Global Hemp Group Inc. Welcomes Key New Members to Its International Advisory Board

Source: sys-con.com

SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/25/14 -- GLOBAL HEMP GROUP INC. ("Global" or the "Company") (CSE:GHG)(FRANKFURT:ANI) is pleased to announce the addition of 3 prominent international business leaders to its International Advisory Board.

As a continuation of the Company's global outreach efforts, and to strengthen the Company's government and industrial relationships, the Company is welcoming these new members to its influential group of international business leaders who will provide invaluable advice to the Board of Directors and CEO. Each of these individuals brings a wealth of knowledge in their areas of expertise, which will contribute significantly to the overall advancement of the hemp industry and the success of our company. Members of the International Advisory Board (IAB) will introduce hemp to their influential global network of business and political leaders, and potential new markets that span across many industries. The IAB now consists of leaders from Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and the Caribbean.

Ms. Dominique Cahn brings years of experience as a corporate and association executive with responsibility for international and US government public health policy initiatives, including those focused on US Congressional and Executive branch action with respect to medical devices, biotechnology, and FDA reform, and will advise the Company on government relations strategy.

Mr. Nathan Armstrong brings over 20 years of industry experience as a design engineer and entrepreneur developing innovative products and companies. Nathan is a board member of several Alberta Technology Advocacy Groups and is the recipient of many awards including Top 40 Under 40, ASTech and TechRev Awards.

Wenzhao "Connie" Wang, founder and managing attorney at US China Global Law Group, has more than 20 years of extensive international experience with an emphasis on China gained through her distinguished diplomatic and legal careers. Ms. Wang was honored as "Women in Business 2006" by Minneapolis-St Paul Business Journal, "World Outstanding Chinese" by World Outstanding Chinese Yearbook 2006," and San Diego's Top Attorneys" by SD METRO in 2012 and 2011.

Mr. Charles Larsen, CEO says "The addition of these accomplished individuals strengthens our international advisory board and is key to the success of our rapidly expanding global initiatives".

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Charles Larsen, President & CEO

Frankfurt 49.69.173 226 6672

To view Global Hemp Group, Inc. on the Canadian Securities Exchange under symbol GHG click HERE.

To view Global Hemp Group, Inc. on the Boerse-Frankfurt Exchange/Xetra exchange under symbol ANI click HERE.

U.S. investors can purchase symbol "GHG" on the Canadian Securities Exchange or symbol "ANI" on the Boerse-Frankfurt Exchange and Xetra Exchange. These shares are made available through your preferred U.S. Stock Broker.

This press release, required by applicable Canadian laws, is not for distribution to U.S. news services or for dissemination in the United States, and does not constitute an offer of the securities described herein. These securities have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered or unless an exemption from such registration is applicable.

Forward Looking Statements - Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, currency fluctuations, dependence upon regulatory approvals, the availability of future financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:
Global Hemp Group Inc.
Charles Larsen
President & CEO
604-592-6881
www.GlobalHempGroup.com

Hemp aid: US considers buying industrial cannabis from Ukraine to bolster its economy

Source: rt.com

The US Department of Agriculture is looking to boost imports of hemp seeds from Ukraine, hoping this will help the country’s battered economy. However, they still do not know what it will be used for.

“We are now involved in trying to figure out ways in which we might be able to use the industrial hemp seeds that are created in Ukraine in the US,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Bloomberg in an interview Tuesday.

Ukraine is the world’s fourth-biggest producer of industrial hemp seed, the term used to refer to cannabis strains cultivated for non-drug use. Unlike another, most known type of Cannabis grown for marijuana, industrial hemp lacks that same ingredient, THC, which causes physical or psychological effects and gives smoker a high.

Industrial hemp, being one of the earliest domesticated plants known, has many uses from healthy food to making paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction and even fuel.

Easy to cultivate, uses for industrial hemp are growing rapidly.

Ukraine is currently angling for aid from the International Monetary Fund, as much as $20 billion, while it has also been struggling with months of political crisis.

The Obama administration is planning to provide a $1 billion loan for the coup-imposed government of Ukraine, and is working with European allies on a broader package.

Minnesota industrial hemp bill clears first hurdle

By Janet Kubat Willette

Source: agrinews.com

ST. PAUL — A bill authorizing industrial hemp research in accordance with federal law cleared the first committee hurdle March 21.

HF2315, authored by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, passed both the House ag policy and Government Operations committees before the deadline for policy bills to make it out of all the policy committees in the body of introduction.

The bill now moves to the House ag finance committee.

