Big news: Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 introduced in Senate

Senator Ron Wyden has just introduced the Senate companion bill to H.R. 525, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013, today.

The original cosponsors are:

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – Yes, the Senate Republican Minority Leader

Press Release from Senator Wyden

This is actually looking kind of real.

The House version, introduced by Thomas Maassie (R-KY), already has 28 cosponsors:
Amash, Justin [R-MI3]
Benishek, Dan [R-MI1]
Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR3]
Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR1]
Campbell, John [R-CA45]
Clay, Lacy [D-MO1]
Cohen, Steve [D-TN9]
DeFazio, Peter [D-OR4]
Ellison, Keith [D-MN5]
Farr, Sam [D-CA20]
Grijalva, Raúl [D-AZ3]
Hanna, Richard [R-NY22]
Lee, Barbara [D-CA13]
McClintock, Tom [R-CA4]
McDermott, Jim [D-WA7]
Miller, George [D-CA11]
Moran, James “Jim” [D-VA8]
Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY10]
Norton, Eleanor [D-DC0]
Peterson, Collin [D-MN7]
Pingree, Chellie [D-ME1]
Pocan, Mark [D-WI2]
Polis, Jared [D-CO2]
Rohrabacher, Dana [R-CA48]
Schakowsky, Janice “Jan” [D-IL9]
Schrader, Kurt [D-OR5]
Yarmuth, John [D-KY3]
Yoho, Ted [R-FL3]

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45 Responses to Big news: Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 introduced in Senate

  1. darkcycle says:

    This is great. (Actually, I’m a little in disbelief, that co-sponsor list is impressive)
    Babylon is burning.

    • allan says:

      aye mon, chant down babylon

    • Windy says:

      I’m happy to see at least one WA Rep is a co-sponsor int he House, I’m going to write the three that supposedly represent me (they’ve always been against altering the current drug/hemp laws, so I don’t hold out much hope, but it’s worth trying again, I guess).

  2. claygooding says:

    Not a Texas politician on the list bot then the pulpwood/paper industry owns east Texas.

  3. allan says:

    well… hell.. may as well ruin another meal for Duncan:

    Expert opinion: Why pot should be legal

    Humor, without imagination, ain’t humorous. Humor that isn’t funny, sucks. Humor, badly done, not funny and totally lacking in imagination, make mimes seem ok… crikey but that’s bad. (author’s email is at the bottom, for those that care)

    • Peter says:

      Check out the author’s biog on policeone.com:

      “Lt. Marcou’s second novel, S.W.A.T. Blue Knights in Black Armor has been acclaimed for its depiction of police as they really are, modern knights. Marcou’s third novel, Nobody’s Heroes, has just been released and is already being met with critical praise. The reality he breathes into his police novels comes from having lived the life. All three of Dan’s novels are are available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. For additional information check out his website.”

      The members’ comments section at this site is usually good for a laugh too….it never fails to astound me how ignorant the drug warriors actually are

    • primus says:

      The link takes me to a site called policeone but nothing about cannabis is there. WTF?

      • allan says:

        it looks like he pulled the piece. Good thing ’cause it was bad. Real bad…

        here’s a snip:

        -snip-

        During the 2012 election season, six states had referenda on their ballots to decide whether or not to legalize marijuana (either medicinally or completely). Two states passed medical marijuana measures and two states approved legal pot even without a doctor’s prescription.

        In the wake of those votes, I decided to interview the semi-famous
        marijuana activist Darrel Doper. Use caution as you read, however, for in the words of Darrel D. Doper, “Sometimes reality may be closer or farther away than it appears in your brain.”

        *Marcou:*Today I am at Inner Peace Garden Medical Marijuana Dispensary interviewing a life-long advocate for the legalization of marijuana, Darrell D. Doper. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with PoliceOne, Mr. Doper

        Doper: You’re righteously welcome dude.

        Marcou: I have to ask you, is Darrel D. Doper your given name?

        Doper: No. My parents named me Adolf D. Doper.

        Marcou: Did you change the name because of the negative historical
        connotation the name Adolf has?

        Doper: No, man. I changed it way back in the 70s to Darrel D. Doper. I was heavily into alliteration and mushrooms at the time. Negative historical cono-what?

