LdyLunatic
i wanna be cool too!
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http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml Sacramento -- California lawmakers narrowly passed a bill Monday that would allow California's farmers to tap into the $270 million hemp industry by providing the raw materials used to create hemp products.
The bill, AB1147, is a bipartisan effort by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine (Orange County), that would allow California's farmers to produce hemp oil, seed and fiber -- the raw materials that are used in hemp products.
Industrial hemp, marijuana's nonhallucinogenic cousin, is used to produce personal care products, food, paper, clothing, car parts and building materials.
Because state law does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana crops, farmers have been reluctant to grow hemp, fearful that their crops could be confiscated, said DeVore, the only Republican Assembly member to support the bill.
Currently raw hemp is imported from about 30 countries that allow the farming of hemp.
The bill would require farmers to undergo crop testing to ensure that their variety of the cannabis plant is nonhallucinogenic in return for assurances that their crops won't be confiscated by law-enforcement officials.
"Hundreds of hemp products are made right here in California, but manufacturers are forced to import hemp seed, oil and fiber from other countries," said Leno. "When this bill becomes law, it will be an economic bonanza for California."
Despite their chemical differences and their physical differences -- marijuana is a bushy plant that grows up to 6 feet tall while hemp resembles bamboo shoots and reaches heights of 16 feet -- the measure was nearly defeated because lawmakers were spooked by hemp's close relationship to marijuana.
Snipped:
Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/zq3fl Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Author: Kimberly Geiger, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Published: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - Page B - 2
Copyright: 2006 Hearst Communications Inc.
The bill, AB1147, is a bipartisan effort by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine (Orange County), that would allow California's farmers to produce hemp oil, seed and fiber -- the raw materials that are used in hemp products.
Industrial hemp, marijuana's nonhallucinogenic cousin, is used to produce personal care products, food, paper, clothing, car parts and building materials.
Because state law does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana crops, farmers have been reluctant to grow hemp, fearful that their crops could be confiscated, said DeVore, the only Republican Assembly member to support the bill.
Currently raw hemp is imported from about 30 countries that allow the farming of hemp.
The bill would require farmers to undergo crop testing to ensure that their variety of the cannabis plant is nonhallucinogenic in return for assurances that their crops won't be confiscated by law-enforcement officials.
"Hundreds of hemp products are made right here in California, but manufacturers are forced to import hemp seed, oil and fiber from other countries," said Leno. "When this bill becomes law, it will be an economic bonanza for California."
Despite their chemical differences and their physical differences -- marijuana is a bushy plant that grows up to 6 feet tall while hemp resembles bamboo shoots and reaches heights of 16 feet -- the measure was nearly defeated because lawmakers were spooked by hemp's close relationship to marijuana.
Snipped:
Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/zq3fl Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Author: Kimberly Geiger, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Published: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - Page B - 2
Copyright: 2006 Hearst Communications Inc.
good grief 
