Medical Cannabis Protection Measures Reintroduced In Congress

hursday, 21 February 2013

Washington, DC: Members of the United States House of Representatives reintroduced legislation in Congress last week to protect state-authorized medical marijuana patients from federal prosecution.
House Bill 689, the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, would ensure that medical cannabis patients in states that have approved its use will no longer have to fear arrest or prosecution from federal law enforcement agencies. It states, "No provision of the Controlled Substances Act shall prohibit or otherwise restrict in a State in which marijuana may be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical use under applicable state law."
The measure also calls for the federal government to reclassify cannabis so that it is no longer categorized as a Schedule I prohibited substance with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. It states: "Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration shall, based upon the recommendation under paragraph (1), issue a notice of proposed rulemaking for the rescheduling of marijuana within the Controlled Substances Act, which shall include a recommendation to list marijuana as other than a Schedule I or Schedule II."
In January, a three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied petitioners request to overturn the Obama administration's July 2011 rejection of an administrative petition that sought to initiate hearings regarding the reclassification of marijuana under federal law.
Separate federal legislation, House Bill 710: The Truth in Trials Act, which provides an affirmative defense in federal court for defendants whose actions were in compliance with the medical marijuana laws of their state, is also once again pending before the US House of Representatives. Prior version of this measure failed to make it out of committee.
Additional information on these measures is available from NORML's 'Take Action Center' at: http://www.capwiz.com/norml2/issues/.

Last Days to Act on Medical Marijuana Legislation in Oklahoma

Senator Constance Johnson (D-Oklahoma District 28) has reintroduced legislation to allow patients with qualifying conditions to use cannabis for therapeutic purposes. However, this measure must be heard by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee by Monday, February 25, or else the measure will be dead for the 2013 legislative session. Please take time today to contact the committee's chair, Senator Brian Crain, and request that he schedules a hearing for this important legislation. His office contact number is: (405)521-5620 .
Senate Bill 710 would allow qualifying patients to use cannabis with a physician's recommendation. Patients would be permitted to possess up to eight ounces of marijuana and cultivate up to twelve marijuana plants. SB 710 would also allow the state to license marijuana dispensaries and cultivation centers. You can read the full text of this proposal here. You can read NORML's support of this legislative effort here.
NORML will continue to update you in the coming weeks as this proposal moves forward. You can learn more about this legislation from Oklahoma NORML and Tulsa NORML.

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Derek Cross - Author: Hemp Healthy Cooking - February 22, 2013

Derek Cross is a native of Chicago who has traveled the country and found his calling and happiness in Texas. Derek stems from a blended family, and has seeded 5 of his own children, including 2 flowering grandchildren. Derek's love for his wife has never stopped blooming. He served as a machinist mate in the U.S. Navy and owned his own electrical contracting company in Wisconsin, before he settled in Texas.
Derek is the author of a new series of cookbooks titled Hemp Healthy Cooking. He was inspired to write the series after seeing the results first hand of hemp's healing benefits. While suffering from eczema and also nerve damage following surgery, Derek was looking for a non-pharmaceutical way to heal himself when he stumbled across an old remedy, hemp seed oil for the use on eczema. Derek noticed his eczema had gone away after applications of the hemp oil, so in doing further research, Derek found that hemp contains a lot more health benefits than just eczema. After using hemp oil daily on his skin, Derek started eating the hemp seeds straight from the bag, and was searching for a way to incorporate hemp seeds and hemp oil into his diet. Inspired by a dear friend, whom is a gourmet chef, and while cooking with hemp in Derek's diet, he had decided to take notes while in the kitchen, turning out fantastic recipes with hemp seeds and oil. Hemp has become his passion, and creating hip and trendy recipes for you to eat. His cookbooks can be found at Bake Space.com.
He has been spreading Hemp not only on his toast with Honey and Hemp Butter, but has also been spreading Hemp Education to every one he meets, Derek is a Hemp advocate on all fronts, Nutritional, Industrial and Medicinal. He calls himself a "Hemp O' Holic," not only is he busy writing a series of Hemp Healthy Cookbooks, he is also a writer of the Hemp Healthy Today blog. Derek is also an active member of DFW NORML.

