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georgiaboy
04-03-2009, 11:31 AM
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-03-2009/0005000582&EDATE=

Representatives Barney Frank and Ron Paul Introduce Hemp Farming Legislation - HR 1866


WASHINGTON, April 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A federal bill was introduced yesterday that, if passed into law, would remove restrictions on the cultivation of non-psychoactive industrial hemp. The chief sponsors of HR 1866, "The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009," Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX), were joined by nine other U.S. House members split between Republicans and Democrats.


"It is unfortunate that the federal government has stood in the way of American farmers, including many who are struggling to make ends meet, from competing in the global industrial hemp market," said Representative Ron Paul during his introduction of the bill yesterday before the U.S. House. "Indeed, the founders of our nation, some of whom grew hemp, would surely find that federal restrictions on farmers growing a safe and profitable crop on their own land are inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee of a limited, restrained federal government. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to stand up for American farmers and co-sponsor the Industrial Hemp Farming Act," concluded Paul.


"With so much discussion lately in the media about drug policy, it is surprising that the tragedy of American hemp farming hasn't come up as a 'no-brainer' for reform," says Vote Hemp President, Eric Steenstra. "Hemp is a versatile, environmentally-friendly crop that has not been grown here for over fifty years because of a politicized interpretation of the nation's drug laws by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). President Obama should direct the DEA to stop confusing industrial hemp with its genetically distinct cousin, marijuana. While the new bill in Congress is a welcome step, the hemp industry is hopeful that President Obama's administration will prioritize hemp's benefits to farmers. Jobs would be created overnight, as there are numerous U.S. companies that now have no choice but to import hemp raw materials worth many millions of dollars per year," adds Steenstra.


U.S. companies that manufacture or sell products made with hemp include Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a California company who manufactures the number-one-selling natural soap, and FlexForm Technologies, an Indiana company whose natural fiber materials are used in over two million cars on the road today. Hemp food manufacturers, such as French Meadow Bakery, Hempzels, Living Harvest, Nature's Path and Nutiva, now make their products from Canadian hemp. Although hemp now grows wild across the U.S., a vestige of centuries of hemp farming here, the hemp for these products must be imported. Hemp clothing is made around the world by well-known brands such as Patagonia, Bono's Edun and Giorgio Armani.


There is strong support among key national organizations for a change in the federal government's position on hemp. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) "supports revisions to the federal rules and regulations authorizing commercial production of industrial hemp." The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has also passed a pro-hemp resolution.


Numerous individual states have expressed interest in and support for industrial hemp as well. Sixteen states have passed pro-hemp legislation, and eight states (Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia) have removed barriers to its production or research. North Dakota has been issuing state licenses to farmers for two years now. The new bill will remove federal barriers and allow laws in these states regulating the growing and processing of hemp to take effect.


"Under the current national drug control policy, industrial hemp can be imported, but it can't be grown by American farmers," says Steenstra. "The DEA has taken the Controlled Substances Act's antiquated definition of marijuana out of context and used it as an excuse to ban industrial hemp farming. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009 will return us to more rational times when the government regulated marijuana, but allowed farmers to continue raising industrial hemp just as they always had."


More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses can be found at www.VoteHemp.com.

Pennsylvania
04-03-2009, 11:37 AM
Wow, that is übercore win. We need hemp badly in this country.

zach
04-03-2009, 11:40 AM
Hey, they agree on something! :p

V3n
04-03-2009, 11:40 AM
The idea of Ron Paul and Barney Frank working together..?

I thought this was an April Fools joke!!

torchbearer
04-03-2009, 11:46 AM
The idea of Ron Paul and Barney Frank working together..?

I thought this was an April Fools joke!!

they work together on marijuana bills too.
Barney is a toker... of Mary Jane and Bob.

georgiaboy
04-03-2009, 11:47 AM
this may not be the first thing you want to bring up in your GOP meetings, btw...

LibertyEagle
04-03-2009, 11:48 AM
this may not be the first thing you want to bring up in your GOP meetings, btw...

lolol.

Good point. :)

mello
04-03-2009, 11:49 AM
Which congressmen don't want this passed and what is their reasoning for their positions?

acptulsa
04-03-2009, 11:51 AM
The idea of Ron Paul and Barney Frank working together..?

