Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jan 2006
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author: Tom Ragan, Sentinel Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENT TO LEGALIZE HEMP BEGINS ANEW TODAY

A San Francisco assemblyman is expected to take up the controversial 
issue of legalizing hemp for commercial growing when he presents the 
bill before the Assembly's Public Safety Committee today in Sacramento.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is scheduled to bring the 
bill forward this afternoon, arguing that California farmers are 
losing out to 30 other countries, including Canada, where hemp can be grown.

Many Pajaro Valley farmers are backing the bill, AB 1147, which was 
introduced last year in November and could well make it to the 
Assembly floor in a matter of weeks.

Although there is money to be had in hemp, farmers here say, a good 
reason behind legalizing it wouldn't just be for commercial reasons. 
Its 16-foot stalks are perfect for cover crops, which help to enrich 
the soil and prepare the land for primary crops, such as strawberries.

"We need to have the ability to at least experiment on our land," 
said Vanessa Bogenholm, a local strawberry grower who's been 
traveling to Sacramento to lobby for the bill. "I have one field this 
year where hemp could have been perfect as a cover crop, but the 
government isn't letting me grow it."

That sort of sentiment isn't just felt in California. The frustration 
is also playing out in several other states trying to legalize hemp, 
including Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee and even traditionally 
conservative states like Mississippi.

North Dakota became the first state to legalize hemp cultivation for 
licensed growers in 1999.

Backers of the Assembly bill say there is a big misunderstanding in 
the world of hemp.

People tend to associate the weed with its illegal cousin, marijuana, 
even though "it's nothing of the sort," according to Bart Broome, a 
legislative aide to Leno.

"There are major differences between hemp and marijuana, and the 
biggest difference is that hemp contains minuscule amounts of THC and 
marijuana contains a lot," he said, referring to 
tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient that creates a sense of 
euphoria when smoked.

Leno's contention, said Broome, is that U.S. farmers should at least 
be able to compete against Canada, which is the primary supplier of 
hemp to the United States. Myriad of businesses extract its seeds and 
oils and make body care products from it, including lip balms, 
shampoos and soaps.

The seeds, for example, can also be found in plenty of energy and 
nutrition bars around town, Bogenholm said.

"Even the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp," she said.

To date, the only politician who has outright opposed the bill is 
Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, a Democrat that represents the 30th 
District in Bakersfield.

Last year, Parra said through her press officers that she thought 
more important issues needed to be addressed in the state 
Legislature, and legalizing hemp wasn't one of them.

Some of the other backers of legalizing hemp include Institute for 
Cultural Ecology, Organic Agricultural Advisors, California's Sierra 
Club, Whole Balance and Sensuous Beauty, Inc.

"The bottom line," said Broome, "is that hemp is not new to 
California and it's time to bring it back."

Broome said that the plant was grown during the 1900s through the 
1930s, but it was mistakenly categorized by the U.S. government as 
similar to marijuana in 1937, when it was ruled illegal.

But up until that point, the plant was grown in Gridley, Butte 
County, lower Sacramento Valley, Rio Vista in Solano County and in 
Lerdo near Bakersfield.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman