Pubdate: Fri, 08 Mar 2013
Source: Glenwood Springs Post Independent (CO)
Copyright: 2013 Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/ys97xJAX
Website: http://www.postindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/821
Author: John Colson

LOCAL HEMP BROKER WINS APPROVAL FROM THE USDA

But Banks Reluctant to Finance a Plant That Is Federally Illegal

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - A locally based industrial hemp and 
natural fibers company announced recently that it has earned a place 
on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "BioPreferred Program."

That means the company, EnviroTextiles LLC, is approved to sell and 
promote hemp products to buyers that can include the U.S. government.

But company president Barbara Filippone said on Wednesday that she is 
stymied by a lack of cooperation from local banks, who do not want to 
loan her the capital needed to enable her to fulfill large government 
contracts and other orders.

Filippone, who has worked in China and other nations on hemp-related 
industrial and economic development, has long championed a U.S.-based 
hemp industry as vital to the country's economy.

She told the Post Independent that the Chinese army, as one example 
of a large-scale use for hemp, has abandoned cotton for its military 
clothing and switched to hemp, which she said is more durable, 
resistant to sweat and more comfortable over long periods.

Hemp was an important U.S. crop until the 1930s for making rope, 
clothing and other textiles as well as industrial products.

But hemp became entangled in the then-new federal anti-marijuana 
crusades, largely because federal agents were unable to easily tell 
the difference between the two plant types.

Hemp is botanically related to marijuana, but it has scant amounts of 
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical compound that produces the 
psychotropic effects that make marijuana so popular, according to 
many scientific analyses.

Voters in Colorado and Washington last year approved laws allowing 
for the cultivation, processing and sale of industrial hemp as well 
as recreational marijuana.

Hemp, like marijuana, remains illegal under federal law.

Colorado farm-industry officials have said they would support the 
production of hemp as an alternative crop in Colorado, but are wary 
of federal enforcement agencies putting them out of business and 
confiscating their lands.

Generally, Filippone said in a prepared statement concerning the FDA 
announcement, "It should be noted that the U.S. is one of the world's 
largest consumers of hemp-derived products."

She maintained that "hemp has over 25,000 uses including variations 
of food, fuel, feed and fiber," and could provide a significant boost 
to the economy of the U.S. and Colorado in particular.

Filippone, who has been promoting hemp and natural fibers for the 
past 19 years and has been in business at 3214 S. Grand Ave. in 
Glenwood Springs for six years, said she plans to continue looking 
for financing and lobbying for a change in state and federal laws to 
make a viable hemp industry a reality in Colorado.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom