Robert Celt
New Member
To Steven Wilson's knowledge, Missouri is one of the most misinformed states about industrial hemp.
He founded the Central Missouri Industrial Hemp Network to educate Missourians about the potential positive effects of legalizing the product. On Wednesday morning, Wilson and other members of the network took their advocacy efforts to the Capitol for the organization's second annual Hemp Day.
"There's a stigma that we're trying to get rid of," Wilson said. "I try to do that with products and information."
Hemp comes from the cannabis sativa plant and is used for the nutritional values in its seeds and its coarse fiber. The production of industrial hemp has been illegal in the U.S. since 1937, except for a brief period during World War II, according to previous Missourian reporting.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wilson explained time and again the potential ecological and economic benefits of industrial hemp to passersby.
He sat behind a table on which he displayed industrial hemp products, including food, beer, diapers, T-shirts and socks. Retailers in Jefferson City, Columbia and Rolla sell industrial hemp products.
The network also displayed a block of hempcrete, blocks made of hemp and lime, used by Alembic Studio, a North Carolina-based home design and building team that builds hempcrete homes.
Hempcrete allows moisture in the air to be absorbed and then released, making it mold resistant. Hempcrete also acts as an insulator, reducing the need for fluctuations in heating and cooling, according to the Alembic Studio website.
Hempcrete homes might come to Missouri in 2017. Hemp Technologies Collective, a team of companies that supply hempcrete materials and specialize in architectural design, is setting up a distributorship in Missouri, Wilson said. He added that the collective is looking to build a home in the Joplin or Springfield area.
The public often incorrectly thinks advocates of industrial hemp are also pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana.
"They keep bringing up legalizing marijuana," Wilson said. "But industrial hemp is not a drug; it's a product."
Missouri law doesn't allow residents to grow their own industrial hemp. Two bills passed by the House Select committee on Agriculture last week might change that.
Reps. Paul Curtman, R-Union, and Craig Redmon, R-Canton, are each sponsoring bills that would legalize the growth of industrial hemp in Missouri. The Missouri Farm Bureau opposes the bills because it believes commercial use of hemp is illegal under federal law, according to previous Missourian reporting.
Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, is also sponsoring a bill that would legalize growth of industrial hemp. Munzlinger's bill would require farmers to obtain permits to grow hemp and it would create a committee to monitor hemp farms. The committee could charge a fee or revoke the permit at any time if farmers don't follow the regulations.
Wilson said he is concerned about the oversight on farmers the bill would set up.
"Farmers are turned off because of the oversight," Wilson said. "No one wants the threat of losing their crop yield."
In addition, the U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances. U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, is a co-sponsor of that legislation.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Hemp Advocacy Group Takes Efforts To Missouri Capitol
Author: Emily O'Conner
Contact: Missourian
Photo Credit: CBDRx
Website: Missourian
He founded the Central Missouri Industrial Hemp Network to educate Missourians about the potential positive effects of legalizing the product. On Wednesday morning, Wilson and other members of the network took their advocacy efforts to the Capitol for the organization's second annual Hemp Day.
"There's a stigma that we're trying to get rid of," Wilson said. "I try to do that with products and information."
Hemp comes from the cannabis sativa plant and is used for the nutritional values in its seeds and its coarse fiber. The production of industrial hemp has been illegal in the U.S. since 1937, except for a brief period during World War II, according to previous Missourian reporting.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wilson explained time and again the potential ecological and economic benefits of industrial hemp to passersby.
He sat behind a table on which he displayed industrial hemp products, including food, beer, diapers, T-shirts and socks. Retailers in Jefferson City, Columbia and Rolla sell industrial hemp products.
The network also displayed a block of hempcrete, blocks made of hemp and lime, used by Alembic Studio, a North Carolina-based home design and building team that builds hempcrete homes.
Hempcrete allows moisture in the air to be absorbed and then released, making it mold resistant. Hempcrete also acts as an insulator, reducing the need for fluctuations in heating and cooling, according to the Alembic Studio website.
Hempcrete homes might come to Missouri in 2017. Hemp Technologies Collective, a team of companies that supply hempcrete materials and specialize in architectural design, is setting up a distributorship in Missouri, Wilson said. He added that the collective is looking to build a home in the Joplin or Springfield area.
The public often incorrectly thinks advocates of industrial hemp are also pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana.
"They keep bringing up legalizing marijuana," Wilson said. "But industrial hemp is not a drug; it's a product."
Missouri law doesn't allow residents to grow their own industrial hemp. Two bills passed by the House Select committee on Agriculture last week might change that.
Reps. Paul Curtman, R-Union, and Craig Redmon, R-Canton, are each sponsoring bills that would legalize the growth of industrial hemp in Missouri. The Missouri Farm Bureau opposes the bills because it believes commercial use of hemp is illegal under federal law, according to previous Missourian reporting.
Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, is also sponsoring a bill that would legalize growth of industrial hemp. Munzlinger's bill would require farmers to obtain permits to grow hemp and it would create a committee to monitor hemp farms. The committee could charge a fee or revoke the permit at any time if farmers don't follow the regulations.
Wilson said he is concerned about the oversight on farmers the bill would set up.
"Farmers are turned off because of the oversight," Wilson said. "No one wants the threat of losing their crop yield."
In addition, the U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances. U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, is a co-sponsor of that legislation.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Hemp Advocacy Group Takes Efforts To Missouri Capitol
Author: Emily O'Conner
Contact: Missourian
Photo Credit: CBDRx
Website: Missourian