        Marcou: Never mind. You used to live in Madison, Wisconsin, but you moved to Walla Walla, Washington in 1999. Could you tell our readers, why?

        Doper: Sure Lt. Dude. I was suffering from either depression, glaucoma, migraines, chronic nausea, or I tested positive for HIV so I moved to Washington for treatment. You see they legalized medical marijuana in Washington in 1998. Doritos mi amigo?

        -snip-

        and it went downhill from there…

        • Peter says:

          darrel d. doper is back at policeone.com

        • Duncan20903 says:

          …and gone again. Try this one:

          Legalizing marijuana: Police officers speak out
          This highly-debated topic has even infiltrated the law enforcement community, and a surprising number of cops are speaking out in favor of legalization.

          You know, when I went into my kitchen yesterday General Tso (or however they spell that guy’s name nowadays) made me forget all about Droop Housecat in the wink of an eye. Like they say in the west end of Alexandria, yum, yum, Chinese food.

          Wang, Huang, Wong, Huong, Peking, Beijing, General Tso, General Cho, General Chang, Chiang, Dave, Chung, Formosa, Taiwan, Longdong, Hung Wei Lo…sheesh, Chinese spelling is more of an art than a science though nowhere nearly as hard as Chinese arithmetic. As advanced as those people are isn’t it time for them to finally dump the hieroglyphs and adopt a genuine alphabet?

  4. Tony Aroma says:

    Where are the representatives and senators from WA and CO???? What possible reason could they have for NOT supporting this bill? Supporting this legislation should be a no brainer for EVERY SINGLE ONE of them. This is something they all need to be asked about, in public.

  5. Fallibilist says:

    I’m actually a little bit depressed that this doesn’t have more co-sponsors. Why aren’t Senators and Reps from heavily agricultural states like North Dakota all behind this?

    The irony is that large hemp crops acting through cross-pollination are basically a natural form of biological warfare against the actually psychoactive form of cannabis. (It’s very mild bio-warfare, but still.)

    • John says:

      Absolutely. The worst thing prohibitionists could do to marijuana would be to legalize hemp. I live in Kentucky and I think it would be great to be from the first state to legalize hemp, but it will devastate marijuana genetics when it happens because pollen travels a very long way. My state rep has pre-filed a medical marijuana bill in this upcoming session, but I don’t really see it going anywhere. But I do think something might actually happen here soon with this hemp business.

      • darkcycle says:

        The worst that will happen is you’ll get your buds seeded. Don’t plant the seeds, you’ll have no problems with reduced potency (actually, it takes a couple of generations).

    • darkcycle says:

      Not true, it’s a minor concern. Plant at least a half mile from industrial hemp, or use filters on intakes indoors. Most folks already use them to limit the ingress of airborn fungus spores. Plus, cannabis pollin grains are like little bowling balls, they don’t fly very far or very well.

      • Duncan20903 says:

        .
        .

        It appears that DC is beside himself on this issue.

        Do the Canuckistanis have problems with this phenomenon? I’ve never heard them complain about it and never thought them to have a problem whining loudly when they think life is unfair.

        • darkcycle says:

          Wind borne pollen grains range from about >8mu to 90mu. Cannabis grains are in the 30mu-40 range, but more importantly for airborne pollen grains is their texture. Are they prickly, bumpy or smooth? the grains that will really travel are both small and “prickly” or spikey, those grains pick up static electricity and repel hard surfaces, and do not stick together meaning they go airborne easier and will stay there longer. Cannabis pollen is smooth, and sticky. It sticks to other grains and to surfaces. It really does act like little bowling balls. I lived in feral hemp lands for a long time. The plant relies on animals to scatter it’s genetic material in the form of seeds.

        • darkcycle says:

          Oh, and while we’re on the topic, just started two new strains, replacement seed for the ones that turned hermie. Cherry OG and Prezidential Kush (they said my pony would like the Prez. kush). Lotsa photos on Google.

      • claygooding says:

        I had an orgy in my cabinet and when I beat the male against the light above the females the pollen fell mostly straight down even though there is moving air in the cabinet,,had to tap male over each plant to be sure it took.

