Lawmaker Predicts Hemp and Marijuana Will Be Legal Within 5 Years

By Matt Ferner
Source: huffingtonpost.com

Two states with legal recreational use. Twenty more that allow medical use. Record-high support at the national level for more permissive policies. It seems fair to say that the United States' official stance on marijuana is shifting quickly. In fact, one congressman is predicting that U.S. pot prohibition will be a thing of the past before the end of the decade.

"I think it’s game over in less than five years," Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said Monday during an interview with The Huffington Post.

"There's no question that we're likely to see another state or two this year legalizing [recreational] use," Blumenauer said. "We're going to see more medical marijuana progress. The crazy prohibitions on bank services and probably the tax disparities -- these are all eroding."

As of now, 20 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, and voters in Colorado and Washington have approved marijuana for recreational use. About a dozen more states are expected to legalize marijuana in some form over the next several years. One recent study has projected a $10 billion legal marijuana industry by 2018.

Despite a growing and profitable legal marijuana industry, the federal government continues to ban the plant, classifying it as a Schedule I substance alongside drugs like heroin and LSD, and maintaining that it has "no currently accepted medical use."

Such policies cause a number of problems for state-legal, state-licensed pot businesses. Banks often refuse to work with marijuana businesses out of fear that they could be implicated as money launderers if they offer traditional banking services. The pot businesses also can't deduct traditional business expenses like advertising costs, employee payroll, rent and health insurance from their combined federal and state taxes, meaning that dispensary owners around the U.S. often face effective tax rates of anywhere from 50 to 80 percent, due to an antiquated Internal Revenue Service rule.

But more than a dozen members of Congress, including Blumenauer, have sponsored legislation aimed at reforming federal marijuana laws. Blumenauer himself has sponsored three bills -- States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection (H.R. 689), Marijuana Tax Equity Act (H.R. 501) and the Small Business Tax Equity Act (H.R. 2240) -- and has supported several other bills seeking everything from increased banking access for pot businesses to a complete end to federal marijuana prohibition.

It's already possible to observe significant shifts in federal policy toward pot. The federal government allowed Colorado and Washington's laws to take effect last year. The FDA recently green-lit a clinical trial that will study the safety and efficacy of cannabidiol in children with severe epilepsy. And just this month, the Department of Health and Human Services approved a long-delayed study looking at marijuana's effect on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

President Barack Obama's recent signing of the Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp production for research purposes in the 12 states that permit it, is one of the most recent indications that the federal government's decades-long war on cannabis may be winding down, Blumenauer said. He also pointed to the flood of state hemp bills this year as further evidence.

"Part of what is going on with the hemp discussion is that people are seeing through the nonsense that somehow this is cover for surreptitious marijuana production, conflating industrial hemp with marijuana," said Blumenauer. "And throughout the whole marijuana issue debate, there are numerous flat-out falsehoods. Schedule I drug? No therapeutic use? Worse than cocaine and meth? I mean, wait a minute."

"But the hemp one, that was so blatant and so obvious," Blumenauer went on. "And that is what's changing the whole marijuana landscape, is that all the falsehoods, misrepresentations and misclassification that have been basically sanctioned by inertia no longer work. And hemp is the best example of that."

America Reversing Its Position On Marijuana

by: : Paul Ebeling
Source: livetradingnews.com

America Reversing Its Position On Marijuana

Since the beginning of Y 2014, more than 70 bills related to Hemp and Marijuana (both Medical and Recreational) have been introduced in more than 50% of the states in the US.

That is 3X+ the number of Hemp bills introduced during the same legislation period last year, and nearly 2X the total amount of Hemp bills introduced in all of Y 2013.

Plus the recent passage of the Farm Bill legalizes industrial Hemp production for research purposes in states that permit it.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), one of the Congressmen who introduced the industrial Hemp amendment to the Farm Bill, said in an interview that all the progress on Hemp legislation is a Key indicator of just how fast policy is changing in America.

