Poll: Colorado Wants Marijuana Legalized, Regulated Like Booze and Smokes

[RainDog]

60. Also - Democratic Senator Wyden included hemp legalization to the ag bill

this is from last week, but pertinent to this issue as well, even tho hemp has no noticeable psychoactive qualities. As one person in the Forbes article noted - outlawing hemp because of marijuana is like outlawing all mushrooms because of psilocybin - we don't do that because we're not that stupid - well, sometimes.

I posted a thread about this previously here (you can find it via my journal if you want to read that one, or find the link here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002784542

Here's another take:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alisongriswold/2012/06/08/senator-moves-to-legalize-cannabis-production-for-hemp/

Hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa, the same plant species that yields marijuana, and is illegal to grow in the United States under federal law. But that legislation has long drawn contention from hemp advocates, who point to the health and sustainability advantages of the industrial plant, and note that its genetic and chemical traits differ from those of the Cannabis sativa drug varieties. Their case gained additional footing Thursday when U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon proposed an amendment to the Farm Bill that would exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, allowing American farmers to grow the plant legally for the first time since 1957. The introduction of the proposed amendment comes as activists nationwide have already rallied to generate support for hemp and educate the public about its properties as part of the third annual Hemp History Week.

The 2010 U.S. retail market for hemp products was estimated at $419 million, and was on track to increase to roughly $450 million for 2011, said Tom Murphy, national outreach coordinator of Vote Hemp and spokesperson for the Hemp Industries Association. Some estimates put the global market for hemp at more than 25,000 products – including fabrics, paper, insulation materials, foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, according to a Congressional Research Service report released in January. In Canada, where farmers can legally cultivate hemp, acreage devoted to the crop roughly doubled between 2011 and 2012.

...The cultivation and research use of industrial hemp is allowed in nine states – including Maine, North Dakota, Oregon and Vermont – but those efforts remain hampered by the federal ban on growing hemp. In North Dakota, for example, cultivating industrial hemp is legal under state law, but federal agents could charge farmers with years of imprisonment or property forfeiture for growing the crop.

Once grown by the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, industrial hemp was a staple crop during the colonial era and the market for hemp has experienced a resurgence in the United States over the past two decades. Hemp can be cultivated for its seeds, fiber, oil and other byproducts, which have a variety of uses. Roulac said hemp seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids, while its fibers are “ideal” for constructing houses, as material made of hemp is energy efficient, resistant to fire and insects, and more durable than wood. He added that legalizing hemp cultivation would have the additional benefit of job creation.

“We’re turning the hemp sector into a billion dollar industry, and guess what?” Roulac said. “The market place is voting.”