        • darkcycle says:

          Been there. I had a giant male sitting in front of an oscillating fan when I made those Faceplant seeds, and he only got half my room. All his pollen was stuck to his own leaves.
          I kept a clone of him in Veg for several months, and all of a sudden I started seeing seeds forming at the pre-flowers at every internode in my finishing plants, but nowhere else. It freaked me out, and made no sense, why only six to ten seeds per plant, and why only at internodes….and where was that pollen coming from?? Turns out, HIS preflowers were opening in the veg chamber, and letting little dribbles of pollen out into that chamber. The preflowers of the ladies were getting fertilized in veg! (dirty girls, not even waiting ’till puberty!) I thought about just letting him and his clones stay in preflower, and keep a steady supply of fresh, quality seeds coming for my friends, but if I did that I couldn’t bring new males in for breeding and be certain of the finished genetics. Wish I had him back, though. He was a hell of a baby-daddy.

  6. n.t. greene says:

    like I said way back when… once this gets rolling, there is going to be a huge frenzy as the pols compete for places at the vanguard. this is a humble beginning, but once some honor is won by the few their numbers will only grow.

    Babylon is burning for sure, it is just gonna be a question of how long before it turns to ash.

  7. strayan says:

    OT: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-gil-kerlikowske/toward-a-smarter-drug-pol_b_2687004.html

    Anthony Papa says: “wow – talking about sleeping with the enemy “

  8. claygooding says:

    Marijuana Legalization: Driving High Tested By CNN, Found to Be Safer Than You’d Think

    http://tinyurl.com/bk6dxds

    CNN may have just posted their best piece of investigative journalism in years. In the following video, three drivers of varying ages got incredibly high on marijuana and test-drove cars around a course. A driving-ed instructor accompanied them to avert any chance of an accident, and police watched from the sidelines to spot any visible ‘signs’ of inebriation in their movements.

    The volunteers – a young daily smoker, adult weekend smoker and elder infrequent smoker – proceeded to test escalating levels of stupor against the new baseline ‘legal limits’ in Colorado and Washington state. They had to reach excesses of 5 times the legal limit before their ability to drive became impaired. In most cases, the danger they presented was driving too slowly or with frequent hesitations.

    It’s about time someone besides us told them driving high was no big deal!

    • allan says:

      words I thought I’d never say… “thank you CNN for real investigation!” I’ve been volunteering to do just that for years, even raised a stink at the Denver Post w/ some commenters a cuppla years back over the issue.

      My favorite part:

      How did the ‘impaired’ volunteers actually do? Well at a certain point, the substance had an undeniable effect on their ability to navigate a vehicle sensibly. But they all maintained surprising control, even at incredibly excessive levels of marijuana consumption. Moreover, unlike drunk drivers, they were very much aware of their state and agreed they were not on top of their game. Without over-indulging, it seems people’s critical thinking can be trusted more with a few hits than a couple of drinks.

  9. darkcycle says:

    Looking for Jesus in the knap of your rug? You could be, with just one “Marietta Crawlaway”
    1 tablespoon alcohol based tincture (yes, I said 1 TABLESPOON)
    1 cup of hot chocolate
    One soft place to fall
    Combine ingredients 1&2 Ingredient three will be forthcoming and inevitable.

  10. Steve Finlay says:

    Well, our Canadian farmers have really been enjoying their near-monopoly on the North American hemp market for about 15 years. All good things come to an end eventually.

  11. Deep Dish says:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_dY5RR3Ufg

    I just stumbled upon this dishearteningly tragic video from Vermont.

    An extremely nice, extremely amicable, extremely reasonable, and cooperative guy made the mistake of opening the door for the police. The guy had just moved into the home and the police were looking to serve a warrant for the previous homeowner. The cop asked if he could step inside because it was cold outside… and catches a wiff of morning breakfast weed. You know the rest.

    But the story doesn’t stop there. Read the comments. The asshole cop shows up in the comments to continue the abuse.

    • Sandwich/free/zone says:

      Thanks! And you’re right, it checks out:

      “It has been established, with near certainty, that MrViper1183 is Vermont State Trooper Eric Vitali. He blogs on WCAX news stories using the name Mr Viper.”
      —posted by wmogerley 4 months ago

    • Peter says:

      this is totally corrupt. officer viper really is a snake.
      ot. mi legislature has declared mmj dispensaries a “public nuisance”. given the choice of living next door to a bar or a dispensary i know which one i would find a nuisance neighbor.