“It’s not just turning a corner, it’s turning a corner and running downhill,” Mr. Blumenauer said. “The case against industrial Hemp production has always been flawed, but now three things are happening. One, we’ve been able to make some significant inroads in a variety of states that have already passed legislation easing [production]. Second, the actual amendment to the Farm Bill was a beacon. And third, we are just seeing [that] the ice dam that has been containing modernization of our Marijuana laws generally is cracking.”

To date, 12 states have legalized industrial Hemp production and 24 others have introduced legislation that, if passed, would authorize research, set up a regulatory framework or legalize the growing of industrial Hemp in the state.

In February, President Barack Hussein Obama signed the Farm Bill, which legalized industrial Hemp production for research purposes. The state bills, like the Hemp amendment to the Farm Bill, represent a sharp reversal from a long-standing policy banning Hemp under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which does not make a distinction between Marijuana, the drug, and Hemp, the plant.

Hemp is the same species as Marijuana, Cannabis sativa, but they are cultivated differently in order to enhance or diminish their THC properties, depending on the crop.

Hemp contains little to no THC, the psychoactive ingredient in Marijuana associated with the “high.’

Last year, Colorado farmer Ryan Loflin harvested the 1st known Hemp crop grown on American soil in nearly 60 yrs, after the Y 2012 passage of Amendment 64 in Colorado legalized Marijuana for recreational use and laid the groundwork for industrial Hemp production in the state.

Mr. Loflin planted 55 acres of Hemp before regulations were officially in place, he met with no interference from the federal government or state officials. With Colorado’s regulations now on the books, the state is the 1st in the nation to legally regulate Hemp since the federal government allowed for limited production.

Hemp has a long history in America, it is 1 that skews toward legal use and encompasses a range of household products, including: paper, oils, cosmetics and textiles.

In the 1700s, American farmers were required by law to grow Hemp in Virginia and other colonies. For hundreds of years Hemp has been grown and used to make rope, lamp oil, clothing and much more worldwide and in the US.

American industrial Hemp production peaked in Y 1943, with more than 150-M lbs from 146-K harvested acres. But production dropped to Zero in the late 1950s as a result of “anti-drug sentiment and competition from synthetic fibers,”

Stay tuned…Hemp is a trillion-dollar business.

HeffX-LTN

Paul Ebeling

Gone Hemp: Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil Wood Finish (review)

By Elana Ashanti Jefferson
Source: thecannabist.co

(Elana Ashanti Jefferson, The Cannabist)

Wood drinks up this hemp-seed oil furniture product

Just like new “kicks” can revive a tired fitness routine, a good furniture-care product can help make housekeeping an easier chore.

Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil Wood Finish fits the bill. “Miss Mustard Seed” is a home-design blogger and Internet entrepreneur named Marian. She’s turned stories and tips from her thrift-store redecorating adventures into a business. Now the Miss Mustard Seed brand includes milk-based furniture paint, antique wax, brushes and more.

Marian developed her 100 percent natural Hemp Oil Wood Finish as a protective, water-resistant top coat for raw and painted wood pieces. Users will recognize the nutty, grassy hemp scent of this furniture oil, as opposed to the chemical smell of more common solvent-based wood cleaners.

In her online video tutorial about using Hemp Oil Wood Finish, Miss Mustard Seed says one to three coats of the product will restore luster to older furniture, and keep new and newly-refinished pieces looking that way.

Colorado users who try this furniture oil will likely notice just how thirsty their wood is. Our dry, high-altitude climate can be as harsh on wood as it on skin and hair. Wood pieces that go too long without being oiled splinter and break more easily. Wood that has been through a season or more without being oiled will sponge up this product and thank you with a refreshed sheen.

Industrial hemp seed oil can be used to make lubricants, paints, inks, fuel and even plastics. Given the success of this product, the home-improvement market seems ripe for even more hemp applications.  

Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil Wood Finish is $12 and up at Esty.com, or find a local retailer atmissmustardseed.com.

Agriculture projects could aid diversity of West Virginia economy

By Kyle Lovern
Source: williamsondailynews.com

For many years leaders in Mingo County have said the economy needs to be diversified.

This area has long depended on employment from the coal mining industry and its residual offspring, such as the railroad, to balance the economy.

Now the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority, under the direction of former House of Delegates member Steve Kominar, hopes that agriculture is the wave of the future for this area.

“When we did our strategic plan for the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority, one of the things that became glaringly obvious to us is that agriculture is an industry that we have completely forgotten about,” Kominar said.

“I looked at the USDA report and it classified us as agriculturally barren,” he added. “If you start thinking about that, if something were to happen to our food chain, then we would go hungry.”

Kominar, along with others, believe that all of the postmine land that is now available is the ideal location for several projects that could become successful business ventures.

“It seems like we could do something on this land,” Kominar said. “We have 12 different partner agencies now and are working toward this goal.

“We have everything from hog farms and cattle and sheep farms,” Kominar said. “We can use the waste from these farms to put back into our mine-scarred land to make it productive in a couple of years.

“We have thousands of developable acres,” Kominar said. “We just aren’t utilizing this land.”

Kominar and others have taken trips to other areas of the country to see similar projects. They are hoping to learn from those agricultural developments in places like Southern Ohio to try to make these types of projects successful in Southern West Virginia.

Kominar would like to see more local farming. He said there is a market for these types of ventures.

He said the Mingo County Diabetes Coalition has done a great job with the Farmers Market in downtown Williamson and the community gardens in East Williamson.

“We would like to expand upon this,” he added.

“One of our high schools – Tug Valley – now has an agricultural department and has built its own greenhouse,” Kominar said. “They are doing a great job with that.”

“This tells us there is an interest. This could become a big industry in Mingo County,” Kominar said of future entrepreneurs.

Kominar said statistics show that West Virginians consume billions of dollars worth of agricultural products, but the state only produces a small fraction of those foods and products.

“Basic math tells us there is a significant market for agricultural products here in our state and Mingo County,” Kominar said.

He said in other countries some families can take four or five acres and grow enough products to make a living.

Kominar had previously announced that the state would be locating a hog farm in Mingo County. This will likely be on a former mountaintop mining site. Kominar has identified one location near Laurel Creek that would be suitable for such a farm.

Another product that might be developed in West Virginia and in this region is hemp. The climate for this plant, which is a distant cousin to marijuana, is perfect.

“The MCRA is one of the frontrunners for getting permits to allow the growth of industrial hemp in this state,” Kominar said.

Kentucky already has a nonprofit organization that is identifying what plants of this type will grow best in this region.

Hemp is a plant that is low in THC, but it can be used for such products as rope. However, there are many more uses for this plant. Hemp is used for many varieties of products, including the manufacturing of durable clothing. Hemp products are commonly blended with other organic fibers such as flax, cotton or silk, for apparel and furnishings.

It can also be used to make an oil, and studies are being done to see if it can be used for medicinal purposes.

A survey in 2003 showed that more than 95 percent of hemp seed sold was used in animal and bird feed. Hemp seed is also used as a fishing bait.

In addition, Hemp is used for industrial purposes, including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, insulation, body products, health food and biofuel.

Currently the United States is importing these products. But, if they could be grown here, it could be a big economic boost to Appalachia.

The MCRA is working with West Virginia University and West Virginia State to see what other agricultural products might be grown on postmine land.

In the past, experimental farms grew grapes, blackberries, apples and peaches in Mingo County.

Many think these kinds of crops, and perhaps potato farming, could be productive, and provide a food source for the state. A good example of another state that depends greatly on farming is Idaho.

