Massachusetts Hemp Farm Bill
Today, I meet with Representative Richardson at Annie's Book store. I have asked her to submit a Mass Hemp Farm Bill on my behalf. I have asked her to file this under "the right to petition" under my name so it doesn't get squashed right out of the gate. She indicated that she would do a late filing for this and is my hope that we could get something going here for Mass this year.... meaning, next year, farmers and consumers will see more hemp products in their lives at reasonable prices, including my hemp pellets, high ash pellet stoves, bio diesel, clothing, paper, plastics, building materials,paints,refined oils, and hundreds of nutritionally based foods, including hemp milk.
The proposal:
An Act to regulate the Cultivation of Industrial Hemp
(1) Industrial hemp is a suitable crop for Massachusetts and its production will contribute to the future viability of Massachusetts agriculture.
(2) Allowing industrial hemp production will provide farmers an opportunity to sell their products to a marketplace that pays them a reasonable rate of return for their labor and capital investments. Farmers in Canada report an $800.00 per acre return for the crop.
(3) The infrastructure needed to process industrial hemp will result in increased business opportunities and new jobs in our communities.
(4) As a food crop, industrial hemp seeds and oil produced from the seeds have high nutritional value, including healthy fats and protein.
(5) As a fiber crop, industrial hemp can be used in the manufacture of products such as clothing, building supplies, and animal bedding.
(6) As a fuel crop, industrial hemp seeds can be processed into biodiesel, and stalks can be pelletized or flaked for burning or processed for cellulosic ethanol. Industrial hemp also expands opportunities for on-farm renewable energy production.
(7) The production of industrial hemp can play a useful agronomic role in farm land management as part of a crop rotation system.
INDUSTRIAL HEMP
. INTENT
The intent of this act is to establish policy and procedures for growing industrial hemp in Massachusetts so that farmers and other businesses in the Massachusetts agricultural industry can take advantage of this market opportunity when federal regulations permit.
DEFINITIONS
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Grower” means any person or business entity licensed under this chapter by the secretary of agriculture as an industrial hemp grower.
(2) “Hemp products” means all products made from industrial hemp, including but not limited to cloth, cordage, fiber, food, fuel, paint, paper, particle board, plastics, seed, seed meal, seed oil, and certified seed for cultivation if such seeds originate from industrial hemp varieties.
(3) “Industrial hemp” means varieties of the plant cannabis sativa having no more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, whether growing or not, that are cultivated or possessed by a licensed grower in compliance with this chapter.
(4) “Secretary” means the secretary of agriculture, food and markets.
INDUSTRIAL HEMP: AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT
Industrial hemp is an agricultural product which may be grown, produced, possessed, and commercially traded in Massachusetts pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
LICENSING; APPLICATION
(a) Any person or business entity wishing to engage in the production of industrial hemp must be licensed as an industrial hemp grower by the secretary. A license from the secretary shall authorize industrial hemp production only at a site or sites specified by the license.
(b) A license from the secretary shall be valid for 24 months from the date of issuance and may be renewed but shall not be transferable.
(c) Filing with the secretary documentation certifying that the seeds obtained for planting are of a type and variety compliant with the maximum concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol set forth in subdivision 560(3) of this chapter.
(d) Filing with the secretary the location and acreage of all parcels sown and other field reference information as may be required by the secretary.
(e) To qualify for a license from the secretary, an applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the secretary that the applicant has adopted methods to ensure the legal production of industrial hemp, which at a minimum shall include:
(1) Ensuring that all parts of the industrial hemp plant that do not enter the stream of commerce as hemp products are destroyed, incorporated into the soil, or otherwise properly disposed of.
(2) Maintaining records that reflect compliance with the provisions of this chapter and with all other state laws regulating the planting and cultivation of industrial hemp.
(f) Every grower shall maintain all production and sales records for at least three years.
(g) Every grower shall allow industrial hemp crops, throughout sowing, growing season, harvest, storage, and processing, to be inspected by and at the discretion of the secretary or his or her designee.
REVOCATION AND SUSPENSION OF LICENSE;
ENFORCEMENT
(a) The secretary may deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license of any grower who:
(1) Makes a false statement or misrepresentation on an application for a license or renewal of a license.
(2) Fails to comply with or violates any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted under it.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
The secretary shall adopt rules to provide for the implementation of this chapter, which shall include rules to allow for the industrial hemp to be tested during growth for tetrahydrocannabinol levels and to allow for supervision of the industrial hemp during sowing, growing season, harvest, storage, and processing.
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect upon passage, of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 10:26 AM
18 Comments
18 Comments:
Who wrote this proposal Jim? Seems pretty well written. Not saying you could not do it, but just curious if this is a side of you we have not seen before.
Interesting idea but how much money is this really going to bring in? Is there really that much farm land in MA to make this worthwhile? And what pellets are you talking about?
What is the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009? Is that a state thing or a federal thing? Does that have to pass before we can do anything with this in MA? Who is handling getting passed?
