Rep. Ing on Industrial Hemp: “It's Time Has Come”
Representatives Kaniela Ing (Kīhei, Wailea, Mākena) and Representative Cynthia Thielen (Kailua, Kāneʻohe Bay) are joining forces to introduce a measure that expands industrial hemp research, growth, cultivation and marketing activities in Hawaiʻi. Read more on Maui Now
Veterans among opponents who say Kansas hemp-oil bill 'not enough'
Lab technician Mario Ferrara transfers a mixture of extracted hemp CBD and coconut oil to capsules at Longmont's CBDRx organic hemp farm on Thursday. CBDRx is the first and only USDA certified organic hemp farm in the country. (Kira Horvath, Daily … Read more on The Cannabist
Kansas Senate panel approves lessening marijuana penalties, legalizing hemp oil
Lawmakers sent bills to the Senate floor Tuesday to lessen penalties for marijuana possession and allow individuals with epilepsy to try hemp oil. The Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee approved allowing the use of hemp oil — or CBD oil … Read more on Topeka Capital Journal
Rep. Jared Polis represents the 2nd District of Colorado. A conventional Democrat in some respects, he also supports many causes that matter to libertarians: legalizing marijuana and hemp, restraining NSA surveillance, reforming copyright and patent laws, and making space for the virtual currency Bitcoin.
His background as a businessman is in Internet commerce and his background as a child of the 1980s is video games. Indeed, Polis is not just a congressman but an avid gamer. And when legislation such as the Stop Online Privacy Act threatened gaming culture and free expression more generally, he asked gamers to help him put the proposal on ice.
Reason’s Scott Shackford recently sat down with Polis in his Washington, D.C. office to discuss video games, his positions on surveillance, and why he thinks gamers skew libertarian. Read Shackford’s profile of Polis in the June issue of Reason magazine.
About 12 minutes.
Camera by Amanda Winkler and Josh Swain. Edited by Alex Manning.
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Honolulu — Today the United States Senate approved the Agriculture Act of 2014, also known as the “Farm Bill,” which includes legalization of industrial hemp for research purposes. The Farm Bill states that industrial hemp may be grown for the purpose of state university or state Agriculture Department research without Drug Enforcement Administration permission. Ten states have passed legislation legalizing hemp, and House Bill 154 will make Hawaii the eleventh state.
State Representative Cynthia Thielen (R, 50th District: Kailua, Kaneohe Bay) co-introduced House Bill 154 which would authorize a two-year industrial hemp remediation and biofuel crop research program conducted through the College of Tropical Agriculture at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. When passed, this progressive legislation will keep Hawaii on the cutting edge of agricultural research, help the state realize the economic capabilities of the crop, and potentially restore land previously damaged by earlier contamination.
“With its ability to cleanse the soil of toxins, industrial hemp could be an environmentally friendly replacement for sugar and pineapple,” says Representative Thielen, remarking on hemp’s potential in Hawaii. “Hemp is often grown without pesticides or herbicides due to its natural ability to ward off unwanted insects and weeds. Furthermore, hemp’s potential as a biofuel feedstock could be a game-changer for Hawaii.”
The Farm Bill passed 251-166 in the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday, January 29 and passed 68-32 in the Senate on Tuesday, February 4. HB 154 has already passed through the Hawaii House of Representatives and the joint Agriculture and Energy & Environment committee in the Senate, waiting for final action in the Senate Ways & Means committee and the signature of the Governor where it becomes law.
Representative Thielen notes, “The global market for hemp consists of over 25,000 different products, with U.S. being the world’s largest consumer at nearly 0 million per year. Now that Congress has authorized states to grow industrial hemp, Hawaii can lead these efforts in a climate that will produce three crops a year.”
