Vote Hemp Report - National Update

The Vote Hemp Report
Volume 1, Number 3
May 1, 2006

In this issue of the Vote Hemp Report, we
bring you
an update on HR 3037, the first-ever federal
Industrial Hemp
Farming Act, and a report on the progress of hemp
farming in Canada.



A special note this week. We welcome Patrick
Goggin to the Vote Hemp Board of Directors. Patrick
began working with Vote Hemp in 2001 on the HIA
v.
DEA case. He has also taken an active role in
helping coordinate our efforts to support the
California Industrial Hemp Farming Act (AB 1147).
Patrick will surely be a valuable addition to our
board.



With this gain we also have a loss. Erik
Rothenberg, one of Vote Hemp's long-time board
members, has moved on to pursue other interests and
business ventures. Erik has been an incredible asset
and wrote our Vote
Hemp Treatise
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.rooeavbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Foverview.html%23Treatise)
A Renewal of Common Sense:
The
Case for Hemp in 21st Century America. It is
just as relevant today as it was when it was written
in 2001. If you have not read it lately, we suggest
that you take another look. We thank Erik for his
years of service and wish him well in his new
ventures.
In state news, we've included an update on the
Vermont hemp bill,
which unfortunately won't be leaving the Agriculture
Committee
this year. Look for news from California and North
Dakota in the next Vote Hemp Report.



In the next few months, the California Senate Public
Safety
Committee will hear hemp farming bill AB 1147. In the
next few
weeks, North Dakota will become the first state to
implement a
hemp farming law by allowing farmers to apply for
licenses to
grow hemp. This is huge news, as such
unprecedented state
action signals the beginning of the end of industrial
hemp
prohibition in the U.S.

While the Vote Hemp Report is generally focused on
legislative
and legal efforts to remove barriers to industrial hemp
production, you'll notice that this issue also
includes a
write-up of a recent scientific article
announcing
the discovery of a genetic test that differentiates
industrial
hemp from marijuana. If you enjoy reading hemp news
that
goes beyond legal and legislative updates, subscribe
to our Weekly Hemp News by clicking the "Update
Profile/Email Address" link in the footer below and
adding "Weekly
Hemp News" to your Email List Options.



Finally, note that we have several new gift options
for donors, including a hemp hat, Jim Pollock hemp
t-shirt and tasty Hempzels pretzel snacks. See these
items featured below in the right column.



Thanks again for your ongoing support!

Sincerely,

Eric Steenstra

President

Vote Hemp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Update
* HR 3037 Gains Cosponsors
* Canadian Hemp 2006: Better Profit Outlook than Any Other Crop
* Industrial Hemp and Marijuana Genetically Distinct
* No Vote on Vermont H 455 This Year

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Canadian Hemp 2006: Better Profit Outlook than Any Other Crop

By Bonnie Baltessen

April 21, 2006

Manitoba Co-Operator


The hemp industry in Manitoba is growing like a
weed.



Rhea Yates, communications coordinator for
Agri-Food
Research and Development Initiatives (ARDI), said
30,000
acres of industrial hemp are expected to be grown in
Manitoba
this year.

Last year there were 12,000 acres in Manitoba, with
Canada
reporting a total of 20,000 acres. Manitoba was
dubbed the
hemp capital of Canada.

Keith Watson, diversification specialist with Manitoba
Agriculture, said the 30,000 acres to be seeded in
Manitoba
would be mostly contracted acres. With two
Manitoba
processors and a new one from Alberta buying hemp,
there is
plenty of business to spread around.

"The Canadian total will be up quite a bit," Watson
added, but
declined to guess as to what the Canadian total
would be. "The
major expansion will be in Alberta and
Saskatchewan," he said.
He sees acres doubling every year for the next few
years. "It's
kind of gone through that stage of getting
established and in
feeling its way, and now it's got some solid
processors," he
said. "The markets are growing as much as they can
handle."

Hemp has a better profit outlook than any other crop
in 2006.

According to information from the Parkland Industrial
Hemp
Growers Co-op, the breakeven point for hemp to
cover total
costs is 388 pounds per acre. Average or "budget"
yields in
Manitoba, meanwhile, are about 500 to 600 pounds
per acre.
The clean grain price for hemp this year ranges from
$0.45 to $0.58 (average $0.55) [Canadian, or $0.40
to $0.52 US] per pound.

[Editor's note: This article discusses conventional
seed prices,
but it doesn't mention that the price for organic seed
ranges from
$0.85 to $1.00 per pound Canadian ($0.76 to
$0.89 US).]

