T
The420Guy
Guest
SACRAMENTO, California – The state Assembly approved a bill Thursday to direct the University of California to study whether there's a viable market for hemp and other industrial fibers.
The Assembly concurred in Senate amendments with a 43-28 vote, sending the bill to Gov. Gray Davis.
Under the bill, by Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin, D-Duncan Mills, researchers would estimate the demand, crop prices and profitability of hemp, kenaf and flax. The study would also examine legal and marketing issues that would have to be addressed for future trial projects.
Flax is a shrubby plant whose stem can be spun into linen thread, and kenaf comes from the stalk of the Hibiscus cannabinus and can also be used to make fiber.
The federal government does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana, which has a higher level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and can be smoked for a "high." Fiber from hemp plants has long been used to make paper, clothing, rope and other products. Its oil is found in body-care products such as lotion, soap, cosmetics and some food products.
The harvesting of industrial hemp has been banned since 1970, but it could be processed and sold. In October, the DEA declared that food products containing even trace amounts of THC were banned under the Controlled Substances Act.
In recent years, Hawaii, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, and Montana have passed legislation legalizing the cultivation of industrial hemp.
The UC study would be due to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2004.
For more information, read the bill, AB388, at:
www.assembly.ca.gov
The Assembly concurred in Senate amendments with a 43-28 vote, sending the bill to Gov. Gray Davis.
Under the bill, by Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin, D-Duncan Mills, researchers would estimate the demand, crop prices and profitability of hemp, kenaf and flax. The study would also examine legal and marketing issues that would have to be addressed for future trial projects.
Flax is a shrubby plant whose stem can be spun into linen thread, and kenaf comes from the stalk of the Hibiscus cannabinus and can also be used to make fiber.
The federal government does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana, which has a higher level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and can be smoked for a "high." Fiber from hemp plants has long been used to make paper, clothing, rope and other products. Its oil is found in body-care products such as lotion, soap, cosmetics and some food products.
The harvesting of industrial hemp has been banned since 1970, but it could be processed and sold. In October, the DEA declared that food products containing even trace amounts of THC were banned under the Controlled Substances Act.
In recent years, Hawaii, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, and Montana have passed legislation legalizing the cultivation of industrial hemp.
The UC study would be due to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2004.
For more information, read the bill, AB388, at:
www.assembly.ca.gov
