Ron Paul Hatches Clever Plot to Lower the Cost of Campaign Fliers

Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul and nine Democratic allies are re-introducing the Industrial Hemp Farming Act.

Since 1970, the federal Controlled Substances Act's inclusion of industrial hemp in the schedule one definition of marijuana has prohibited American farmers from growing industrial hemp despite the fact that industrial hemp has such a low content of THC (the psychoactive chemical in the related marijuana plant) that nobody can be psychologically affected by consuming hemp. Federal law concedes the safety of industrial hemp by allowing it to be legally imported for use as food.*

The United States is the only industrialized nation that prohibits industrial hemp cultivation. The Congressional Research Service has noted that hemp is grown as an established agricultural commodity in over 30 nations in Europe, Asia, and North America. My Industrial Hemp Framing Act will relieve this unique restriction on American farmers and allow them to grow industrial hemp in accord with state law.

The press release for the (still probably doomed) effort is here. Reason's hemp archive is right here.

*Indeed, I had a batch of hemp waffles two weekends ago. Delicious stuff.

Comments

[Warren]

Industrial hemp is even better than Med MJ at exposing the drug warriors as fanatic zealots whom have abandon all reason.

[Timothy]

Indeed, I had a batch of hemp waffles two weekends ago. Delicious stuff.

Did you stop showering and rename yourself Rainbow? You might as well have, damn dirty hippie.

[Willy]

Why, really, is congress so pathetic?!

[Warren]

Willy,
It's a management problem. It because of who they work for.

[P Brooks]

North Dakota is trying to make it possible to grow hemp, and the feds are doing their best to torpedo the program.

[P Brooks]

"because of who they work for."

Archer Daniels Midland?

[jf]

Interestingly, last night I got a bunch of notices of blog updates to Ron's Myspace page. I wonder if this is included ( I haven't read "his" blog posts yet ).

[John Norris Brown]

I agree that this bill is probably doomed, but at least the topic is being broached. Maybe, maybe, maybe... this will lay the groundwork for the future.

[Thomas Paine\'s Goiter]

This is one fight where the drug warriors have deeeeeep pocketed allies -- big agriculture. They won't lose this without a nasty battle.

[Warren]

TPG,
Industrial hemp strikes me as an ideal big-agriculture crop. Why would they fight it? Or is it just a matter of the establishment always seeks to maintain the status-quo?

[creech]

Say, can industrial hemp be used as an alternative fuel source? Is it better than corn? Or can hogs eat it instead of more expensive corn? Anything about it that makes anything "safer for the children?"

[Jake Boone]

Is there such a thing as high-fructose hemp syrup? If not, do we have the technology to create it?

[Tym]

Say, can industrial hemp be used as an alternative fuel source?

Biodiesel?

Or can hogs eat it instead of more expensive corn?

I'm sure.

[Russ 2000]

Say, can industrial hemp be used as an alternative fuel source? Is it better than corn?

Wish I knew the URL for the site about ethanol I read a few days ago, but the amswer is yes. In fact, corn is just about the worst crop one could pick for ethanol production. But we all know it was picked because of the corn farming lobby and not any concern for alternative fuels.

The biggest opposition to hemp from a drug-warrior position is going to be that good THC-laden cannabis will be "hidden" amonsgt the hemp crops and we can't have that!

[Kwix]

Russ2000,
And if politicians knew anything about agriculture, and cannabis in particular, they would see how ridiculous that claim is.

In order to "train" industrial hemp to grow as long and straight as possible the plants are grown very close together, forcing them to "stretch" for sunlight. When they reach full growth they look sort of like ten foot tall Dr. Seuss trees.

Drug cannabis on the other hand relies on leaf/bud growth requiring squat and widely spaced plants, IOW the absolute antithesis of industrial hemp growing style.

Hemp growing image here.
Pot growing image here.

The growth habit differences of the two are very obvious. If you were attempting to grow drug cannabis, it would simply be starved for light by its long-legged cousin and wouldn't produce squat. In otherwords, you can grow one or the other but not both.

[Russ 2000]

Kwix,

By "hidden" I meant that farmers would have, say, 154 acres of industrial hemp and reserve 6 acres for the smokin' stuff. I figure the most hardened drug warrior wouldn't expect the farmer to intersperse the plants. But finding the few acres of pot on an otherwise industrial hemp farm might not be so easy for your typical inspector since there's already so much cheating going on with ag subsidies as it is.

[Pot Grower]

"But finding the few acres of pot on an otherwise industrial hemp farm might not be so easy for your typical inspector since there's already so much cheating going on with ag subsidies as it is."

Dude, they can't even find most of the pot that is being grown now. The "too hard to tell the difference" argument is Grade A, unadulterated horse fucking shit.

[Gene Berkman]

Kwix,

I clearly see the difference between industrial hemp plants and pot plants.
Nobody would stick their head out of the middle of industrial hemp plants.

[Larry A]

But if we give in on industrial hemp, they'l want to buy cold medicine off the shelf.