Should we legalize Industrial Hemp in the USA (1 Viewer)

[kcasper]

Industrial Hemp is a legal or licensed agricultural crop in every industrial nation except the US.

North Dakota is trying to establish rules for growing industrial hemp in hopes that the DEA will accept them. Their plan is to start growing industrial hemp in 2007. There is a public meeting about this later this month.

What is Industrial Hemp?
It is a variety of plants in the cannabis species that has less than 0.3% THC content. In other words, it is any plant that looks like marijuana but has very small trace amounts of the drug that makes THC popular among pot users, and typically other drugs that would give you a headache if a person tries to smoke or consume it. In other words, it is only useful for industrial purposes, or so the theory goes.

It is legal in every nation except the US, because hemp has hundreds of uses. One group of uses are hemp oil that is used for cooking, lotions, and biofuel. The stalk is used for textile fibers (clothing, cement fiber, etc), paper production, and biocomposites. There is some 300 million worth of product imported into the US every year. Canada may be planting as much as 60,000 acres this season.

The DEA is strongly against Industrial Hemp. They are focusing on that there is a tiny amount of THC in Industrial Hemp, and on the idea that marijuana looks similar to industrial hemp and could be used to hide it. No other country seems to have these problems, and there is optical technology that can tell the difference from a high-flying plane, but the DEA is playing the pessimist in this case.

What do you guys think? Should Industrial Hemp be legalized?

For more further reading: http://www.votehemp.com/
There is even a petition to sign if you want: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/375707069

 

[LeftyHenry]

Yes. Also I heard that Hemp oil could possibly run cars. I also heard some conspiracy theory that hemp and mary j were banned in the 30's because the oil industry figured it would be completly destroy the oil industry. Then they rode on the fact that it is harmful. Just a conspiracy theory.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

It wasnt the oil industry, it was the Dupont Company

 

[kcasper]

It wasnt the oil industry, it was the Dupont Company

Yep, I don't think that it is a conspiracy theory though. More likely, they saw an opportunity to hurt a competitor and jumped on it.

 

[Jerry]

Industrial Hemp is a legal or licensed agricultural crop in every industrial nation except the US.

North Dakota is trying to establish rules for growing industrial hemp in hopes that the DEA will accept them. Their plan is to start growing industrial hemp in 2007. There is a public meeting about this later this month.

What is Industrial Hemp?
It is a variety of plants in the cannabis species that has less than 0.3% THC content. In other words, it is any plant that looks like marijuana but has very small trace amounts of the drug that makes THC popular among pot users, and typically other drugs that would give you a headache if a person tries to smoke or consume it. In other words, it is only useful for industrial purposes, or so the theory goes.

It is legal in every nation except the US, because hemp has hundreds of uses. One group of uses are hemp oil that is used for cooking, lotions, and biofuel. The stalk is used for textile fibers (clothing, cement fiber, etc), paper production, and biocomposites. There is some 300 million worth of product imported into the US every year. Canada may be planting as much as 60,000 acres this season.

The DEA is strongly against Industrial Hemp. They are focusing on that there is a tiny amount of THC in Industrial Hemp, and on the idea that marijuana looks similar to industrial hemp and could be used to hide it. No other country seems to have these problems, and there is optical technology that can tell the difference from a high-flying plane, but the DEA is playing the pessimist in this case.

What do you guys think? Should Industrial Hemp be legalized?

For more further reading: http://www.votehemp.com/
There is even a petition to sign if you want: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/375707069

Yes.
Industrial hemp should never have been outlawed.

Yes, social hemp use should be legal for so long as tobacco and alcohol are legal.

 

[zymurgy]

Yes.
Industrial hemp should never have been outlawed.

Yes, social hemp use should be legal for so long as tobacco and alcohol are legal.

Well said.

I will also add, like alcohol and tobacco, hemp control at the federal level should require a consitutional amendment to remain enforcable, otherwise it is illegal law.

 

[Binary_Digit]

I will also add, like alcohol and tobacco, hemp control at the federal level should require a consitutional amendment to remain enforcable, otherwise it is illegal law.

That's why technically drugs aren't illegal, they are illicit. A licence is required to posess or distribute them, and no licences are ever issued, so that's how they get around the Constitution.

 

[zymurgy]

That's why technically drugs aren't illegal, they are illicit. A licence is required to posess or distribute them, and no licences are ever issued, so that's how they get around the Constitution.

Again, hemp control at the federal level should require a consitutional amendment to remain enforcable, otherwise it is illegal law.

Creating a license system is a form of control where no power was given to do so.

 

[Binary_Digit]

Again, hemp control at the federal level should require a consitutional amendment to remain enforcable, otherwise it is illegal law.

