State Joins North Dakota in Seeking Permission from Feds to Grow Hemp

The Hemp for Vermont Bill was allowed to become law by Governor Jim Hughes on May 29th, without his signature. The bill overwhelmingly passed both the House and Senate several months ago, setting the stage for Vermont’s entrance into the industrial hemp arena.The non-profit advocacy organization Vote Hemp made the announcement, saying the new law regulates growth of industrial hemp by Vermont farmers. The interest in Vermont is for using hemp in food products and bedding for some of the state’s 140,000 cows.

Rural Vermont’s Director Amy Shollenberger is quoted as saying,

“The Hemp for Vermont bill is another step toward legalizing this important crop for farmers. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn’t allow this crop to be grown. Looking at the Canadian experience, hemp provides a good return for the farmer. It’s a high-yield crop and a great crop to mix in with corn.”

Shollenberger went on to say:

“The Vermont law is significant for two reasons. First, no other state until now has followed North Dakota’s lead by creating real-world regulations for farmers to grow industrial hemp. Second, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont is Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, as well as a member of the Committee on Agriculture – relevant committees that could consider legislation. We also have a friend at the USDA in new Secretary Ed Schaffer who signed North Dakota’s hemp bill as Governor. I plan to visit Washington, DC and try to figure out what Congress and the Administration intend to do.”

Vermont is not a large producer of corn, growing an average of 90,000 acres of corn each year. Hemp, according to the article, would provide an excellent rotation crop.

The next step is to convince the federal government to leave farmers in Vermont alone and allow the production of industrial hemp.

Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp, says:

“Vermont’s federal delegation can now take this law to the U.S. Congress and call for a fix to this problem of farmers missing out on a very useful and profitable crop. North Dakota farmers who want to grow hemp per state law are currently appealing their lawsuit in the federal courts. The real question is whether these hemp-friendly state congressional delegations feel compelled to act.”

A resolution is currently sitting in a congressional committee, awaiting action this year. HR 1009, the “Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007.” Should it die in committee, a similar measure would have to be introduced once again in the new session of Congress when it convenes next year.

If the court rules in favor of North Dakota farmers, can Vermont be far behind? And what about California, whose governor vetoed a bill that would have allowed farmers in four counties to grow industrial hemp?

It has many uses, but I’d never thought of decorative until seeing the story about the “Pastie Lady”. You want to publicize hemp and other natural resources, take a cue from 32 year old Jennifer Moss of Ojai, California.

That’s her on the left, decked out in a g-string, skirt and pasties, all made of hemp. Now, who could turn down a better reason for letting our farmers grow hemp, and establishing an infrastructure to produce such interesting clothing items?

Jennifer is a native of a small town near Corvallis, Oregon, but sought out a more eclectic, forward thinking place to live, like Southern California. She finally chose Ojai, and has been causing a stir ever since.

She’s been arrested twice and ticketed several times while bicycling down Ojai’s main street with a small trailer containing earth-friendly signs and a smiley-face pillow. She used that to do a head stand and kick her legs in the air one day. She received a lot of attention.

Jennifer also celebrated Easter Sunday by showing up at a Catholic church while parishoners were leaving the sanctuary. She admits it was poor judgement, but felt it necessary to send a message that there are many bad people who are destroying the Earth, and yet many of them go to church.

It’s said that before moving to Ojai, she entertained parade goers in Ventura, California during the Fourth of July parade in 2007. By-standers were shocked to see Jennifer zipping past on in-line skates, wearing only suntan oil.

She’s quoted in the article as saying:

“Nudity is natural, but a lot of people are uncomfortable with it,” she said. “It’s OK for children to play video games where they are killing each other, and it’s patriotic to murder people in a war. But women’s breasts in public? You better watch out!”

Pasties, in case you don’t know, are used to cover the nipples on a woman’s breasts. Somehow, you can show naked large or small breasts, but the nipples must be covered. What’s wrong with nipples? After all, nearly all of us have dined there in our earliest days.

Well, I for one hope Jennifer, known in town as the Pastie Lady, remains safe as she parades her causes in Ojai, and think I’ll start a petition drive to legalize industrial hemp.

Hey, it’s gotta start somewhere.

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