Greens support 'industrial hemp' bill

News Advisory

THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA http://www.cagreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 28, 2005

Contact: Sara Amir, spokesperson 310.270.7106 saraamir [at] earthlink.net Kevin
McKeown, spokesperson 310.393.3639 kevin [at] mckeown.net
Beth Moore Haines, spokesperson 530.277.0610 beth [at] ncws.com

State Green Party throws support behind ?Industrial Hemp' bill at Capitol;
Hemp hailed as more environmentally safe


SACRAMENTO, Ca. (February 28, 2005) ? In an effort to bring the
environmentally sound and renewable practice of hemp cultivation to the
state, the Green Party of California is urging quick passage of a bill
(AB1147) to license industrial hemp growers, introduced in the state
assembly this past week.


"Public perception is shifting in the realm of industrial hemp," said Beth Moore
Haines, a spokesperson for the GPCA media committee, adding that the GPCA's platform
supports the promotion of hemp production.


"As the rest of the developed world realizes the advantages of hemp cultivation ?
and the environmental advantages of growing it ? California has a real opportunity
to lead the nation in bringing us in step with the rest of the world," she added.


Hemp provides materials for durable clothing, a viable alternative to the use of
forest products and also provides food supplements, according to the GPCA.


One example of hemp's advantage over cotton for clothing is that current cotton
cultivation methods cause it to be one of the most polluting crops. Cotton requires
defoliants and biocides, but industrial hemp has a natural resistance to pests and
weeds. In addition, hemp had been a staple in American society until the late 1930s.



According to a 2005 Congressional Resource Service report, the U.S. is the only
developed nation that does not cultivate industrial hemp as an economic crop.


Hemp is a variety of the plant species "cannabis sativa" that contains less than
three-tenths of 1 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive
ingredient in marijuana.

TAKE ACTION: Go to http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=7091631&type=ST
to contact your state legislators!