Statement on Hemp History Week by Congressman Ron Paul United States House of Representatives

May 6, 2010 – Madam Speaker, I rise to speak about Hemp History Week. To celebrate the American heritage of growing industrial hemp, the Hemp Industries Association, Vote Hemp, several American manufacturers, and allied companies and organizations have declared May 17 to May 23 to be Hemp History Week. Throughout the week, people will recognize America’s legacy of industrial hemp farming and call for reinstating respect for farmers’ basic right to grow industrial hemp.

Industrial hemp was legally grown throughout our country for many years. In fact, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew industrial hemp and used it to make cloth. During World War II, the federal government encouraged American farmers to grow hemp to help the war effort.

Despite industrial hemp farming being an important part of American history, the federal government has banned cultivation of this crop. In every other industrialized country, industrial hemp, defined to contain less than 0.3 percent THC–the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, may be legally grown. Nobody can be psychologically affected by consuming industrial hemp. Unfortunately, because of a federal policy that does not distinguish between growing industrial hemp and growing marijuana, all hemp products and materials must be imported. The result is high prices, outsourced jobs, and lost opportunities for American manufacturing.

Reintroducing industrial hemp farming in the United States would bring jobs to communities struggling in today’s economy, provide American farmers with another crop alternative, and encourage the development of hemp processing factories near American hemp farming.

Industrial hemp is used in many products. For example, industrial hemp is used in protein supplements, non-dairy milk, and frozen desserts. Hemp flour is in breads, crackers, chips, dips, and dressings. Hemp seeds may be eaten plain or added to prepared foods. Additionally, hemp oil is used in a number of cosmetic and body care products, and hemp fiber is used in cloths. Industrial hemp is also present in bio-composite materials used in buildings and automobiles.

I first introduced the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (HR 1866) five years ago to end the federal government’s ban on American farmers growing industrial hemp. In this time, the industrial hemp industry has grown much larger. Despite its American history, industrial hemp is the only crop that we can buy and sell but not farm in the United States. The federal government should change the law to allow American farmers grow this profitable crop as American farmers have through most of our nation’s history. Please cosponsor the Industrial Hemp Farming Act and join me in celebrating Hemp History Week.

Source: Ron Paul.Com

February 28, 2010 – A bill introduced by a Stevens Point lawmaker would allow Wisconsin farmers to grow industrial hemp with a state license.

Currently, farmers in the state are prohibited under state and federal law from producing hemp, which is cultivated from Cannabis sativa, the same plant used to grow marijuana.

The strains of the plant used in hemp production differ from those grown for marijuana because they contain less than .03 percent THC, which produces mind-altering effects. Marijuana can contain anywhere from 6 percent to 7 percent THC.

Industrial hemp is produced from the stalk of the plant, and is used to produce a variety of fibers, including rope.

Introduced by State Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., a Democrat, the measure would require the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to permit farmers to grow and process Cannabis sativa, as long as it contains no more than .03 percent THC. Farmers would be required to provide a legal description of the land where the hemp would be grown or processed and to report all sales. Any person convicted of violating controlled substance laws would not be eligible.

Molepske said there hasn’t been a great deal of demand from area farmers to grow the crop, but that is largely because of a federal ban that prohibits farmers from growing the plant. The DEA can license farmers to grow industrial hemp, but rarely does. North Dakota, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, West Virginia, Vermont and Oregon already have legalized the cultivation of hemp, but have not let farmers grow the plant because of DEA resistance.

The legislation would not lift the federal ban, but would allow the DATCP, not the DEA, to oversee the growth of such crops. Molepske said being prepared for a change in the law makes sense, especially since U.S. Representatives Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Barney Frank, D-Mass., recently introduced legislation that would require the government to do so.

Molepske added that hemp would make a good rotational crop for potato farmers because the plant can grow in dry, sandy soil. According to Bill Tracy, Agronomy Department Chair at the University of Wisconsin, industrial hemp was a big crop in Wisconsin before 1957, when the federal ban went into effect. The Agronomy Department actually had a hemp selection program, but it was scrapped decades ago, he said.

Dick Okray, owner of Okray Family Farms, a major potato producer in the area, said he would consider planting industrial hemp as a rotational crop if the federal ban were lifted.

“If you throw me one more thing I can plant as a rotational crop or a cover crop, I’ll do it. There have been some really terrible rotational crops, but I don’t think hemp is one of those,” he said.  Source.