Read more... -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.cpoeavbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.agcanada.com%2Fcustompages%2Fstories_story.aspx%3Fmid%3D22%26id%3D773

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Industrial Hemp and Marijuana Genetically Distinct

George Weiblen, Assistant Professor of Plant Biology,
is one of
the University of Minnesota scientists involved in the
breakthrough discovery of the different DNA
fingerprints in
marijuana and hemp plants. The technique could be
useful in
regulating industrial hemp farming.

Industrial hemp is generally differentiated from
marijuana by
its THC content. This allows regulators and law
enforcement
officers to distinguish between drug varieties of
cannabis and
non-drug agricultural varieties. But the THC test has
its
limitations.

Industrial hemp and marijuana seeds look the same
and can't
be tested for THC. The DNA test, which requires only
20
milligrams of plant tissue, can be applied to seeds,
making
the DNA
test very useful in the development and regulation of
industrial
hemp seed banks.

Lawmakers often promise to address the issue of
industrial
hemp once it can be effectively distinguished from
marijuana.
Of course, THC tests, in combination with licensed
farms and
certified seeds, made that possible a long time ago ?
not to
mention the fact that the difference between
marijuana and
industrial hemp is visible to the naked eye. The new
DNA test
definitively confirms that there is no need to confuse
industrial hemp
with marijuana.

Download the study here... -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.nu7scubab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fgeo.cbs.umn.edu%2FDatwyler%26Weiblen2006.pdf

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No Vote on Vermont H 455 This Year

Due to Vermont's dairy crisis, a bill to create a
regulatory
program for industrial hemp farming, H 455, was
bumped from
the agenda of the Vermont House Agriculture
Committee, and a hearing on the bill
scheduled for March 29 was
cancelled.

Witnesses scheduled to appear (via telephone) at the
hearing included Neils Hanson-Tripp (Retired Head of
the
Industrial
Hemp Section of Health Canada), Jerome Engel
(Saskatchewan
Drug Unit), Arthur Hanks (Canadian Hemp Trade
Alliance), and
Dennis Pelletier (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).

Despite the setback, Vote Hemp remains optimistic
about
Vermont becoming a hemp state. We hope that all of
our
Vermont subscribers will continue to help organize
support for
hemp in the state. The following Vermont hemp
businesses are
distributing hemp information and petitions:



Natural to a
Tee
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.8ffncvbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.hempvt.com)

Vermont
Soapworks
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.7ffncvbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.vtsoap.com)

The
Hempest
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.6ffncvbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.hempest.com)

Vermont
Pepper
Works
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.agfncvbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.vermontpepperworks.com)

Way Out Wax
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.bgfncvbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwayoutwax.com)

Save
the
Corporations from Themselves
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.cgfncvbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.savethecorporations.com)


Check out our Vermont State Legislation page... -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.rvu5vtbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fstate%2Fvermont.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HR 3037 Gains Cosponsors

The following members of Congress have joined
original sponsor and author Rep.
Ron Paul (R-TX) as cosponsors of HR 3037, the
Industrial Hemp Farming Act. If you don't see
your representative on the list, please contact Alexis Baden-Mayer
(mailto:alexis [at] votehemp.com) to discuss strategies for
gaining his or her support.



Current HR 3037 Cosponsors



Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]

Rep. Sam Farr [D-CA]

Rep. Barney Frank [D-MA]

Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ]

Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D-NY]

Rep. Jim McDermott [D-WA]

Rep. Cynthia McKinney [D-GA]

Rep. George Miller [D-CA]

Rep. Martin Olav Sabo [D-MN]

Rep. Fortney Pete Stark [D-CA]

Rep. Lynn Woolsey [D-CA]

Write your Rep. now... -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.ky6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fcapwiz.com%2Fvotehemp%2Fissues%2Falert%2F%3Falertid%3D7762501%26type%3DCO

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick Links...
Vote Hemp Home -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.ty6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com
Legislation -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.uy6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Flegislation.html
What Can I Do? -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.vvu5vtbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fwhat_can_i_do.html
Contribute -
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support Vote Hemp
Donate $36 and get a Vote Hemp logo hemp hat -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.gy6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fcontribute_email.html
Donate $75 and get 36 bags of Hempzels Peanut Butter Hemp Pretzel
Nuggets -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.gy6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fcontribute_email.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donate $40 and get a Jim Pollock hemp t-shirt -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.gy6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fcontribute_email.html
Donate $100 and get 12 assorted hemp body care products -
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donate $45 and get a hemp documentary DVD -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.gy6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fcontribute_email.html
Donate $5 and get an original Vote Hemp Report printed on hemp paper -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4w74tubab.0.gy6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fcontribute_email.html

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: report [at] votehemp.com
phone: 202-318-8999
web: http://www.votehemp.com