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CA: Legislative movement to legalize hemp begins anew today
Tom Ragan | Santa Cruz Sentinel | January 10th, 2006

A San Francisco assemblyman is expected to take up the controversial issue of legalizing hemp for commercial growing when he presents the bill before the Assembly's Public Safety Committee today in Sacramento.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is scheduled to bring the bill forward this afternoon, arguing that California farmers are losing out to 30 other countries, including Canada, where hemp can be grown.

Many Pajaro Valley farmers are backing the bill, AB 1147, which was introduced last year in November and could well make it to the Assembly floor in a matter of weeks.

Although there is money to be had in hemp, farmers here say, a good reason behind legalizing it wouldn't just be for commercial reasons. Its 16-foot stalks are perfect for cover crops, which help to enrich the soil and prepare the land for primary crops, such as strawberries.

"We need to have the ability to at least experiment on our land," said Vanessa Bogenholm, a local strawberry grower who's been traveling to Sacramento to lobby for the bill. "I have one field this year where hemp could have been perfect as a cover crop, but the government isn't letting me grow it."

That sort of sentiment isn't just felt in California. The frustration is also playing out in several other states trying to legalize hemp, including Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee and even traditionally conservative states like Mississippi.

North Dakota became the first state to legalize hemp cultivation for licensed growers in 1999.

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Backers of the Assembly bill say there is a big misunderstanding in the world of hemp.

People tend to associate the weed with its illegal cousin, marijuana, even though "it's nothing of the sort," according to Bart Broome, a legislative aide to Leno.

"There are major differences between hemp and marijuana, and the biggest difference is that hemp contains minuscule amounts of THC and marijuana contains a lot," he said, referring to tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient that creates a sense of euphoria when smoked.

Leno's contention, said Broome, is that U.S. farmers should at least be able to compete against Canada, which is the primary supplier of hemp to the United States. Myriad of businesses extract its seeds and oils and make body care products from it, including lip balms, shampoos and soaps.

The seeds, for example, can also be found in plenty of energy and nutrition bars around town, Bogenholm said.

"Even the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp," she said.

To date, the only politician who has outright opposed the bill is Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, a Democrat that represents the 30th District in Bakersfield.

Last year, Parra said through her press officers that she thought more important issues needed to be addressed in the state Legislature, and legalizing hemp wasn't one of them.

Some of the other backers of legalizing hemp include Institute for Cultural Ecology, Organic Agricultural Advisors, California's Sierra Club, Whole Balance and Sensuous Beauty, Inc.

"The bottom line," said Broome, "is that hemp is not new to California and it's time to bring it back."

Broome said that the plant was grown during the 1900s through the 1930s, but it was mistakenly categorized by the U.S. government as similar to marijuana in 1937, when it was ruled illegal.

But up until that point, the plant was grown in Gridley, Butte County, lower Sacramento Valley, Rio Vista in Solano County and in Lerdo near Bakersfield.

Contact Tom Ragan tragan@santacruzsentinel.com

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