Industrial Hemp

Now that Kentucky has become the latest state to embrace industrial hemp, President Obama should seize the moment to endorse the concept. It would be a bipartisan move to improve the country.

The federal government continued opposition to allowing American farmers to grow industrial hemp is an illogical and outdated relic from our insane drug war. The sole reason hemp is prohibited is that it technically is the same species as marijuana, but only in the way a gray wolf is technically the same species as a Shih Tzu. Hemp can’t get people high. It is purely a useful agricultural product that serves as a source of fiber, food and oil.

The fact that industrial hemp has been cultivated for years in countries like Canada, France, UK, and Germany proves it can easily be grown without interfering with laws prohibiting marijuana use.

Previously, it may not have made sense for a Democratic President to back industrial hemp because the issue would have gone nowhere or opened them to idiotic attacks about being “soft on drugs.” However, the political dynamics around this issue have changed dramatically in the last few months.

Recently, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has thrown his support behind helping local farmers gain access to this useful crop. McConnell is arguably the most powerful Republican in Washington. Now that hemp has his support, it can simply be seen as non-controversial and as a bipartisan step to helping family farmers.

Obama has been focused on trying to get bipartisan agreement on big issues like immigration and gun control, but that doesn’t mean he should ignore the smaller issues that would have a positive impact. This is one issue where the Republican leadership clearly has a good idea. Obama should change his position to join with McConnell in a bipartisan move to adopt this smart policy.

 Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Industrial hemp field

Today, Kentucky adopted a new industrial hemp law. The state legislature overwhelmingly approved the bill last month, but Gov. Steve Beshear (D) had been undecided on it. After some consideration Beshear decided to allow the bill to become law without his signature. From Beasher statement:

“I strongly support efforts to create additional legal cash crops for our farm communities. At the same time, we have a tremendous drug problem in Kentucky, and I want to make sure that we don’t do anything that will increase that drug problem. I still share the same concerns our law enforcement officers have about the impact hemp cultivation may have on our drug eradication efforts.

The bottom line is that Senate Bill 50 won’t allow industrial hemp to be grown or sold unless and until the federal government takes the very big step of legalizing the crop in some way. If that happens, we will have time to work with the legislature and law enforcement to make any further changes necessary to ensure the public’s safety and alleviate those concerns.

Therefore, I am allowing SB50 to become law without my signature.”

Several states have approved similar industrial hemp laws but have been stopped from growing it by the federal government. What makes this Kentucky law unique, though, it was backed by both of the state’s Senators, Rand Paul (R) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R).

McConnell is one of the most powerful politicians in Washington right now. If he decides to now throw his weight behind making sure this new Kentucky law is used, he might have the clout needed to change federal policy regarding hemp.

Photo by Gregory Jordan under Creative Commons license

65% of Kentucky voters also want hemp growing legalized

Even in overwhelmingly Republican-leaning states like Kentucky, the vast majority of voters support allowing medical marijuana.

According to a new SurveyUSA poll for the Courier-Journal, 60 percent of voters would support legalizing marijuana for prescribed medical use. Only 31 percent of voters in the state oppose medical marijuana. While support is strongest among young voters, even a plurality of senior citizens would support the state adopting medical marijuana.

When it comes to allowing Kentucky farmers to again grow industrial hemp, opinion is even more one-sided. The poll found 65 percent think hemp should be permitted to be grown in Kentucky, with only 22 percent opposed. Hopefully this poll well help the effort by Kentucky’s two senators, Rand Paul (R) and Mitch McConnell (R), to legalize hemp production.

SurveyUSA also asked about legalizing marijuana for recreational use. While a plurality of voters in the state remain opposed to that change, the numbers were surprisingly close for such a conservative state. It found 39 percent would support the full legalization of marijuana, while 49 percent would currently oppose the change. By comparison, President Obama got just under 38 percent of the vote in Kentucky last year. It appears Colorado isn’t the only state where marijuana legalization is more popular than the President.

Not surprisingly a majority of voters under the age of 35 back legalization, while seniors citizens overwhelmingly oppose it. Support for legalization in Kentucky should naturally grow in the coming years due to the natural turnover in the demographics.

Photo by CSLP under Creative Commons license

Today the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is turning in nearly 160,000 signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State office to get their marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot. That is nearly twice the 85,853 valid signatures required by state law to get an initiative put on the ballot.

While a significant percent of the 160,000 raw signatures are likely to be thrown out due to duplications or invalid signers, the campaign is almost assured to have turned in enough valid signatures to qualify. That will ensure their initiative gets placed on the 2012 general election ballot.

If approved by Colorado voters, the initiative would legalize marijuana use and possession for individuals age 21 and above. The measure would create a system of regulation and taxation for the production and retail sale of marijuana similar to that currently in place for alcohol. In addition it would allow for the legal production of industrial hemp in Colorado.

This is the second marijuana legalization ballot initiative campaign this cycle to turn in enough signatures to get on the November 2012 ballot. Last week the New Approach Washington campaign turned in over 340,000 signatures for their marijuana legalization initiative, well in excess of the 240,000 signatures required by Washington state law.