Marijuana.com

Buzzby

Hemp Bill Heads For Schwarzenegger's Desk
Tom Ragan | Santa Cruz Sentinel | 08/25/2006

WATSONVILLE — Wine grapes move over.

Strawberries watch it.

Salinas lettuce, you may be a top moneymaker now in the Salad Bowl of the World, but don't let that turn your head.

California-grown hemp could crop up as a contender.

Farmers aren't sowing their fields with hemp seeds just yet, but a few Pajaro Valley growers, along with the county Farm Bureau, are hoping Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill that would permit farmers to grow hemp legally.

Translation: A year from now the fiber in that cool hemp sweater that you buy could come from a field in California — as opposed to Canada, China or Europe.

The bill, known as AB 1147 or the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, is headed for the governor's desk, where it will be vetoed or signed by late September, the governor's press office said Thursday.

Advocates of legalization like Vanessa Bogenholm, a Pajaro Valley strawberry farmer, said she believes the governor will sign the bill into law — if only because he hasn't expressed opposition to it in the past.

"It's amazing that the time has finally come where growers will be able to legally grow hemp if they want to," she said. "We need other alternatives, other choices, other options. And that's the point of all this.

"But it could run into some problems like medical marijuana."

The legislation, which passed by a 2-to-1 margin in the Assembly a week ago, was inspired by the fact that United States manufacturers spend millions of dollars to import hemp from such countries as Canada, China and Europe.

The demand for hemp is everywhere — in the chic clothing found in alternative stores in cities across the country, in body lotions and ointments that protect skin from aging, in snack bars at nutrition stores and in paper.

Last year, the product accounted for $270 million in annual retail sales, according to hemp advocates.

Did you know that the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on paper made of hemp?

That's some of the information being touted by advocates trying to show hemp has been pervasive and accepted in the past, and how difficult it's been to pass a law giving California farmers an advantage when overseas competition is tough.

The problem, they contend, is that hemp has long been confused with its illegal genetic cousin, marijuana — which contains the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

Under the proposed legislation, only ultra-low-THC industrial hemp can be grown, and it can be produced only as an agricultural field crop or in a research setting.

Backyard or horticultural cultivation is not allowed.

Any clandestine grove of cannabis would be considered marijuana, regardless of its THC content.

Steve Bontadelli, president-elect of the county Farm Bureau, said any crop that can make farmers cash is "welcome" as far as the bureau is concerned.

"But it's not going to appear overnight," he said.

"It's going to take time to figure out where to grow it, and how best to grow it, and under what conditions."

 

reggie_the_dog

Its great to have home grown industrial hemp, i am wearing hemp now, but PLEASE DO NOT GROW INDUSTRIAL HEMP ANYWHERE NEAR THE EMERALD TRIANGLE,

I want the good Humboult buds to stay nice and strong and seedless

TheOldGuy

I don't know much about growing hemp so I'm wondering if they let it mature or do they harvest it after it blossoms. If the hemp farmers cut the crop before it matures then its no big deal BUT if they wait until after it blossoms then you're screwed.

Buzzby

Some varieties are grown for the edible seeds, so they have to reach maturity. If the flowers mature, no one is "screwed". The flowers contain less than 0.5% THC, not enough to be psychoactive.

The varieties of cannabis raised for marijuana and hashish have been bred for generations for their THC content. Varieties bred for other purposes are not.

__________________

Plainsman1963

I believe the point being made is those that are growing outdoor cannabis for the psychoactive properties would be "screwed" when the male hemp pollinates their crop.

__________________


"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

Posting Guidelines