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Max Igan World Hemp Congress 2012 Speech ~ FULL LENGTH

Hemp bill passes KY senate committee after testimony from Rand Paul and ...

Commissioner Comer, Senator Rand Paul and others to testify on Senate Bi...

As Kentucky votes, McConnell, Paul back bill to help on federal level but opposition remains

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Hemp legalization bill passes Kentucky Senate

As Kentucky votes, McConnell, Paul back bill to help on federal level but opposition remains.

Written by

Gregory A. Hall

The Courier-JournalFRANKFORT, KY. — An effort to allow Kentucky farmers to grow hemp for a variety of products passed the state Senate Thursday — and took a small step toward federal acceptance as well.
But it still faces steep odds, including skepticism from the governor and Kentucky State Police and the distinct possibility of being gutted in the state House.
Backers of Senate Bill 50 say Thursday’s 31-6 vote could make Kentucky among the first in the nation to legalize the crop, potentially creating thousands of hemp-related jobs growing and processing the plant’s fiber and seeds.
But Gov. Steve Beshear said he has doubts about legalizing the far weaker relative of marijuana as an industrial crop, citing state police concerns about complicating marijuana enforcement efforts. Even if the state legalizes hemp, the federal government would have to distinguish it from marijuana before cultivation would be allowed.
Washington took a step in that direction Thursday, when U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul joined Oregon’s senators in sponsoring a bill that would remove hemp from the federal controlled substance list and define it as a non-drug — as long as it contains less than 0.3 percent THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
Marijuana has 3 percent to 15 percent THC.
“I am extremely proud of the Kentucky state Senate for its commitment to job creation in Kentucky,” said Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who has led the campaign to pass the bill, along with Paul.
Kentucky would become the ninth state to remove barriers to the production of industrial hemp, according to Vote Hemp, a national group seeking to legalize the crop.
“Today’s bipartisan vote is the first step toward more opportunities for our farmers and jobs for Kentuckians,” Comer said.
The bill now goes to the House, where Speaker Greg Stumbo said it will have a “tougher time.”

House may rewrite

Stumbo has suggested the bill may be overhauled to remove the rules for growing hemp and replace them with an economic impact study. Stumbo, a Prestonsburg Democrat and former state attorney general, has said he doesn’t believe there’s a market for hemp.
“It’s not that we are saying no,” he said. “We are saying that the evidence doesn’t show enough of a market to override the concerns that the law enforcement community has.”
Beshear voiced similar concerns in an interview with reporters before the Senate vote.
“We really don’t know anything about whether there’s going to be a market for it yet,” Beshear said. “ ... The other concern is law enforcement. ... We’ve got a big drug problem in Kentucky, and I just want to make sure we don’t do anything that will make that problem any worse.”
The Kentucky State Police, the most vocal critics of the bill, didn’t comment on the vote. The KSP argues that allowing hemp production would hamper efforts to eradicate marijuana because the plants look very similar.
“Our position’s very well known,” Sgt. Rick Saint Blancard said, adding that the agency will enforce whatever laws are passed.
The U.S. Senate legislation sponsored by McConnell and Paul is similar to a bill filed in the House last week by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-4th District.
The House bill has 28 Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, including Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District. Massie, Yarmuth and Paul testified in Frankfort on Monday in support of the state bill.
The debate Thursday on the Kentucky Senate floor mirrored previous arguments, both in Kentucky and across the nation.
Five of the six senators who voted against the bill come from the congressional district of U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, who opposes the bill. The six are Chris Girdler, R-Somerset; David Givens, R-Greensburg; Ray Jones, D-Pikeville; Albert Robinson, R-London; Brandon Smith, R-Hazard; and Johnny Ray Turner, D-Prestonsburg.
Girdler, who previously worked for Rogers, said he believes the state has more pressing issues — such as pension reform — to worry about.
“This issue in the big scheme of things is a non-issue,” he said, also questioning its economic benefit.
Givens, the former chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said he would prefer to approve a small, controlled growing study while the economics of hemp could be analyzed.
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, did not vote — the first time he hasn’t this session, a spokeswoman said. Stivers, who also lives in Rogers’ district, declined to explain his reasoning, saying he wanted to get home for Valentine’s Day.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, said he doesn’t see hemp as a “cash cow” and admitted its economic potential is unknown, but he said the bill gives Kentucky farmers the ability to compete.

