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Two state legislators are proposing to legalize hemp farming in Tennessee, even though it is prohibited by federal law.
Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, said the chief objective of a hemp legalization bill he's drafting with Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, for introduction in the Legislature next year is to "put pressure on Congress" to repeal the federal prohibition.
The legislators' fellow Republicans in the Tennessee congressional delegation are apparently less than enthusiastic about the idea, which has been criticized by some law enforcement officers as potentially weakening efforts to combat the illegal growth of marijuana, a plant closely related to hemp.
Currently, Niceley said, the U.S. imports about $500 million worth of industrial hemp each year, mostly from China, that could instead be grown as a profitable crop by American farmers. But without repeal of the federal ban, legalization in Tennessee would be largely a symbolic gesture since farmers could not market their product in interstate commerce.
Niceley, a farmer, said hemp has a long history in the United States and does not have the intoxicating effects of its "cousin" plant.
"Betsy Ross's first American flag was made of hemp. Cowboys used to have jeans made of hemp. The cover on covered wagons headed west was made of hemp," he said.
"You can import it. You can process it for thousands of uses. You can own it. Why is it illegal to raise it?"
Niceley said he believes the federal ban is an example of "discrimination against farmers."
Legislators in seven other states have voted to legalize hemp within their borders, most recently Kentucky, the senator said.
Congressional leaders in Washington, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul, have been leaders in pushing for repeal of the federal ban.
"The utilization of hemp to produce everything from clothing to paper is real, and if there is a capacity to center a new domestic industry in Kentucky that will create jobs in these difficult economic times, that sounds like a good thing to me," McConnell said in a statement earlier this year.
Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker declined to take a position. "While we have not spent a great deal of time on the issue, we think it should be fully vetted and debated at the appropriate time," Laura Herzog, spokeswoman for Corker, wrote in an email.
Alexander took a similar position. "This is a very interesting proposal that has a good economic argument behind it. Unfortunately, an amendment by Sen. Paul to allow industrial hemp to be grown and processed was not considered during the farm bill debate, but Sen.Alexander will carefully consider this issue going forward," Jim Jeffries, spokesman for Alexander, wrote in an email.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, an amendment to the farm bill sponsored by Rep. Jared Polis, R-Colo., would have legalized growing hemp for research purposes and was approved 225-200 on June 20. All seven of Tennessee's Republican representatives voted no – including Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. of Knoxville – while the state's two Democrats voted yes.
However, the bill to which the amendment was attached then failed on a final vote, and a Washington Post article said Polis' hemp amendment might have been a "poison pill" that killed the overall bill.
Duncan explained his no vote in a statement relayed by Marion Dill, his deputy press secretary:
"I have nothing against a college or university doing research on hemp if done properly. There were no hearings on the Polis hemp amendment, which was part of the farm bill. This amendment was also opposed by the leadership of the Agriculture Committee.
"There were concerns there were not enough controls in place to be able to track or regulate the growing of this product. I am certainly willing to take a look into this issue further in the future."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: knoxnews.com
Author: Michael Collins
Contact: Staff and Contacts for Knoxville News Sentinel
Website: Bill would legalize banned crop in spite of federal law » Knoxville News Sentinel
Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, said the chief objective of a hemp legalization bill he's drafting with Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, for introduction in the Legislature next year is to "put pressure on Congress" to repeal the federal prohibition.
The legislators' fellow Republicans in the Tennessee congressional delegation are apparently less than enthusiastic about the idea, which has been criticized by some law enforcement officers as potentially weakening efforts to combat the illegal growth of marijuana, a plant closely related to hemp.
Currently, Niceley said, the U.S. imports about $500 million worth of industrial hemp each year, mostly from China, that could instead be grown as a profitable crop by American farmers. But without repeal of the federal ban, legalization in Tennessee would be largely a symbolic gesture since farmers could not market their product in interstate commerce.
Niceley, a farmer, said hemp has a long history in the United States and does not have the intoxicating effects of its "cousin" plant.
"Betsy Ross's first American flag was made of hemp. Cowboys used to have jeans made of hemp. The cover on covered wagons headed west was made of hemp," he said.
"You can import it. You can process it for thousands of uses. You can own it. Why is it illegal to raise it?"
Niceley said he believes the federal ban is an example of "discrimination against farmers."
Legislators in seven other states have voted to legalize hemp within their borders, most recently Kentucky, the senator said.
Congressional leaders in Washington, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul, have been leaders in pushing for repeal of the federal ban.
"The utilization of hemp to produce everything from clothing to paper is real, and if there is a capacity to center a new domestic industry in Kentucky that will create jobs in these difficult economic times, that sounds like a good thing to me," McConnell said in a statement earlier this year.
Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker declined to take a position. "While we have not spent a great deal of time on the issue, we think it should be fully vetted and debated at the appropriate time," Laura Herzog, spokeswoman for Corker, wrote in an email.
Alexander took a similar position. "This is a very interesting proposal that has a good economic argument behind it. Unfortunately, an amendment by Sen. Paul to allow industrial hemp to be grown and processed was not considered during the farm bill debate, but Sen.Alexander will carefully consider this issue going forward," Jim Jeffries, spokesman for Alexander, wrote in an email.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, an amendment to the farm bill sponsored by Rep. Jared Polis, R-Colo., would have legalized growing hemp for research purposes and was approved 225-200 on June 20. All seven of Tennessee's Republican representatives voted no – including Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. of Knoxville – while the state's two Democrats voted yes.
However, the bill to which the amendment was attached then failed on a final vote, and a Washington Post article said Polis' hemp amendment might have been a "poison pill" that killed the overall bill.
Duncan explained his no vote in a statement relayed by Marion Dill, his deputy press secretary:
"I have nothing against a college or university doing research on hemp if done properly. There were no hearings on the Polis hemp amendment, which was part of the farm bill. This amendment was also opposed by the leadership of the Agriculture Committee.
"There were concerns there were not enough controls in place to be able to track or regulate the growing of this product. I am certainly willing to take a look into this issue further in the future."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: knoxnews.com
Author: Michael Collins
Contact: Staff and Contacts for Knoxville News Sentinel
Website: Bill would legalize banned crop in spite of federal law » Knoxville News Sentinel
