Source: livetradingnews.com
US Lawmakers ‘Green Light’ Hemp
In the next day of so, US President Barack Hussein Obama will sign the huge 5 yr, $1-T farm bill, which cleared the Senate Tuesday. When he does many longstanding regulations on Cannabis will go “up in smoke.”
To be clear, the US government is not deregulating the Marijuana industry. But, placed deep in the 959-page bill is an ammendment that eases the restrictions on Hemp, Marijuana’s hardy relative.
The amendment does not legalize hemp per se, it allows universities and researchers in states that permit industrial Hemp production to grow and study the plant.
Hemp advocates for a very long time have wanted to legalize it as a commodity that can be grown for fabric, food, and paper, among other things.
However until now, the federal government has made no real distinction between Hemp and Marijuana, banning both as controlled substances.
Ten US states including: California, Oregon, Colorado, and Kentucky have legalized hemp cultivation, and 11 more states have legislation pending on the matter.
The current change will only affect the states where Hemp production is already legal, nonetheless a big step toward the pro-Hemp cadvocates goal of legal commercial production of the versitile plant.
The change comes with a broader shift in the way states and the federal government now approach cannabis.
Washington and Colorado this year became the 1st states to legalize recreational Marijuana use, and the US Justice Department, after a long review period, announced in August 2013 that it would not interfere with those laws once they are in effect. About a 12 other states are considering full legalization, too; Alaska and Florida will vote on the issue later this year.
The new legal Marijuana marketplace in the US is just beginning, but the US Hemp market is estimated at about $500-M annually and growing, according to a Congressional Research Service report. But since there are strict limits on domestic production, Hemp imports support the thriving market.
That explains why Hemp advocates come from across the political spectrum, including both “Green” liberals and business-friendly Republicans. Most notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) is a strong backer of Hemp legalization, believing it can provide an economic boost to the Great State of Kentucky.
“This is an important victory for Kentucky’s farmers,” he said in a statement on the farm bill, adding, “we are laying the groundwork for a new commodity market.” Last year, Sen. McConnell co-sponsored a bill, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013, that would have excluded Hemp from the Controlled Substances Act.
The federal government considers Marijuana a Schedule 1 drug, the highest classification and has cracked down on some Medical Marijuana dispensaries in the past few years.
However, with the efforts like Sen. McConnell’s to legalize Hemp and widespread drug decriminalization sentiment, supporters are riding “high” in here.
Stay tuned…HEMP is a trillion dollar industry.
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