Seeking a chance

“Give us the opportunity to see how this works,” said Hornback who is a farmer. He said any study would be limited because growing the product isn’t allowed in the United States. But he said he’s already heard from two companies interested in Kentucky taking action, including a Canadian hemp processor that would relocate to Kentucky and another that would be interested in using hemp fiber for concrete.
“If you’re not first, you’re probably last,” Hornback said.
SB 50 would require growers to be licensed annually and undergo a background check by the Agriculture Department.
Each licensee would be required to plant a minimum of 10 acres, a provision meant to keep licenses from people who are not serious about the effort.
Growers would have to keep sales contracts for three years and provide names of hemp buyers to the department
 

 

Industrial hemp bill passes Kentucky Senate

Kentucky Senate passes bill allowing farmers to plant industrial hemp if federal ban lifted

By Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press | Associated Press – Fri, Feb 15, 2013

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Industrial hemp's growth from the fringes to the political mainstream in Kentucky continued Thursday, with state Senate passage of a bill to strictly regulate the crop if the federal government lifts its current ban on the one-time agricultural staple in the Bluegrass state.

The bill, which would license hemp growers if the crop gains a federal reprieve, cleared the Senate on a 31-6 vote as supporters promoted its potential to diversify Kentucky farms in an era when tobacco's influence has waned. They said hemp's comeback would create processing and manufacturing jobs in converting the plant into products that include paper, clothing, auto parts, biofuels, food and lotions.

Sen. Paul Hornback, a tobacco farmer and the bill's lead sponsor, said Kentucky needs to be at the forefront of giving the versatile crop a chance if the federal ban is lifted. The Shelbyville Republican said he had heard recently from two companies interested in capitalizing on a hemp comeback in Kentucky, including a processing company in Canada looking to expand and offer production contracts to farmers.

"Give us the opportunity," Hornback said. "Put us in a position in Kentucky to give us an opportunity to see how this works. I don't think anybody knows exactly what the economic impact's going to be in Kentucky. We don't know what the economic viability is going to be."
The bill now heads to the House, where its prospects are much less certain.

"I think it'll have a little tougher time here," House Speaker Greg Stumbo told reporters.

Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said hemp supporters haven't yet proven there's a viable market for the crop that vanished from U.S. farms decades ago.
"It's not that we're saying 'no,'" Stumbo said. "We're simply saying that the evidence doesn't show that there's enough of a market to override the concerns that the law enforcement community has."
Law enforcement skeptics, including Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer, worry that officers will be unable to detect the difference between hemp and marijuana without costly lab tests. They worry marijuana growers would infiltrate hemp fields to plant small plots of pot. Supporters have tried to debunk that claim, saying growers would avoid hemp fields because the hemp would greatly diminish the potency of the marijuana.
Republican Sen. Chris Girdler of Somerset, who opposed the bill, expressed doubts about hemp's economic potential. He said he hopes he's wrong and that hemp produces thousands of jobs if it makes a comeback, but added, "Unfortunately, I believe that growing a Chia Pet would have as much economic prosperity as the growing of hemp."
U.S. retail sales of hemp products exceed $400 million per year, advocates say. Dozens of countries produce hemp, and most imported hemp is grown in Canada and Europe. Girdler said hemp producers there are supported by government subsidies, a claim disputed by national hemp advocates.
State Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who has championed efforts to re-establish hemp, hailed the Senate vote.
"Today's bipartisan vote is the first step toward more opportunities for our farmers and jobs for Kentuckians," he said.

Last year, Comer re-convened an industrial hemp commission that had been dormant for years. Hemp support gained momentum with endorsements from many of Kentucky's most powerful politicians, including Republican U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and U.S. Reps. John Yarmuth, the state's lone Democrat in the congressional delegation, and Thomas Massie, a Republican.

