Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
An image makeover for cannabis isn't limited to convincing lawmakers that the drug can help children with seizures and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
As a proposal to allow use of medical marijuana makes headway, a growing segment of the farming community is pushing for relaxed bans on hemp production, as well.
Last year's federal Farm Bill allowed state universities and agriculture departments to conduct research on industrial-grade hemp. Twenty states have allowed for some production of hemp, which can be used in food, fiber, plastics, building materials, textiles and paper, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A handful of states have leap-frogged federal limits and allowed for even broader commercial production.
In Pennsylvania, businesses can use hemp products, but farmers cannot grow it. A proposal in the Legislature would allow farmers to follow the federal guidelines, growing a limited supply of hemp for research purposes.
"That's why this bill is a game-changer, said Steve Auerbach, a lawyer who heads the lobbying group Cannabis Growers Association of Pennsylvania.
State Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks County, who proposes allowing limited hemp production, compared differences in cannabis plants - those prized by marijuana users and the kind used in hemp production - to differences between sweet corn and field corn.
The industrial-grade hemp plant contains relatively little of the psychoactive chemicals that create a high for marijuana users.
Schwank noted that hemp parachute straps were used by former President George H. W. Bush when he was a World War II fighter pilot. The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp. The flag made by Betsy Ross was sewn from the plant's fibers, as well.
Auerbach uses a different analogy: He said marijuana and hemp are as closely related as a lemon and a grapefruit. "You'd have to smoke a joint the size of a telephone pole," to get high from hemp, he said.
In North Dakota, Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed a law in March that allows for commercial production of hemp and suggested that the federal regulations should not interfere with the state's plans.
Schwank said a plan like North Dakota's "would have been a step too far" in Pennsylvania.
"I wanted to put something out that could pass," she said.
That frustrates Shawn Freeman House, of Lancaster, who imports hemp seeds from Canada to make pretzels.
House, who sells "Hempzels" at markets in south-central Pennsylvania, said Schwank's bill doesn't go far enough.
"It's sad," he said. "Other states will overtake us."
Auerbach disagreed. Beginning with a research-focused program will allow the product to get established, he said, noting that other efforts to introduce new crops have resulted in debacles when demand didn't develop quickly enough.
A bid to embrace industrial hemp comes as the Legislature considers a parallel proposal to allow medical use of some varieties of cannabis.
It's no accident that the two are moving at the same time.
Controversy over medical marijuana is creating a greater awareness about distinctions between marijuana used recreationally and other cannabis varieties that have different uses, Auerbach said.
A Senate committee approved a medical marijuana bill on April 21. The full Senate approved a medical marijuana bill last year, but the measure died without ever making it to a floor vote in the House.
The Senate and House agriculture committees will hold hearings in mid-May to consider allowing research programs to grow industrial hemp.
Likely participants include scientists, growers and representatives of businesses that use hemp, said Mike Rader, executive director of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Farmers lobby to grow industrial-grade hemp - New Castle News: News
Author: John Finnerty
Contact: jfinnerty@cnhinews.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: New Castle News: Where our community clicks
As a proposal to allow use of medical marijuana makes headway, a growing segment of the farming community is pushing for relaxed bans on hemp production, as well.
Last year's federal Farm Bill allowed state universities and agriculture departments to conduct research on industrial-grade hemp. Twenty states have allowed for some production of hemp, which can be used in food, fiber, plastics, building materials, textiles and paper, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A handful of states have leap-frogged federal limits and allowed for even broader commercial production.
In Pennsylvania, businesses can use hemp products, but farmers cannot grow it. A proposal in the Legislature would allow farmers to follow the federal guidelines, growing a limited supply of hemp for research purposes.
"That's why this bill is a game-changer, said Steve Auerbach, a lawyer who heads the lobbying group Cannabis Growers Association of Pennsylvania.
State Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks County, who proposes allowing limited hemp production, compared differences in cannabis plants - those prized by marijuana users and the kind used in hemp production - to differences between sweet corn and field corn.
The industrial-grade hemp plant contains relatively little of the psychoactive chemicals that create a high for marijuana users.
Schwank noted that hemp parachute straps were used by former President George H. W. Bush when he was a World War II fighter pilot. The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp. The flag made by Betsy Ross was sewn from the plant's fibers, as well.
Auerbach uses a different analogy: He said marijuana and hemp are as closely related as a lemon and a grapefruit. "You'd have to smoke a joint the size of a telephone pole," to get high from hemp, he said.
In North Dakota, Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed a law in March that allows for commercial production of hemp and suggested that the federal regulations should not interfere with the state's plans.
Schwank said a plan like North Dakota's "would have been a step too far" in Pennsylvania.
"I wanted to put something out that could pass," she said.
That frustrates Shawn Freeman House, of Lancaster, who imports hemp seeds from Canada to make pretzels.
House, who sells "Hempzels" at markets in south-central Pennsylvania, said Schwank's bill doesn't go far enough.
"It's sad," he said. "Other states will overtake us."
Auerbach disagreed. Beginning with a research-focused program will allow the product to get established, he said, noting that other efforts to introduce new crops have resulted in debacles when demand didn't develop quickly enough.
A bid to embrace industrial hemp comes as the Legislature considers a parallel proposal to allow medical use of some varieties of cannabis.
It's no accident that the two are moving at the same time.
Controversy over medical marijuana is creating a greater awareness about distinctions between marijuana used recreationally and other cannabis varieties that have different uses, Auerbach said.
A Senate committee approved a medical marijuana bill on April 21. The full Senate approved a medical marijuana bill last year, but the measure died without ever making it to a floor vote in the House.
The Senate and House agriculture committees will hold hearings in mid-May to consider allowing research programs to grow industrial hemp.
Likely participants include scientists, growers and representatives of businesses that use hemp, said Mike Rader, executive director of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Farmers lobby to grow industrial-grade hemp - New Castle News: News
Author: John Finnerty
Contact: jfinnerty@cnhinews.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: New Castle News: Where our community clicks