I thought this was an April Fools joke!!

I still think it is!

Watch him, Dr. Paul! He may be right (for once), but he's still ***** as blazes!

torchbearer
04-03-2009, 11:51 AM
this may not be the first thing you want to bring up in your GOP meetings, btw...

I ask the local farmers, how would you like to grow a crop that can generate a $500/acre PROFIT? (most of these guys farm about 1000 acres a piece)
Get your republican farmers on board, then bring them to the meetings with you.

When you go to these meetings, always bring a group with you and an agenda that the local GOP leaders will accept or end up pissing off their voters and donors.

Feenix566
04-03-2009, 11:51 AM
In other news, a collosal explosion engulfed the entire city of Washington, DC earlier today, obliterating it from the map. Physicists called in to the scene are speculating that it was caused by a collision of matter with anti-matter in the halls on Congress.

Xenophage
04-03-2009, 12:07 PM
I loved arguing with my local GOP about gambling, prostitution, the war, and drug laws. I wish I had a video of it, especially when I got into it with an army captain.

FREEDOM!

Xenophage
04-03-2009, 12:09 PM
In other news, a collosal explosion engulfed the entire city of Washington, DC earlier today, obliterating it from the map. Physicists called in to the scene are speculating that it was caused by a collision of matter with anti-matter in the halls on Congress.

Ron Paul has to be the anti-matter, because its so much rarer. It also illuminates the mind in a PET scan!

MRoCkEd
04-03-2009, 12:27 PM
Now we just need Frank to hold hearings on 1207..

RonPaulVolunteer
04-03-2009, 12:51 PM
Ron Paul signing Barney's bill?? I bet he took a shower after that!!

Working Poor
04-03-2009, 01:09 PM
Which congressmen don't want this passed and what is their reasoning for their positions?

The ones in bed with Monsanto most likely....

acptulsa
04-03-2009, 01:20 PM
The ones in bed with Monsanto most likely....

No. The plastics manufacturers and the Big Pharma lobby who want anything remotely resembling rope to be illegal lest people discover that they could grow the best antidepressant in their back yard.

And yes. Better fuel source than corn. So, no doubt Monsanto is playing along.

amonasro
04-03-2009, 01:27 PM
No. The plastics manufacturers and the Big Pharma lobby who want anything remotely resembling rope to be illegal lest people discover that they could grow the best antidepressant in their back yard.

Also the best pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, sleep aid, appetite stimulant, stress reliever... not to mention an extremely cheap form of entertainment!

Mahkato
04-03-2009, 01:31 PM
I loved arguing with my local GOP about gambling, prostitution, the war, and drug laws. I wish I had a video of it, especially when I got into it with an army captain.

FREEDOM!

Arguing, or enlightening?

RP4EVER
04-03-2009, 08:25 PM
Actually this is Ron's bill; Barney signed onto it first...along with 9 others.

He Who Pawns
04-03-2009, 09:02 PM
Frank had a bill last year to completely legalize weed. He's good on this one issue.

james1906
04-03-2009, 09:20 PM
Frank: So politics makes for strange bedfellows, huh Ron? *wink wink nudge nudge*
Paul: This guy is ***** as blazes! *storms out of room*

Draco33
04-03-2009, 09:47 PM
they work together on marijuana bills too.
Barney is a toker... of Mary Jane and Bob.

:D That litterally made me laugh out loud... "and Bob".

Ha

Smoke the Liberty Tree
04-03-2009, 10:02 PM
....cool

blocks
04-04-2009, 12:05 AM
If recall, Frank and Dr. Paul also worked together regarding online gambling.

axiomata
04-04-2009, 12:22 AM
I still think it is!

Watch him, Dr. Paul! He may be right (for once), but he's still ***** as blazes!

Or is it a blazing *****?

Knightskye
04-04-2009, 12:33 AM
San Francisco article about the bipartisanship :):
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=37977

RideTheDirt
04-04-2009, 12:36 AM
Frank: So politics makes for strange bedfellows, huh Ron? *wink wink nudge nudge*
Paul: This guy is ***** as blazes! *storms out of room*
Lmfao!