The bill takes the language in the federal farm bill and makes it law in Minnesota, Kahn said. It would allow industrial hemp research plots in the state.

It is the first step, she said, in allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp in Minnesota.

Kahn has been a longtime proponent of industrial hemp, introducing the legislation in various forms since at least 2008.

She has worked with a legislator in Hawaii and a legislator in North Dakota on industrial hemp legislation. In North Dakota, the legislator is Rep. David Monson, a Republican from Osnabrock, who is a farmer near the North Dakota-Canada border.

Industrial hemp production is legal in Canada.

'Cosmos,' Cannabis and Robert Hooke

Source:


British scientist and inventor Robert Hooke reportedly "experimented with cannabis" as early as 1682.

In a discussion of 17th Century scientists on the latest episode of Cosmos, host Neil deGrasse Tyson says Robert Hooke "experimented with cannabis" as early as 1682.

The story goes that Hooke's friend, sea captain Robert Knox, bought back "a strange intoxicating herb like hemp," a.k.a. "Indian hemp" or "bangue," from one of his trips and gave it to Hooke. Speaking at the British Royal Society in 1689, Hooke said Knox "has so often experimented it himself, that there is No Cause of Fear, tho' possibly there may be Laughter." This is considered to be "the first detailed description of cannabis in English."

Cannabis was known as Indian hemp and bangue.

In the Hooke section on Cosmos, deGrasse explains: "He was possibly the most inventive person who ever lived… Hooke's insatiable curiosity encompassed absolutely everything. Hooke discovered a little cosmos, and we still call it by the name he gave it - the cell. Hooke discovered the cell by looking at a piece of cork with one of his own inventions - the compound microscope. He anticipated aspects of Darwin's theory of evolution by almost 200 years. Hooke also improved the telescope. The drawings he made of the astronomical bodies he observed attest to his uncanny precision. After the great fire destroyed Central London in 1666, Hooke partnered with the architect Christopher Wren to redesign and rebuild the city. Hooke was the foremost experimentalist of his age. Using coiled springs, he derived the Law of Elasticity, known today as Hooke's Law. He perfected the air pump, the height of technology in its time, and used it to experiment on respiration and sound. And he experimented with cannabis. He reported to a meeting of the Royal Society that a sea captain friend of his 'had so often experimented with it that there is no cause of fear though possibly there may be of laughter."

It should be noted that Cosmos executive producer Ann Druyan, who co-wrote the original show with her then husband Carl Sagan, is on the NORML Advisory Board. In 1969, Sagan wrote: "The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world."

Watch Cosmos Sundays at 9 pm ET on Fox and Mondays at 10 pm on National Geographic.

Hemp Seed Imports Weighed as Non-Lethal Aid to Ukraine

By Alan Bjerga 
Source: businessweek.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to help Ukraine’s battered economy by bolstering imports of its hemp seed.

Ukrainian hemp -- a cousin of marijuana -- lacks the active ingredient that gives pot smokers a high, and is prized for commercial and industrial applications. Hemp seed can be used in high-protein oils or for making paint and plastics.

“We are now involved in trying to figure out ways in which we might be able to use the industrial hemp seeds that are created in the Ukraine in the U.S.,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said yesterday in an interview.

Ukraine, the world’s fourth-biggest producer of hemp seed, is seeking aid from the International Monetary Fund and other nations as it struggles with a four-month political crisis capped by Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The currency has plunged almost 25 percent against the dollar this year. Ukraine is seeking as much as $20 billion from the IMF, which may announce a decision as soon as today.

President Barack Obama has urged Russia to de-escalate the crisis over Ukraine or face more sanctions should it encroach further into the east of the country after its annexation.

The Obama administration is planning to provide aid, including $1 billion in loan guarantees, and is working with European allies on a broader package. Military assistance has been limited to about 25,000 rations for the Ukrainian armed forces, U.S. Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters on March 24.

“Our focus from an interagency perspective here in the United States, is on the non-lethal side of those requests,” Kirby said of Ukrainian appeal for assistance.

Hemp Cultivation

Currently, 10 U.S. states allow cultivation of industrial hemp. The farm bill Congress passed last month will allow colleges, universities and state agriculture departments to grow hemp for research purposes if allowed by the state.

Legal restrictions on the agricultural product, once widely cultivated in the U.S., have eased as marijuana has gained greater acceptance.

France, China and Chile were the world’s top hemp-seed producers in 2012, according to the United Nations. Ukraine produced 900 metric tons on about 2,100 hectares (5,200 acres) of land.