Idaho is an important agricultural state, producing nearly one-third of the potatoes grown in the United States. They also grow three varieties of wheat known as, Dark Northern Spring, Hard Red, and Soft White.

This is a huge part of that state’s economy.

Kominar and his board at the MCRA hope that agriculture will be a successful venture for Mingo County. The sky is the limit for the economic impact this industry could have in this part of the state.

Kyle Lovern is sports editor of the Williamson Daily News. He can be contacted at klovern@civitasmedia.com or at 304-235-4242, ext. 33 or on Twitter @KyleLovern.

UH could lead charge on hemp research

By Alex Bitter
Source: kaleo.org

The marijuana plant’s less-potent cousin and its industrial uses could become the focus for researchers at the University of Hawai‘i if one state legislator has his way.

The proposal would charge the dean of UH’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources with creating a research program that would spend two years looking at the possible uses of industrial hemp in Hawai‘i and report its findings to the legislature.

It would also legally disassociate the plant, which has leaves that look similar to those of marijuana, from its relative.

The bill, introduced by State Sen. Mike Gabbard, has already won near-unanimous approval from the state senate and is being considered by committees in the house, although at least two police departments in the state have announced their opposition to the measure.

Gabbard said the ultimate goal of his bill would be to establish a hemp industry in Hawai‘i that involves the production of hemp-based products, which can range from lip balm to handbags, at the level of local farms and small businesses.

“This could be a cottage industry,” he said. “I just see a huge amount of potential in this.”

He said the bill he initially introduced at the beginning of the legislative session would have legalized the plant, but the bill was amended in a senate committee to focus on research possibilities at CTAHR.

One of the main uses of hemp that the proposal highlights is the plant’s ability to absorb toxic compounds from the soil it’s grown in — a process called phytoremediation.

That process may help remove chemicals bound into the soil from pesticides used during the plantation era, the bill suggests.

“The nutrient uptake process leaves a clean, balanced and nutrient-rich soil, which can then be safely used for agriculture or improving  conservation habitats,” the bill says.

The proposal also cites the potential to use the crop to produce biodiesel and reduce Hawai‘i’s dependence on imported fuels.

Gabbard said the process has made hemp an effective tool in cleaning up contaminated land, from sites of chemical spills to soil contaminated by radioactive elements by the 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in modern-day Ukraine.

If the legislature approves Gabbard’s bill, it won’t be the first time UH has studied hemp.

In the late 1990s, UH received state funding to begin the Hawai‘i Industrial Research Hemp Project. The project was run by researchers, including CTAHR faculty, who looked at various uses of hemp in Hawai‘i, as well as what varieties of the plant were best suited to the state’s climate.

Harry Ako, chair of UH’s Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering and a participant in the project, said the group ultimately found that a Chinese variety of the plant grew best in Hawai‘i.

He said the project confirmed hemp’s phytoremediation abilities, which come from the plant’s ability to absorb toxins in the soil and convert them to plant hormones.

Ultimately, the project came to an end when its state funding did in 2003.

Locals tempt the Dragons’ taste buds

By Christine Wood
Source: coastreporter.net



Diana and Robert Rae of Canada Hemp Foods Ltd. talk to the Dragons 
during their pitch on CBC’s the Dragon’s Den, which will be posted on 
the web as a bonus episode on April 3.

A local brother and sister team tempted the taste buds of Dragons with some special seeds from the Sunshine Coast and audiences will see how they made out on April 3, during an on-line showing of CBC’s the Dragons’ Den.

Robert and Diana Rae of Canada Hemp Foods Ltd. pitched their hemp seed, oil and powder products to the Dragons months ago, but they have been sworn to secrecy about the outcome until their on-line bonus pitch is released on April 3.

“We can talk about a lot of things but we can’t say if we got a deal,” Robert told Coast Reporter this week.

He said he and his sister asked the Dragons for $150,000 for 25 per cent of their company. The money would fund expansion of their product line into more Canadian markets like Ontario.

