Pubdate: Mon, 15 Oct 2007
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.oaklandtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/314
Author: Sarah Terry-Cobo, Correspondent
Cited: Hemp Industries Association http://www.thehia.org
Cited: California Narcotics Officers Association http://www.cnoa.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/hemp+farming
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/industrial+hemp

SCHWARZENEGGER AGAIN VETOES INDUSTRIAL HEMP BILL

Governor Cites Federal Ban in Rejecting Redrafted Legislation

On Thursday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the Industrial Hemp 
Farming act again, even though the bill's authors said they had 
redrafted the legislation from last year's version to address the 
governor's concerns.

The bill authorizes farmers in four counties to grow plots of 
nonpsychoactive hemp as a pilot project, but has no effect on federal 
legislation.

In a statement on his Web site, Schwarzenegger said, "I would like to 
support the expansion of a new agricultural commodity in this State.

"Unfortunately, I am very concerned that this bill would give 
legitimate growers a false sense of security and a belief that 
production of 'industrial hemp' is somehow a legal activity under federal law."

The redrafted bill permits farmers only in King, Imperial, Yolo and 
Mendocino counties to grow hemp in plots from 1 to 5 acres, using 
seeds grown in California or lawfully imported.

In addition, laboratories registered with the Drug Enforcement 
Administration must sample and test the crop to ensure the plants 
contain less than 0.3 per cent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the 
psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Authors of the bill, Assemblymen Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Chuck DeVore,

R-Orange County, argue California farmers could benefit by growing 
the plant here instead of importing the raw materials from foreign countries.

"This bipartisan measure would have cut costs for business, opened up 
new opportunities for farmers, reduced the use of agricultural 
chemicals and cut carbon emissions," Leno said in a statement released Friday.

According to the Hemp Industries Association, U.S. retail sales of 
hemp products have risen to nearly $300 million annually. California 
companies earn more than three quarters of all U.S. retail sales of 
hemp foods and body care products, according to a fact sheet prepared 
by Leno's office.

What industry experts refer to as industrial hemp has less than 1 
percent THC and can be processed into more than 25,000 different 
products made from fiber or oil seed, whereas marijuana has from 3 to 
25 percent THC content, the fact sheet stated.

While hemp and marijuana are biologically the same species, Cannabis 
sativa L.,the plants have been bred for tens of thousands of years 
for different qualities: Hemp for fiber content in the stalks and 
marijuana for high drug content in the flowering tops, said 
University of Minnesota professor George Weiblen, a botanist who 
studies marijuana.

Opponents argue biological similarities make it difficult to 
distinguish between the two varieties and can hinder law enforcement. 
John Lovell, legislative council with the California Narcotics 
Officers Association, was pleased with the governor's decision.

"When you talk to experienced narcotics officers, (they) can't tell 
the difference" between industrial and drug cannabis plants.

"You've got to do something different, you have to actually test the 
plants for THC content, and no one has any equipment to do those 
tests in California," Lovell continued.

DeVore said in an interview Friday afternoon, "I understand it may 
make things difficult for law enforcement, but so does the Fourth Amendment.

"The problem we face with this, is it takes some explaining to do as 
to why our California farmers should be free to compete in growing a 
nondrug, perfectly legal crop," DeVore continued. "If industrial hemp 
was truly a problem, then you shouldn't be able to import it."

Leno also is frustrated by the decision.

"It is disappointing that Gov. Schwarzenegger chose to embrace an 
irrational application of federal drug law that prevents California 
farmers from producing a valuable raw material for our own U.S. 
industries," he said in a statement Friday.

Hemp is grown in 30 countries worldwide. North Dakota is the only 
state to legalize industrial hemp. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake