Hemp Seeds For Kentucky Projects Held By U.S. Customs

[The General]

A 250-pound shipment of hemp seeds is being held up by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at Louisville International Airport, according to a spokeswoman for Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, threatening some of the pilot projects allowed by the new federal farm bill. If the seed isn't released and planted by July, some of the first projects for the crop could be significantly limited or delayed entirely, spokeswoman Holly VonLuehrte said Friday. She said the state Agriculture Department may go to court seeking to have the seeds released in time for this year's growing season. The department already has some seed that could allow some of the projects to start.

Language in the farm bill signed earlier this year by President Barack Obama allows the pilot projects in states that allow hemp production, something the Kentucky legislature approved in 2013. The projects would be Kentucky's first legal hemp production in at least 50 years since it became illegal in the United States along with marijuana – its more potent cousin. State officials have been told they need to get a Drug Enforcement Administration permit, which could take five months, VonLuehrte said. A customs officer who answered the phone in the Louisville office on Friday referred a reporter to a Chicago spokesman, who did not return a call for comment.

The shipment initially was held up by customs in Chicago, released and now has been stalled in Louisville for several days, VonLuehrte said. She said officials expected there could be a delay because of the newness of the law and had hoped that the delay would be brief. "It is mind-boggling the bureaucratic hoops that we've had to jump through," she said. "They do not care what the law is. The law is what they say it is." VonLuehrte said the DEA had been expected to develop a new policy for hemp seed but hasn't. "It's not like this is an obscure subject matter," she said.

VonLuehrte said the agriculture commission is working with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who helped pass the 2013 state law that regulated hemp if the federal government allowed production. Comer in February announced initial pilot projects that are to focus on different possibilities for hemp. The first planting is expected to be next week in Mount Vernon in Rockcastle County, which VonLuehrte said will take place. Comer said last month that the hemp seeds are coming from Canada and Italy.

News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Courier-journal.com
Author: Gregory A. Hall
Contact: Contact | Louisville Courier Journal
Website: Hemp seeds for Kentucky projects held by customs

 

[hempaz]

Yep! The Italian seeds are from a cultivar of hemp (cannabis) that produces fibers as smooth as silk! In Italy, they make bed sheets and pillow cases with the smooth fibers. The Canadian varietals are for crushing seeds into oil and seed cake, and for distilling hemp milk, a more potent substitution for soon to be GMO dominated soy milk. The DEA ain't gonna let go of no permit. Not in (5) months, not in (5) years! This will take a separate act of the US Congress to loosen the grip now that the signed farm bill is already being implemented. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is also for hemp and should lead the effort along with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky to originate the new bill in the Senate authorizing the permit. Then, it will be over the House of Representatives once passed for amendment, if any. And, then assuming the Speaker of the House allows for a vote on the bill, the entire package will then be sent over to President O'bama for signing into law, if the package passes the House first. All big IFs...but, timely nonetheless. This is how American legislation works, this is how laws are changed at the Federal level. We might just have an Executive Order #420 signing after all. It may be just for hemp, but that in itself would be a major victory for the 'Free the Cannabis Plant' lobby.