Engineering February 26, 1937
The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop Than Can be Grown

"Flax and Hemp: From the Seed to the Loom" was published in the February 1938 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine. It was originally presented at the Agricultural Processing Meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in New Brunswick, NY of February 26, 1937 by the Process Industries Division.

Flax and Hemp: From the Seed to the Loom By George A. Lower
Paint and lacquer manufacturers are interested in hempseed oil which is a good drying agent. When markets have been developed for the products now being wasted, seed and hurds, hemp will prove, both for the farmer and the public, the most profitable and desirable crop that can be grown, and one that can make American mills independent of importations.

Recent floods and dust storms have given warnings against the destruction of timber. Possibly, the hitherto waste products of flax and hemp may yet meet a good part of that need, especially in the plastic field which is growing by leaps and bounds.

Hemp 77% cellulose

Genencor/NREL 2003 (pdf)
Genencor/NREL Top 100 R&D award in 2004
Ethanol's Return on Energy Investment NCGA Forum Centers 8-23-05
Tom Chorneau * www.leap.cc/events



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