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State lawmakers are looking to legalize industrial hemp research in Michigan and dispel misconceptions about the product, which is in the same plant family as marijuana but does not include significant levels of the same active drug. The federal government has treated hemp as an illegal narcotic since 1970 due to its similarity to marijuana, but the federal Farm Bill that President Barack Obama signed this year on the campus of Michigan State University included an amendment paving the way for industrial hemp research in states that allow it.
Bipartisan legislation introduced last month by state Rep. Kevin Daley (R-Lum) would position Michigan alongside at least 10 other states that have already adopted industrial hemp farming or research laws. A companion bill would amend the public health code to exempt hemp from the existing definition of marijuana. "We have to draw a distinction between this and the hoopla of medical marijuana in our state," Daley told MLive on Wednesday. "Industrial hemp is not that kind of material. We're truly looking at a product that can be grown in our state and grown legally." Hemp farming is legal in most industrialized nations and is already used to produce some 25,000 different products worldwide, according to a Congressional Research Service report, which noted estimates pegging U.S. retail sales of those products at nearly $500 million a year.
The plant can be used to make things like rope, clothing, foods, biofuels and even plastics. It's also been used as a soil remediation crop to cleanse contaminated land. "Anything you can make with petroleum products can be made with this crop, and it's more ecologically friendly," said Everett Swift, executive director of the Michigan Industrial Hemp Education and Marketing Project. "It doesn't take near as many pesticides as things like cotton. I can't say whether it's cost-effective, because right now we have to import it from other countries." Hemp also grows excuse the pun like a weed.
"It wouldn't replace corn or soybeans in Michigan," said Daley, chair of the House Agriculture Committee, "but it could be grown in more marginal grounds where some of those commodities don't grow well." House Bill 5439, introduced as the "industrial hemp research act," would authorize study by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, state colleges or universities. House Bill 5440, sponsored by Rep. Pete Pettalia (R-Presque Isle) would amend the public health code to define industrial hemp as a cannabis sativa plant containing no more than .3 percent of the active drug found in marijuana.
Lawmakers hope that by enabling research, they'll allow an agricultural research institute like Michigan State University to access federal grant funding in order to study, cultivate or produce industrial hemp products. The end goal is a new crop option for Michigan farmers. "We have a particularly capable land grant university right here in Michigan that fights under the green and white that would be a perfect institution to apply for those kind of funds," said state Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), who co-sponsored one of the bills. "This will make that possible."
The 2014 Farm bill was sponsored by Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, but the amendment authorizing industrial hemp research was backed by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, where the state agriculture department has already launched five pilot projects to grow hemp in various locations. Michigan supporters expect some opposition to the state legislation, largely owing to the fact that hemp looks like marijuana and has been treated the same way for decades. Research could reduce the stigma, according to Daley, and lead to breakthroughs that might calm critics. "My local sheriff tells me they have a hard time identifying the plant from the marijuana plant," he said. "You can't get high off industrial hemp, but they claim they can't tell the difference looking at it. That's part of what I hope the research could do. Maybe we could even modify the color."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Mlive.com
Author: Jonathan Oosting
Contact: Contact Us - MLive Media Group
Website: Industrial hemp bills would legalize research in Michigan, define difference from marijuana | MLive.com
Bipartisan legislation introduced last month by state Rep. Kevin Daley (R-Lum) would position Michigan alongside at least 10 other states that have already adopted industrial hemp farming or research laws. A companion bill would amend the public health code to exempt hemp from the existing definition of marijuana. "We have to draw a distinction between this and the hoopla of medical marijuana in our state," Daley told MLive on Wednesday. "Industrial hemp is not that kind of material. We're truly looking at a product that can be grown in our state and grown legally." Hemp farming is legal in most industrialized nations and is already used to produce some 25,000 different products worldwide, according to a Congressional Research Service report, which noted estimates pegging U.S. retail sales of those products at nearly $500 million a year.
The plant can be used to make things like rope, clothing, foods, biofuels and even plastics. It's also been used as a soil remediation crop to cleanse contaminated land. "Anything you can make with petroleum products can be made with this crop, and it's more ecologically friendly," said Everett Swift, executive director of the Michigan Industrial Hemp Education and Marketing Project. "It doesn't take near as many pesticides as things like cotton. I can't say whether it's cost-effective, because right now we have to import it from other countries." Hemp also grows excuse the pun like a weed.
"It wouldn't replace corn or soybeans in Michigan," said Daley, chair of the House Agriculture Committee, "but it could be grown in more marginal grounds where some of those commodities don't grow well." House Bill 5439, introduced as the "industrial hemp research act," would authorize study by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, state colleges or universities. House Bill 5440, sponsored by Rep. Pete Pettalia (R-Presque Isle) would amend the public health code to define industrial hemp as a cannabis sativa plant containing no more than .3 percent of the active drug found in marijuana.
Lawmakers hope that by enabling research, they'll allow an agricultural research institute like Michigan State University to access federal grant funding in order to study, cultivate or produce industrial hemp products. The end goal is a new crop option for Michigan farmers. "We have a particularly capable land grant university right here in Michigan that fights under the green and white that would be a perfect institution to apply for those kind of funds," said state Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), who co-sponsored one of the bills. "This will make that possible."
The 2014 Farm bill was sponsored by Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, but the amendment authorizing industrial hemp research was backed by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, where the state agriculture department has already launched five pilot projects to grow hemp in various locations. Michigan supporters expect some opposition to the state legislation, largely owing to the fact that hemp looks like marijuana and has been treated the same way for decades. Research could reduce the stigma, according to Daley, and lead to breakthroughs that might calm critics. "My local sheriff tells me they have a hard time identifying the plant from the marijuana plant," he said. "You can't get high off industrial hemp, but they claim they can't tell the difference looking at it. That's part of what I hope the research could do. Maybe we could even modify the color."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Mlive.com
Author: Jonathan Oosting
Contact: Contact Us - MLive Media Group
Website: Industrial hemp bills would legalize research in Michigan, define difference from marijuana | MLive.com
