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Poll Shows Strong Voter Support for Industrial Hemp Farming in California
03.19.07|Vote Hemp

Vote Hemp, the nation's leading grassroots organization working to give farmers the right to grow non-psychoactive industrial hemp to be made into everything from food to clothing, paper, body care, bio-fuel and even auto parts, has released a new poll of 801 likely California voters about industrial hemp. The telephone poll has a 3.5% margin of error and sampled likely California voters from February 22-26. The survey was conducted by the respected research firm Zogby International on behalf of Vote Hemp and five manufacturers of hemp food products, including ALPSNACK, French Meadow Bakery, Living Harvest, Nature's Path Organic Foods and Nutiva.

The poll results, released today for the first time, confirm there is strong support for reform on the issue of industrial hemp. A total of 71% support changing state law to allow farmers to grow hemp, including 46% who strongly support and another 25% who somewhat support changing state law so California farmers can supply manufacturers with hemp seed, oil and fiber. Presently, U.S. companies must import their hemp raw materials from other countries.

Over the past several years, the California legislature has passed various resolutions and bills to permit farmers to grow industrial hemp. AB 684, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, is authored by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) and will be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, March 27. If passed and signed into law, AB 684 would regulate commercial industrial hemp farming in California. Today more than 30 industrialized nations grow industrial hemp, many of them exporting it to the U.S. Hemp is the only crop that is illegal to grow here while being legal to import. Sales of hemp food and body care products have grown rapidly in recent years, fueling an expansion of hemp farming in Canada where farmers grew more than 48,000 acres in 2006.

Poll questions and results regarding industrial hemp farming policy and consumer attitudes on hemp products and nutrition can be viewed online here. There is evidence of strong support among both men and women and both self-identified liberal and conservative voters on this issue. Among California Republicans, 60% support changing state law on hemp, compared to 74% of state Democrats. Support was also high among all age groups, ranging from 54% of 18- to 29-year-olds to 82% of 30- to 49- year-olds, 74% of 50- to 64-year-olds and 60% of those over 65 years old.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, who introduced AB 684 in February, said that "the Zogby poll underscores that California voters of all political persuasions support changing the senseless policy of importing industrial hemp while prohibiting our own farmers from growing it."

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