    • Dante says:

      This is why I have a “smoking chamber”. Filtered air both in and out, sealed walls and roof and doors and my Mom can be upstairs having tea and never know (or smell) that I’m burning a fat one downstairs in the chamber.

      I also wear a smoking jacket (old camping coat) in the chamber so my clothes don’t pick up the scent. Try it.

      • primus says:

        I use an Herbalaire vape; the odor is minimal and dissipates quickly.

      • Duncan20903 says:

        I’m with primus, I just skip the smoking part. Volcano, but then I’m a sucker for high dollar consumer products.

        • darkcycle says:

          That volcano really is the shit, use mine with hash and waxes mostly now.
          Officer Kemp was my friend. He retired from the Seattle Police about ten years ago. Let me tell you how I met Jerry. I was in his U.District (It was HIS U. District, and he was the last of the old time “Beat” cops. Seldom saw him in a car.), living in my apartment. I got a noise complaint, and Jerry shows up at my door. I open and there he and his partner are, my weed is on the coffee table in plain view. Jerry asks if he can come in, I follow his eyes straight to the baggie and say NO! I tried to close the door, his foot was there. He tried to OPEN my door, MY foot was THERE. We pushed the door back and forth for about five seconds and he laughs “Put that stuff away, will you?” and tells me to have a nice day. Next time I saw him (next day, actually) was in Costa’s Greek, and I thanked him and offered to buy his lunch. We stayed friends the whole time I was in Seattle and he even provided a job reference when I went to work with the City the first time, waaaay back in the eighties.
          Now, its legal. I no longer have to WORRY about someone smelling weed outside my door. Wow.

      • War Vet says:

        Does Hash work well in a Vaporizer?

        • darkcycle says:

          Depends on the Vape. The Volcano has a special stainless steel pad (like a steel wool, only with wire) that allows the oils to percolate into it an fume off. Also depends on the grade of hash…full melt and oils won’t work with a screen.

  12. Servetus says:

    Steve Wishnia has an educational piece on the hemp industry at Alternet:

    http://tinyurl.com/baxze5y

    Law enforcement appears to believe the 0.3-percent THC content of hemp is a golden opportunity for someone to extract it, and then use or sell it. I’ve done extractions on regular marijuana leaves to obtain far larger percentages of THC than those available from hemp. Even employing the THC-richer marijuana leaves, the extraction process, using proper methods and equipment, solvents, isomerization and activated charcoal; all of that is still too time consuming and expensive to make it economically competitive.

    Even if the solvents are recycled by being redistilled and used again, the process requires additional hours and more fuel energy, which further offsets cost effectiveness and return on investment. Overall, it’s cheaper and easier to buy marijuana that’s been grown domestically, or in Mexico, than to extract THC from hemp. Rather than the rule of law, the rules of the market dominate.

    It’s improbable law enforcement officers would know how to extract THC from hemp, unless they were chemists or industrial scientists, or had worked in the private sector in the chemical industry. As always, the cops seem to want to believe the lies told them by their government handlers. They want to believe that techniques and technologies don’t exist to distinguish hemp from marijuana because they’ve never been provided with said technology, even though it exists. Then they act in a consortium as faux-experts on hemp to derail its reintroduction for domestic cultivation, when the only expertise they may possess is in arresting people.

    Politicians need to learn how to recognize scientific expertise, especially where to go to find it. Then they need to use the scientific facts in their lawmaking instead of the hype that’s been inflicted upon law enforcement, propaganda that’s clearly designed to give the police, prosecutors and judges a clear conscience for the destruction they cause to America’s citizens and the American economy.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .

      The Maryland Legislature will try again to adopt an insanely restrictive New Jersey style medicinal cannabis patient protection law for the 3rd year in a row in the upcoming legislative session. All the lawyer/politicians in that august body aren’t certain that there’s any genuine “accepted” medicinal use for cannabis. They’re weren’t sure that the bill’s primary sponsor, Dan Morhaim M.D. (D-Baltimore County), knew enough about human medicine to be trusted.