Creating a license system is a form of control where no power was given to do so.

Oh, I see what you're saying. The key word is federal. So it should be up to the states, and I completely agree.

 

[Jerry]

That's why technically drugs aren't illegal, they are illicit. A licence is required to posess or distribute them, and no licences are ever issued, so that's how they get around the Constitution.

Ooooooooo....that's sneaky....I didn't know that.
Knowing that, it now sounds simpler to institute legal possession and distribution.

 

[americanwoman]

What do you guys think? Should Industrial Hemp be legalized?

For more further reading: http://www.votehemp.com/
There is even a petition to sign if you want: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/375707069

yes it should and marijuana too. I signed the petition but it looks like it needs alot more!

 

[faithful_servant]

Yes. Also I heard that Hemp oil could possibly run cars. I also heard some conspiracy theory that hemp and mary j were banned in the 30's because the oil industry figured it would be completly destroy the oil industry. Then they rode on the fact that it is harmful. Just a conspiracy theory.

Of the double-layered tin-foil hat variety. Could you do me a favor? Lean out the window and wave three times with two fingers raised and then four times with 3 fingers raised. It's todays sign for my stealth helos to move on to someone else.

 

[cherokee]

Even if you did you wouldn’t be able to compete with South American markets.
Sooooo this is really about legalizing pot?
Use hemp oil/rope to get your foot in the door?

 

[zymurgy]

Even if you did you wouldn’t be able to compete with South American markets.
Sooooo this is really about legalizing pot?
Use hemp oil/rope to get your foot in the door?

What?

How do we compete with South American markets for any other ag business?

 

[massive_attack]

Hemp is awesome and the fed gov/state govs are idiots for not utilizing this market.

go fed gov/state govs !

so many idiots hear "hemp" and think "pot" that it's almost a knee jerk reaction : yea for the mass media ! yea for the education system !

:roll:

 

[cherokee]

What?

How do we compete with South American markets for any other ag business?

You wont be able to produce it (hemp oil or rope) cheaper then SA.

 

[jamesrage]

Industrial Hemp is a legal or licensed agricultural crop in every industrial nation except the US.

North Dakota is trying to establish rules for growing industrial hemp in hopes that the DEA will accept them. Their plan is to start growing industrial hemp in 2007. There is a public meeting about this later this month.

What is Industrial Hemp?
It is a variety of plants in the cannabis species that has less than 0.3% THC content. In other words, it is any plant that looks like marijuana but has very small trace amounts of the drug that makes THC popular among pot users, and typically other drugs that would give you a headache if a person tries to smoke or consume it. In other words, it is only useful for industrial purposes, or so the theory goes.

It is legal in every nation except the US, because hemp has hundreds of uses. One group of uses are hemp oil that is used for cooking, lotions, and biofuel. The stalk is used for textile fibers (clothing, cement fiber, etc), paper production, and biocomposites. There is some 300 million worth of product imported into the US every year. Canada may be planting as much as 60,000 acres this season.

The DEA is strongly against Industrial Hemp. They are focusing on that there is a tiny amount of THC in Industrial Hemp, and on the idea that marijuana looks similar to industrial hemp and could be used to hide it. No other country seems to have these problems, and there is optical technology that can tell the difference from a high-flying plane, but the DEA is playing the pessimist in this case.

What do you guys think? Should Industrial Hemp be legalized?

For more further reading: http://www.votehemp.com/
There is even a petition to sign if you want: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/375707069

I do not think hemp should be legal because potheads with use hemp plants to hide marijuana plants in plain site and use rat lawyers to prevent cops from using reasonable cause or suspicion to search suspected plants on individual's property.

 

[zymurgy]

You wont be able to produce it (hemp oil or rope) cheaper then SA.

So what?

The same fact applies to every commodity grown in this country. If I've ever seen a point needing further explanation, this is it.

 

[faithful_servant]

I do not think hemp should be legal because potheads with use hemp plants to hide marijuana plants in plain site and use rat lawyers to prevent cops from using reasonable cause or suspicion to search suspected plants on individual's property.

Personally, I'm in favor of growing hemp here. Plant it all you want, but also sign a waiver stating that you will allow unannounced inspections at any time of all of your facilities. No stalling, no calling your lawyer first, if an officer shows up, you open the door, offer him a cup of coffee and direct him to the fields, equipment, warehouses, etc. If you are caught growing pot, you get your entire crop burned, you get fined $10,000 for every acre in production (regardless of whether it's got pot growing on it) and if it's shown that you are selling it, you get 1 month in jail for every acre in production. If it's shown that you are extracting the THC, you get a $10,000 fine for every gram of THC found, all of your equipment confiscated, and if it's found that you are selling the THC, you get 1 month in jail for every gram found.