Comer has cautioned that hemp will remain absent from Kentucky until the federal government legalizes the crop.
On Thursday, McConnell and Paul introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate to allow the nation's farmers to grow industrial hemp. The measure, also sponsored by Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democrats, would remove the crop from the list of controlled substances under federal law.
The Kentucky senators said hemp packs the potential to boost the state's economy and generate new jobs, especially in rural communities.
Paul made a pitch for hemp during a state Senate committee hearing on Monday. He even wore a shirt made of hemp fiber. Paul has said he would seek a federal waiver to allow for a resumption of hemp production in Kentucky if the federal legislation stalls.
If the bill in Kentucky is approved by the full Legislature, the Bluegrass state would join eight others that have taken steps to allow commercial hemp production, despite the federal ban.
Industrial hemp once thrived in Kentucky, but the leafy crop has been banned for decades since the federal government classified it as a controlled substance related to marijuana. Hemp has a negligible content of THC, the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high.
Under the Kentucky bill, the state agriculture department would license hemp growers and production would be subject to inspection. Growers would undergo criminal background checks. A production license would be valid for one year and a grower would be limited to 10 acres for each license.
___
The legislation is Senate Bill 50.

(Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about how safe Nuclear is!!!And they, want Hemp Illegal!!!) So, how safe is it???I'd take my chances with Hemp any day, causes ZERO DEATHS.)

 

U.S. Department Of Energy

The disposal facility for mixed and low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is shown in an aerial image.

 

 

Tank at Hanford nuclear site leaking radioactive liquids, Washington governor says

By Mike Baker and Shannon Dininny, The Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A tank that holds radioactive liquids is leaking at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday, raising concerns about the integrity of other storage facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy said liquid levels are decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the nuclear reservation. Monitoring wells near the tank have not detected higher radiation levels, the agency said. Inslee said the leak could be in the range of 150 gallons to 300 gallons over the course of a year.
"I am alarmed about this on many levels," Inslee said at a Friday afternoon news conference. "This raises concerns, not only about the existing leak ... but also concerning the integrity of the other single shell tanks of this age."

---

The tanks hold millions of gallons of a highly radioactive stew left from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons.
Inslee said the state was told such problems had been dealt with years ago and were under control.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the federal government must not waiver in its commitment to clean up the highly contaminated site, Inslee told reporters.
The tank in question contains about 447,000 gallons of sludge, a mixture of solids and liquids with a mud-like consistency. The tank, built in the 1940s, is known to have leaked in the past, but was stabilized in 1995 when all liquids that could be pumped out of it were removed.
Inslee said the tank is the first to have been documented to be losing liquids since all Hanford tanks were stabilized in 2005.
At the height of World War II, the federal government created Hanford in the remote sagebrush of eastern Washington as part of a hush-hush project to build the atomic bomb. The site ultimately produced plutonium for the world's first atomic blast and for one of two atomic bombs dropped on Japan, effectively ending the war.
Plutonium production continued there through the Cold War, but today, Hanford is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site. Cleanup will cost billions of dollars and last decades.
Central to that cleanup is the removal of millions of gallons of a highly toxic, radioactive stew — enough to fill dozens of Olympic-size swimming pools — from 177 aging, underground tanks. Over time, many of those tanks have leaked, threatening the groundwater and the neighboring Columbia River, the largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest.
Construction of a $12.3 billion plant to convert the waste to a safe, stable form is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Technical problems have slowed the project, and several workers have raised lawsuits in recent months, claiming they were retaliated against for raising concerns about the plant's design and safety.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

GO TAX PAYER DOLLARS!!!

Jane Says: Learn How to Avoid GMOs in Your Food Supply

Genetically modified foods are seeping into our food system. Here's how to keep them off your plate.