Right now Canada Hemp Foods Inc. has products in more than 200 stores across Canada and the U.S.

“We really just didn’t have the financing or the wherewithal to expand more and we felt the marketing expertise from one of the Dragons would help,” Robert said.

Diana described the experience of pitching their product to the Dragons as “just terrific.”

“You get on set and you have the five of them in front of you and surprisingly I didn’t find them nearly as intimidating in person as you would imagine,” she said.

The pair pushed the pot question out into the open by bringing a fake marijuana plant on stage with them, Robert said.

He explained marijuana is a distant cousin of THC-free hemp, which contains none of the psychotropic elements found in marijuana.

Food-quality hemp seeds are harvested from a completely different strain of plant.

Robert’s passionate about the product and its health benefits, which he has experienced first hand.

Robert suffered from extremely itchy skin after undergoing numerous chemotherapy treatments, radiation therapy and stem-cell replacement to rid him of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

He also gained about 40 pounds throughout the ordeal.

In 2005, on friend Wally Venechuk’s advice, he tried adding hemp seeds to his diet.

Within days he felt better and his skin condition was healed in a matter of weeks. Robert also lost the extra weight he had gained within a few months, without making any other changes to his diet or lifestyle.

Convinced of the benefits, in 2006 he and Venechuk launched Canada Hemp Foods Ltd. with the tag line “Hemp is proof that Mother Nature loves us.” “It’s the cure to a lot of things. I could go on for hours, but just in a synopsis, it’s a very green plant, it produces more oxygen than almost any other plant per square foot and it’s now proving to have a lot of medicinal properties,” Robert said. “When you have a plant that can produce 30 per cent protein out of its seeds that’s remarkable, and it also produces a lot of the healthy fats we need–the omegas.”

Robert said he spent some of his pitch educating the Dragons and he’s hopeful those who watch the show will also learn more about the “miracle plant.”

See the Rae’s pitch on-line at www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/ on April 3 and enter for chances to win free product from Canada Hemp Foods Ltd. until the pitch is posted through their website atwww.canadahempfoods.com.

Two Bills Legalizing Industrial Hemp Introduced In Michigan House

Source: theweedblog.com

LANSING- Two Republican House Representatives have introduced bills to allow research on industrial hemp in Michigan. One problem: they’ll have to redefine marijuana to get the proposed program to pass.

HB 5439 and HB 5440, were just assigned bill numbers and are not on the Michigan government’s website yet. One bill will enact a new definition of marijuana that separates non-intoxicating industrial hemp from standard strains of medicinal marijuana; the other will adjust the agriculture laws to remove prohibitions on research and cultivation of the multi-purpose plant.

Sponsored by Reps. Kevin Daley (R- Lum) and Peter Petallia (R- Presque Isle) the bills arrive in the legislature just a little too late to allow Michigan to participate in a new federal program to explore the reintroduction of commercial hemp plantations to the United States. Ten states that had existing hemp laws at the time of the program’s launch. That provision was signed into law by President Obama as part of the Farm Bill in a ceremony in Michigan on Feb. 17.

“Hemp can save Michigan’s economy,” said Steven Sharpe, one of the men most responsible for getting the bills introduced in the Michigan legislature. Sharpe, from Jackson County, has been active in pushing for pro-hemp actions in Lansing- and in Washington, D.C. “I am going to help make Michigan Grow,” Sharpe quipped. “We will create careers in a new hemp industry.”

The other man who can be credited with pushing industrial hemp in Michigan is Everett Swift, the director of the Michigan Industrial Hemp Education and Marketing Project, also known as MIHEMP. “This is a great step forward for Michigan,” Swift said. Swift and Sharpe both participated in a discussion at the American Rights Conference in Lansing regarding industrial hemp and the possibility of new legislation was raised at that time.