 

[zymurgy]

Personally, I'm in favor of growing hemp here. Plant it all you want, but also sign a waiver stating that you will allow unannounced inspections at any time of all of your facilities. No stalling, no calling your lawyer first, if an officer shows up, you open the door, offer him a cup of coffee and direct him to the fields, equipment, warehouses, etc. If you are caught growing pot, you get your entire crop burned, you get fined $10,000 for every acre in production (regardless of whether it's got pot growing on it) and if it's shown that you are selling it, you get 1 month in jail for every acre in production. If it's shown that you are extracting the THC, you get a $10,000 fine for every gram of THC found, all of your equipment confiscated, and if it's found that you are selling the THC, you get 1 month in jail for every gram found.

hmmm. At first glance this seems almost workable. A far cry from the liberty oriented approach I would prefer but workable.

The problem is, who in their right mind would engage in activity so potentially damning?

You realize how easy it would be to frame the competition? Anybody could sneak in and plant a few illicite seeds and just wait for the competition to get elimninated.

You would be helplessly at the mercy of everyone around you. Until near the end of the growing season you wouldn't be able to differentiate a legal plant with an illegal one without running some pretty elaborate tests on every plant in the field.

 

[faithful_servant]

hmmm. At first glance this seems almost workable. A far cry from the liberty oriented approach I would prefer but workable.

The problem is, who in their right mind would engage in activity so potentially damning?

You realize how easy it would be to frame the competition? Anybody could sneak in and plant a few illicite seeds and just wait for the competition to get elimninated.

You would be helplessly at the mercy of everyone around you. Until near the end of the growing season you wouldn't be able to differentiate a legal plant with an illegal one without running some pretty elaborate tests on every plant in the field.

If it's as profitable as some are saying, it would be worth the security to protect yourself. But I doubt that anything like this would happen. If people were willing to go that far to cut out thier competition, you would have heard of civil suits by companies like Monsanto against people for having patented seeds growing in thier fields that they didn't buy from Monsanto.
BTW, this is a liberty oriented approach; follow the law and you're completely free to grow all the hemp you want.

 

[zymurgy]

If it's as profitable as some are saying, it would be worth the security to protect yourself. But I doubt that anything like this would happen. If people were willing to go that far to cut out thier competition, you would have heard of civil suits by companies like Monsanto against people for having patented seeds growing in thier fields that they didn't buy from Monsanto.
BTW, this is a liberty oriented approach; follow the law and you're completely free to grow all the hemp you want.

First, yours is not a liberty oriented approach. You are still outlawing adults from possessing a plant based on your own views on the relative worth of said activity. Liberty and oppression are not interchangable terms.

Second, I'm only speculating on the potential abuse such a system could spawn. Like I said, your system may be workable.

 

[cherokee]

So what?

The same fact applies to every commodity grown in this country. If I've ever seen a point needing further explanation, this is it.

Sorry I forgot about this thread...:doh

I made the mistake by naming South America, as being the one the US would have to compete against.
Its China, Korea, and then Spain..
But total production has dropped since 1998 in Grain and
also Hemp Fibre and Tow

Look at this table on the link…. The site makes for an interesting read..
Table 1: World Hemp Fibre Production (United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization)

http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/hemp/bko02s00.html

 

[zymurgy]

Sorry I forgot about this thread...:doh

I made the mistake by naming South America, as being the one the US would have to compete against.
Its China, Korea, and then Spain..
But total production has dropped since 1998 in Grain and
also Hemp Fibre and Tow

Look at this table on the link…. The site makes for an interesting read..
Table 1: World Hemp Fibre Production (United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization)

http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/hemp/bko02s00.html

Based on wage expectations in this country it is difficult to compete with just about anybody, and not just in ag commodities. That doesn't really validate the position that it should remain illegal.

Their are other benefits as well. Hemp fields improve existing crop rotations for farmers.

 

[jamesrage]

Personally, I'm in favor of growing hemp here. Plant it all you want, but also sign a waiver stating that you will allow unannounced inspections at any time of all of your facilities. No stalling, no calling your lawyer first, if an officer shows up, you open the door, offer him a cup of coffee and direct him to the fields, equipment, warehouses, etc. If you are caught growing pot, you get your entire crop burned, you get fined $10,000 for every acre in production (regardless of whether it's got pot growing on it) and if it's shown that you are selling it, you get 1 month in jail for every acre in production. If it's shown that you are extracting the THC, you get a $10,000 fine for every gram of THC found, all of your equipment confiscated, and if it's found that you are selling the THC, you get 1 month in jail for every gram found.

That sounds like a good solution to the potential problem.