Introducing HR 3037

Republican Ron Paul (R-TX) & cosponsors Sam Farr (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Jim McDermott (D-WA), George Miller (D-CA), & Peter Stark (D-CA), introduced HR 3037, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005. It would would remove non-psychoactive industrial hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act & grant state legislatures "exclusive authority" to regulate the growing & processing of the crop.

Currently, the U. S. is the only developed nation that fails to cultivate industrial hemp. Farmers in Canada, the European Union, & in numerous countries throughout the world grow hemp commercially for fiber, seed, & oil for use in a variety of industrial & consumer products, including food. Hemp fiber & hemp-based products are legally imported to the U. S. complying with several economic treaties, including North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) & General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT).

Several US states have passed legislation authorizing the cultivation of industrial hemp for research and commercial purposes. However, farmers in these states cannot legally grow hemp without federal permission. House Bill 3037 would remove this hurdle by creating a distinction in federal law between marijuana and industrial hemp (defined as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC), & granting states the authority to regulate it as a legal agricultural crop.

Tell your representative to support the bill. The economic possibilities are endless.