Pubdate: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 Source: Bakersfield Californian, The (CA) Copyright: 2011 The Bakersfield Californian Contact: http://www.bakersfield.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/36 CHANGE FEDERAL LAWS TO PROMOTE HEMP FARMS Central Valley congressmen, including Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, need to come to a consensus about the regulation of industrial hemp -- a harmless, nondrug cousin of marijuana with many commercial uses in clothing, food and bath products. Should federal laws be changed to allow its cultivation? We say yes, and so do many valley growers -- along with Gov. Jerry Brown, who was nevertheless compelled to veto SB 676, which would have allowed hemp cultivation in four California counties, including Kern, as part of an eight-year pilot program. Brown's lone complaint: the conflict with federal law. Hemp products are legal for importation and use, but cultivation of the plant itself is not. As a result, California agriculture is missing out on a profitable cash crop. Properly regulated and labeled, there would be no confusion with marijuana, but then that's what the proposed pilot program would have helped decide. Now it's off the table. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.