Michigan is about to preview a motion picture documentary regarding hemp production. On Friday evening in Detroit, the movie “Bringing It Home” will be aired at the Pony Ride theater; it will be shown in Jackson at the Michigan Theater on Thursday April 10.

The news comes as Michigan is about to celebrate three of its largest marijuana-related events of the year: Hash Bash and the Monroe Street Fair (April 5, Ann Arbor) and the Medical Marijuana Expo at the Roostertail (March 28-30, Detroit).

For Sharpe, this announcement could not have come at a better time. He plans to launch his candidacy for the Michigan House after submitting his final paperwork to the state next week. Sharpe seeks the office currently held by Representative Shirkey in the 65th District, who will be seeking a Senate position. Sharpe will run as a Republican and will campaign on a pro-hemp platform.

“Due to an accident it is taking me an extra week or so to get the paperwork done,” Sharpe told TCC. His arm is in a  cast from a break suffered on a  recent trip.

For Swift this is the culmination of years of hard work. Swift and the MIHEMP organization have secured resolutions of support for industrial hemp from several counties in the northern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula- including Presque Isle.

“Since the bills are for research only we still have a lot of work to do to get a farming bill in Michigan,” Swift said, in an exclusive interview. “This is the first time ever we have a real possibility of having an industrial hemp bill passed in our state. We have made amazing progress in the last few years.”

Hemp is well known for its ability to be used as a food, as fuel, as fiber and as a rotation crop. Hemp has been used in Chernobyl and Fukishima as a cleansing crop to eliminate radiation poisoning from the soil. America imports more than $500 million in industrial hemp from other nations, primarily China and Canada.

Once the actual language of the bills becomes public The Compassion Chronicles will post them, with additional comments.

UPDATE: Both bills have been assigned to the House Agriculture Committee. The sponsors for the hemp bills have been announced. Sponsor for HB 5440 is: Rep. Petallia. Co-sponsoring HB 5440 are:

Kevin Daley, Frank Foster, Tim Kelly, Pat Somerville, Gail Haines, Al Pscholka, Roger Victory, Dan Lauwers,Joel Johnson, Earl Poleski, Thomas F. Stallworth III, Ken Yonker, Bill LaVoy, Dave Pagel, Rob VerHeulen, Paul Muxlow, Bradford C. Jacobsen,Cindy Denby, Matt Lori, Bruce R. Rendon, Andrea M. LaFontaine, Lisa Posthumus Lyons, Ed McBroom, Tom McMillin, Bob Genetski, Hugh D. Crawford, Robert L. Kosowski, Jon Bumstead, Terry L. Brown, Kevin Cotter, Sam Singh, Mike Shirkey, Eileen Kowall, Harvey Santana,Sarah Roberts, Rose Mary C. Robinson, Dian Slavens, Marcia Hovey-Wright, Andrew J. Kandrevas, Sean McCann, Vicki Barnett, George T. Darany, Pam Faris, Fred Durhal, Jr., Alberta Tinsley Talabi, Jim Townsend, Phil Phelps, Henry Yanez, Jon Switalski, Jeff Irwin, John Kivela,Scott Dianda, Tom Cochran, Douglas A. Geiss, Andy Schor, Woodrow Stanley, Phil Potvin, Wayne A. Schmidt, Mike Callton, Michael D. McCready, Ben Glardon, Greg MacMaster, Stacy Erwin Oakes

Sponsor for HB 5439 is Rep. Daley. Co-Sponsoring HB 5439 are:

Dan Lauwers, Peter Pettalia, Frank Foster, Terry L. Brown, Tim Kelly, Al Pscholka, Eileen Kowall, Matt Lori, Bruce R. Rendon, Andrea M. LaFontaine, Cindy Denby, Lisa Posthumus Lyons, Dave Pagel, Bradford C. Jacobsen, Vicki Barnett, Douglas A. Geiss,Henry Yanez, Roger Victory, Joel Johnson, Mike Callton, Tom McMillin