Sen. Rand Paul joins Oregon Sen. Wyden's push for legal hemp
[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom: none; border-radius: 0.3846em 0.3846em 0em 0em; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]Sen. Rand Paul joins Oregon Sen. Wyden's push for legal hemp[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top: none; border-radius: 0em 0em 0.3846em 0.3846em; background-color: #f4f4f4; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]--SNIP (Because fuck Rand Paul)--
Wyden, in a statement, said, "Industrial hemp is used in many healthy and sustainable consumer products. However, the federal prohibition on growing industrial hemp has forced companies to needlessly import raw materials from other countries." Wyden said his amendment would allow U.S. farmers to produce hemp for safe and legitimate products, helping both producers and suppliers to grow and improve the economy.
So far, 31 states have introduced pro-hemp legislation and 17 have passed laws. Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp, said Wyden's amendment will mark the first time since the 1950s that language supporting hemp has come to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote.
"The time is past due for the Senate as well as President Obama and the attorney general to prioritize the crop's benefits to farmers and to take action like Rep. Ron Paul and the co-sponsors of this amendment have done," Steenstra said. "With the U.S. hemp industry valued at over $400 million in annual retail sales and growing, a change in federal policy to allow hemp farming would mean instant job creation, among many other economic and environmental benefits."
Ryan Fletcher, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, said the Senate vote on Wyden's amendment is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday.
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PB
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