By Jane Lear

June 6, 2012

Comment

Looking to avoid genetically modified foods? Search for an "organic" label. (Photo: Flickr/Getty Images)

“When [a food] says ‘organic,’ is that enough to mean non-GMO? Would a Monsanto soybean ever be considered organic? I always buy Trader Joe’s organic and I read somewhere that they do not use GMO ingredients in their own products. Please tell me if this is correct!” —Jillian Simms

The short answers to your questions are 1.) yes 2.) not no, but hell, no, and 3.) I don’t know.
The long answers are a little more complicated, but bear with me. Much will be revealed.
USDA-certified organic foods do not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Organic produce is also cultivated without synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or sewage sludge (“biosolids” is the industry euphemism) for compost, and they haven’t been irradiated. Certified organic meat comes from animals that were given 100% organic feed and no growth hormones or antibiotics. They had access to the outdoors (although generally not the pastoral idyll we all fondly imagine) and the producers meet USDA animal welfare protocols. Any time you see the label “USDA Certified Organic,” in fact, it means that the food was produced under the federal standards specified by the National Organic Program (which is part of the USDA) and verified by an accredited certifying agent. For more information, the Organic Farming Research Foundation is a great place to start.
It took a good ten years to hammer out the organic food regs, and they are far from perfect. Organic food doesn’t have to be local or seasonal, for instance, and it doesn’t have to be harvested by humanely treated workers paid a living wage. The rules can be burdensome for small farms, and as always, it pays to know your producers; I buy fruit and vegetables from several of them who aren’t certified organic, yet follow organic practices. It’s also necessary to parse labels carefully: Underneath the official “Certified Organic” umbrella, there are different shades of meaning when it comes to packaged multi-ingredient foods.

• “100% Organic” means that the product contains only organic ingredients and processing aids. The USDA seal and the logo of the third-party certifier may appear on the product.
• “Organic” means that the product contains at least 95% organic ingredients. Any remaining ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances on the approved National List, including specific nonorganically produced agricultural products that aren’t commercially available in organic form. The USDA seal and the logo of the third-party certifier may appear on the product.
• “Made with Organic Ingredients” means that the product must include at least 70% organic ingredients. It may carry the certifier’s seal but not the USDA seal. And it can list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups.

It sounds like common sense to slap a label on foods containing GMO ingredients as well. After all, how hard could it be? They’re in everything. Commodity GM crops such as corn, soybeans, canola, and sugar beets are now present in the sea of processed foods at any supermarket. According to the Non-GMO Project, a nonprofit organization committed to providing verified non-GMO choices to consumers, the back panel of almost any packaged food can contain ingredients derived from GMO risk crops, including “Amino Acids, Aspartame, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Ethanol, Flavorings (‘natural’ and ‘artificial’), High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrins, Molasses, Monosodium Glutamate, Sucrose, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Xanthan Gum, Vitamins, Yeast Products.”
Yeesh. By the way, in case you are wondering why the name Non-GMO Project rings a bell, it’s probably because Kashi cereals recently jumped on the bandwagon. And for more on why GMO labeling is a good thing—and why it will be an uphill battle—read what the straight-talking policy expert Marion Nestle had to say in her first “Food Matters” column for the San Francisco Chronicle.
As to whether a Monsanto soybean would ever be considered organic, I reached out to Charles Benbrook, chief scientist at The Organic Center, in Troy, Oregon. “The vast majority of the soybean seed they sell has, by their choice, the Roundup Ready gene in it, whether farmers want it or not—and more and more do not, because of resistant weeds,” he explained. “The seed industry holds all the cards, since they must decide what they are going to grow in 2012 to sell to farmers in 2013. If farmer attitudes change in 2013 and a significant percentage—say, one-third—decide they do not want to plant GE soybeans, they will be #hit out of luck, since 90 percent plus of the nation’s soybean seed supply will be GE, and Monsanto cannot wave a magic wand and extract their RR gene.”
Lastly, when shopping, even at Trader Joe’s, don’t check your brain at the door. Private-label products help create a brand; some may be certified organic and some may not. In all honesty, Trader Joe’s lost me as a customer when a manager refused to disclose which poultry producers he buys from. This lack of transparency is nothing new, and don’t get me wrong: The chicken I was eyeing looked beautiful. But without more information, I took a pass. When it came to the trail mix, though, and the peanut-butter–filled pretzel nuggets, I caved. Nobody’s perfect.
 

THC RADIO 2/14/2013

Hemp Healthy Cooking

Legalize Marijuana In Pennsylvania - Les Stark Of Pa. