[Vision2020] Industrial Hemp Legalization?

[Robert Dickow]

Legalizing hemp (and Papaver somniferum garden poppies) would, I'm afraid,
limit some of the government's power to confiscate your land and do other
nasty things to you WITHOUT due process. See Michael Pollan's article
related to this in 'Opium Made Easy-- One gardener's encounter with the war
on drugs' Harper's, April 1997. The U.S. government likes to have some
things like this that it can call on in order to arrest you and then not
allow you that one phone call to your attorney. Only in the U.S. is such a
thing possible. Oh, just so you know, having Opium poppy seeds is legal. It
is also legal to grow Opium poppies for garden use as long as you don't know
you are growing poppies for garden use. That is clearly stated in Section
841 of the Federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Go figure. Oh, by the
way, I have a really nice fluffy pink O. somniferum variety if anybody wants
some.... seeds that is.
 
Robert Dickow, troublemaker

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Megan Prusynski
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 12:21 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Industrial Hemp Legalization?


Hello visionaries,

I recently came across a post called "Industrial Hemp on the Horizon" on the
GreenOptions.com blog (on which I write a weekly column on sustainable art
and design). I thought it may interest others in Moscow. As a long-time
supporter of the legalization of industrial hemp and a veteran of many Hemp
Fests (in Moscow of course, as well as the big one in Seattle), I was very
excited to hear that a bill is before Congress to re-legalize growing
industrial hemp in our country. Here is an excerpt from the post: 

"The United States is the
<http://www.votehemp.com/PR/2-6-04_9thCir_grants.html> only industrialized
nation that bans farmers from growing industrial, non-psychoactive hemp, but
a group of lawmakers in Washington are trying to change that.


Last week, House Representative Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas who is
also running for president in 2008, was joined by 9 Democratic co-sponsors
in
<http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/da
ta/1171468412478.xml&catref=ag1001> introducing House Resolution 1009, the
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007. The
<http://www.votehemp.com/PR/02-13-07_federal_bill.html> bill would "remove
restrictions on the cultivation of non-psychoactive industrial hemp."


And you can read the entire article here:
http://www.greenoptions.com/blog/2007/02/20/industrial_hemp_on_the_horizon

It's about time that we re-legalized this very versatile, useful, and
environmentally-friendly plant, which needs no pesticides to grow, provides
a complete source of protein (hemp seeds), and can be used to make anything
from paper to cloth to plywood to bio-fuel. 

Also, Moscow's 2007 Hemp Fest is scheduled for Saturday, April 21. I will be
on the planning committee again this year, and once again designing the
t-shirts and posters (hopefully we have more t-shirts this year so they
won't sell out quite so fast!) - there are some great bands lined up and it
should be another great event! Arlene at Tye Dye Everything is heading up
the planning, so if you're interested in volunteering or need any more
information, I encourage you to get in touch with her.

Just thought we could use some good news around here... :)

peace!
~megan

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