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CCOF Supported the 2007 California Industrial Hemp Bill - AB 684, which was eventually vetoed by the Governor.
CCOF supports industrial hemp legislation because:
- Industrial hemp represents an important economic opportunity for CA farmers.
- Industrial hemp is an important crop rotation and farm diversification option.
- Industrial hemp is a large rapidly growing market of primarily organic products.
- Industrial hemp will bring revenue to CA that is currently sent out of the country.
Assembly Bill 684, the new California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, which was heard for the first time in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on March 27, 2007, is strongly supported by CCOF. The bill passed out of the California Assembly, for the second year in a row, on April 30, 2007. AB 684 is authored by Assemblymembers Mark Leno and Chuck DeVore, the same representatives who authored AB 1147, the Industrial Hemp Bill of 2006, which CCOF worked tirelessly in support of last year. The 2007 bill is nearly identical to AB 1147, which was surprisingly vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger at the last minute in the fall of 2006, even though the bill was widely supported with little to no opposition throughout its duration. A recent survey reports that 71% of Californians support changing state law to allow hemp farming. And today, more than 30 industrialized nations grow industrial hemp and export to the United States, making it the only crop that is illegal to grow but legal for Americans to import.
California Industrial Hemp Assembly Bill in 2006 - AB 1147
Advocates of the Industrial Hemp Bill, AB1147, meet in the Governor’s Office in February 2006.
Left to right is: Alexis Baden-Mayer, Government Affairs, Vote Hemp, Inc; Patrick Goggin, Legal Counsel, Vote Hemp, Inc.; Tony Stefenoni, Master, California Grange; Peggy Miars, Executive Director, CCOF; Co-sponsor Representative Chuck DeVore, Sponsor Representative Mark Leno; Steve Levine, President, Hemp Industries Association; Matt Vander Sluis, Sr. Legislative Assistant, Planning and Conservation League.
Assemblyman Mark Leno (District 13, San Francisco) introduced a bill to legalize production of industrial hemp in California.
CCOF has seen hemp product businesses flourish in recent years. For example, Sebastopol based Nutiva Hemp Foods, a leading provider of hemp food products, estimates the need for more than 10,000 acres of industrial hemp in 2008. As the majority of hemp food products are produced organically, CCOF fully supports awarding these contracts to California's organic growers.
Read CCOF press releases on this issue.
Read the Congressional Research Service Report titled Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity.
The California Industrial Hemp Act was introduced in February 2005 by Democratic Assemblyman Mark Leno. This year, the bill was amended and Republican Assemblyman Chuck Devore joined as a co-author. AB 1147 has been carefully crafted to comply with federal law and minimize impact to law enforcement. It includes tough regulations without placing an undue burden on farmers. The bill only permits cultivation of industrial hemp when grown as an agricultural field crop or in a research setting. Back yard or horticultural cultivation is prohibited. Any clandestine grove of cannabis will be considered marijuana regardless of THC content.
Prior to harvest, a farmer must obtain a laboratory test report from a DEA-registered laboratory documenting the THC content of the crop. Farmers must retain a copy of the this test report for two years from its date of sampling, make it available to law enforcement officials upon request, and are required to provide a copy to each person purchasing, transporting, or otherwise obtaining the oil, cake, or seed of the plant. Crops that exceed the 0.3% THC limit must be destroyed.
To eliminate the possibility that industrial hemp could be mistaken for marijuana, the bill does not include the leaves or flowering tops among the legal parts of the industrial hemp plant. Regardless of THC content, leaves and flowers that are removed from the field of cultivation are not industrial hemp. Hemp flowers have no psychoactive effects or legal commercial application. Nevertheless, it is important to prevent marijuana defendants from making the spurious claim that confiscated marijuana leaves and flowers are industrial hemp. The bright-line definitions and requirements in AB 1147 ensure that law enforcement will not be negatively impacted.
CCOF is proud to join Whole Foods Market, Nutiva Hemp Foods, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps and Vote Hemp, in bringing this important economic opportunity to California's farmers, processors, and consumers. Your support makes these efforts possible. Join CCOF today. |