Ukraine is the world’s third-biggest exporter of corn and sixth-biggest of wheat. Vilsack said he had seen no signs of disruptions to Ukraine’s grain markets as a result of the turmoil.

The country’s plunging currency is raising concern that farmers may buy less fuel and pesticides even as this year’s planting accelerates to the fastest pace in six years. Farmers may sit on supplies waiting for the currency to stabilize, Dmitry Rylko, general director of the Moscow-based Institute for Agriculture Market Studies, said in a speech in Geneva March 20.

Entrepreneur says alternative kenaf, hemp crops could be boon for small-scale farmers

By Elizabeth Adams
Source: kyforward.com


Martin Smith believes both kenaf and hemp are the ‘wave of the future.’(Photo provided)

The crops kenaf and hemp have a long list of uses – from biofuels to string fibers to chicken bedding. But Martin Smith believes the most important purpose for these plants will be to create new economic opportunities for small-scale farmers in Kentucky and in developing communities around the world.

Smith, who heads up the Lawrenceburg-based company United Global Co-Opportunities, conducts research on alternative crops kenaf and hemp, which have more than 25,000 possible uses. Both hemp and kenaf are fiber-bearing tropical plants in the Cannibus family. In addition to being sources for paper, plywood, animal feed, human food, clothing and burlap, the crops have the capability of producing biofuel alternatives. The crops can also be used as an inexpensive means of producing electricity.

“It’s obviously the wave of the future when you think about all the things that are failing to supply our needs on the large scale,” Martin said of growing the crops. “The timing is perfect to implement small scale production models – not just here, but globally.”

Currently, Ford Motor Co. is using kenaf in the door panels of its Ford Escape, and other car manufacturers, including Toyota, are experimenting with these materials as well. Hemp has also been used in sustainable hempcrete houses, which have shown to improve heating and cooling efficiency. Smith’s company is currently working on a project to create energy-efficient hempcrete houses for communities in Appalachia.

Growing up on a few acres in the Ozark Mountains, Smith developed an appreciation for small-scale farmers. He was exposed to agricultural challenges throughout the world during his time in the Navy. The mission of his company, which he established in December 2012, is to offer an on-farm production model for kenaf and hemp that will support the minority farmer. He is in the process of developing a 75-acre kenaf operation and greenhouse pilot project in Eminence with the goal of creating partnerships to support other Kentucky operations.

Already, the United States imports more than $4 billion of twine annually. Smith’s company is developing a model so farmers can produce these crops in Kentucky to add value to their businesses. Based on this model, United Global Co-Opportunities will provide the technology and resources to help farmers take the crops to the marketplace.

“The small farmer is in great jeopardy, and this is the way for them to make the largest splash in the marketplace right here on our Kentucky farms,” Smith said.

Smith said there are opportunities expand the production to developing countries, such as Ghana and Haiti, where struggling communities can benefit by participating in the co-op. The program, called Seeds for Needs, would encourage sustainable economies and create an economy that Smith said doesn’t currently exist in the United States. Eventually, Smith envisions a global network of co-ops that will be tied back to Kentucky.

“These applications will be applied to countries around the world that are in lack, so that those communities will have some of the same opportunities as we do, and they will get to enjoy many of the things we may take for granted,” Smith said.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen Announces a New Marijuana and Hemp Initiative Enters Circulation on March 24, 2014

Source: goldrushcam.com

March 24, 2014 - SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Debra Bowen today announced the proponent of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures for his measure.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General's official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE.Legalizes under state law marijuana and hemp use, possession, cultivation, transportation, or distribution. Requires case-by-case review for persons currently charged with or convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses, for possible sentence modification, amnesty, or immediate release from prison, jail, parole, or probation. Requires case-by-case review of applications to erase records of these charges or convictions. Requires Legislature to adopt laws to license and tax commercial marijuana sales. Allows doctors to approve or recommend marijuana for patients, regardless of age. Limits testing for marijuana for employment or insurance purposes. Bars state/local aid to enforce federal marijuana laws. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Reduced costs potentially exceeding $100 million annually to state and local governments related to enforcing certain marijuana-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system, and incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Potential net additional tax revenue of a few hundred million dollars annually related to the production and sale of marijuana and industrial hemp, a portion of which is required to be spent on marijuana-related research and other activities. (14-0008.)

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1658 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 14-0008.

The proponent for the measure, Berton Duzy, must collect signatures of 504,760 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election) in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 150 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by August 18, 2014.

The proponent can be reached at (805) 402-1212.