    • War Vet says:

      Does it really matter if Hemp looks like marijuana? This tells me that the average cop doesn’t know the difference between a burning joint filled with ‘Blue Dream’ from an office desk made out of hemp . . . that the average cop doesn’t know the difference between a smelly nug and a pair of socks made from hemp. Such lack of knowledge didn’t stop the Feds from re-legalizing hemp for WWII. Maybe cops are not dumb, but playing dumb to mask their own evil: You are more than willing to let me die in a war just so you can keep someone from growing hemp? Wouldn’t hemp be a good thing to the nations of Iraq and Afghanistan? Wouldn’t it add to their stability by adding jobs and consumer products made in their own nation, which would make the U.S. soldier safer, since a more economically stable Iraq or Afghan Province contains less violence? If cops say that they cannot distinguish pot from hemp or they believe hemp will be used to extract THC, then I say that the only reason why he will arrest someone for pot or for hemp is not because of the law, but because he deep down wants more U.S. soldiers to die from the war, which is what will and has happened when the U.S. military cannot utilize one of the most unique plants on Earth for her troops (and the irony: because drugs are illegal, troops die –because hemp is illegal –more troops die). Cops have access to modern media, just like you or I and their not knowing about hemp and how it could be used for both the civilian and the military is their willingness to keep out every light of truth and light of goodness from themselves . . . being blind is sometimes an activity chosen –not one forced by lack of opportunity or resources. Every one of us on this couch daily attempts to make ourselves smarter by doing research and reading in our spare time, while the ones who go after hemp or pot are purposely avoiding intelligence. The modern American Cop (and the politicians and judges giving them orders and allowing them) is the perfect Nietzscheian example of Nihilism: the purpose to destroy without building something to replace that which was destroyed . . . destruction for destruction’s sake.

      I feel sorry for the civilians who see the cop in two shades, but cannot make up their minds: The average cop is the one who killed your husband in Iraq because he allowed drugs to be kept illegal (one cop at a time) and thus used by our enemies when financing their war, while at the same, the cop kept you safe from speeding drivers and would be muggers: Villain and Hero. Superman with a Swastika . . . the evilly mutated Nietzsche Superman . . . A cop is that insect who will save you from a deadly spider just so he (and not the spider) can devour your life instead.

      • Duncan20903 says:

        .
        .

        Hemp doesn’t really look much like cannabis grown for potency. Not really much resemblance at all.

        I recall the first pot plant I ever saw. It was in 1979 and the guy had it growing under a single 120 watt flood light. It was about 8 feet tall and had about 6 leaves. No, I wasn’t at Fat Freddy Freak’s house, that plant was just all stalk. It didn’t matter, we were all in total awe, literally unable to speak because we were so impressed. That guy was so proud in hindsight I’m surprised he wasn’t handing out cigars. I think that one of those “it’s a boy!” plastic wrappers would have been the right choice though.

  13. Duncan20903 says:

    Monday is President’s Day. I got an email from Eric Sterling today, and he used this for his “signature”:

    I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

    Then Vice-President Thomas Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Sept. 23, 1800.
    Inscribed in the dome of the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.

    ———–

    I’m pleased to announce that I can say I’ve gathered substantial evidence that says it’s highly unlikely that Eric Clapton ever jammed with Liberace. Lee was a guest on the Steve Allen show and they were making fun of Cream performing Sunshine of Your Love. It was almost as funny as the Darrel D. Doper dreck quoted above. Oh wait, is there such a thing as less funny than not at all? (In another stunning case of synchronicity involving my posting on this column, by utter happenstance last night I watched an episode of Kojak from 1978 which featured Mr. Liberace as a guest star. Unfortunately he wasn’t arrested.)

    On the other hand during my search to ascertain that there’s no such thing as a Lee Liberace/Eric Clapton duet I happened across a live performance of Mr. Clapton performing “I Shot the Sheriff” and noticed he had modified the lyrics slightly, adding a single word.

    Every time I would plant a seed
    he’d say kill it before it grows
    he’d say kill it before it grows
    I say no

    It’s good to see him bitch slap Nancy Reagan.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iugs4pSpgY

  14. Sahibinden says:

    talking about sleeping with the enemy

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