Good for the environment, good for the economy, good for our health, and banned because of the fact it was going to hurt some big, powerful men in their business years and years ago. Time to catch up with the times people and see the opportunity here. Good job proposing this Pillsbury. Wish I had thought of it myself.
What the hell is hemp anyway?
I bet your showing up with this in your hand took Richardson by surprise. Anyone else at this meeting to witness her saying she would actually do something with it? Not that her word is worth anything. Have you approached anyone else with this? I would think the more people you get on board the better chance you have of making this happen. What exactly would be the down side to passing this bill anyway?
Are you a proponent for this simply because it is a way to get pot in through the back door, or is there truly some value to this stuff?
Why didn’t someone else propose this if it really is as good as it sounds? What don’t we know here? Can you give us more detail? And if this is as good an idea as it sounds like in this brief synopsis, then can’t we just get the governor to do something about it? We are looking for ways to get more money in the state cofferes, right? Sounds to me like this would do just that.
You continue to surprise Pillsbury. I will be watching here for updates to see if this actually goes anywhere.
Derek.. it was taken from the Vermont Bill with modifications, that passed this year.
why reinvent the wheel.
neighbors.. who missed the train last year.. please have a look at the Nov 23 of 2008 archive in this blog to see what hemp is and what it means to the world.
All you really need to understand is that the plant was given to mankind a long time ago by whomever or whatever, to help mankind survive.
It's just a plant that has been used for over 10,000 years, it's only now, under what leadership we have, are able to bring back the plant from the past.
Annon.. no back door anything. Industrial hemp is not smokeable... it does not have the genetics to produce it as smokeable. The hemp they plant in Canada is the same.. low THC in the plant.
Keep cannabis illegal if you like... just let this country grow industrial hemp. You just can't get high smoking industrail hemp.
Not long ago, industrialists like Dupont, Hearst and chemical companies realized that hemp that was grown back then, was a major competitor and had friends in high places in the government. Not long after, "reefer madness" was created and hemp would be eliminated from the competition. The money guys knew they had to do something and marijuana prohibition was the easiest way to keep hemp out.
The value of such a crop? It was labeled a billion dollar crop in 1940. It will surpass corn and wheat in this country some day and will be responsible for many of the poorest countries in the world, have a commodity that will be sold around the world.
Eric... she, has to do this for me. Just as anyone of you can ask her to put forward any bills. It's one of our core right's in this State.
From Mr. Evens at cantaxreg.com explains it very well.
The right of petition is ancient, going back as far as the Magna Carta (1215). Among the rights extracted from the sovereign was the right to bring a grievance before a governing or legislative body and not be punished therefor. The Declaration of Independence (1776) lists "the flouting of petitions for redress" as one of the colonies' many grievances against George III. The right was expressly recognized in Article XIX of the Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Massachusetts Constitution (1780). The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1791) expressly
prohibits the abridging by government of the
"right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Historically, the right of petition has been used not only to redress grievances of a personal or private nature but also bring attention to and provoke legislative debate on uncomfortable topics that the legislature would rather avoid. In Colonial times, petitions were brought to test British control and challenge British customs laws. In the early part of the Nineteenth Centruy, many petitions were filed in the states and in Congress for the abolition of slavery, much to the consternation of legislators. In modern times, petitions have sought legislative denunciations of the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.
Although many bills are filed by request in the Massachusetts legislature every year, few receive serious attention. For deep background on the right of petition, read the 1836 Congressional speech of Massachusetts Congressman Caleb Cushing (1800-1879).
Worried.. 8 other states have passed legislation for hemp. Barney Frank and Ron Paul have sponsored the American Hemp Farm Bill last year and are getting close to making this happen.
Much of the intelligent leadership in government have known for ever that hemp was most valuable plant, but had taken to much money from the chemical giants, forest industries, oil companies to repeal hemp laws.
The time has come for this country and this state to allow hemp farming. I believe between 2 and three thousand jobs would be created at the end of the first growing season. If we were to grow 100,000 acres of hemp here, in terms of just heating homes with pellets, 53,000 homes would be heated by hemp.
2,000,000 gallons of oil, which would leave 24,000 tons of meal and yield 63,000 tons of fiber which is used to make paper, cardboard, building materials, textiles and bioplastics..
It is not the cure all to what ails us, but it will make us healthier when farmers are working the land and providing feedstock's to dozens of industries here in Mass.
What chance do you think there is that this will actually go anywhere? If you rely on Richardson, I would say the chances are pretty slim. Hope you stay on top of this, sounds like a great idea.
Doreen.. I have to believe in the process.... and Representative Richardson is the conduit for making the system work on my behalf. Can you imagine if she didn't do the right thing? Even her supporters would have trouble with that.
If she's real smart, she'll get on this train and make it move forward.... it could get her elected over me. It's a jobs bill, green energy bill, a climate bill, a revitalization of old mill towns bill, it's clean air and water bill, it's pesticide free growing. Everything to gain and nothing to loose for her on this one.
I've also ask Senator Spilka to do the same in the Senate.
Jim, I'd like to repost your article on HempNews - http://hempnewstv.wordpress.com - pls let me know if that is ok.
sure thing Pod
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home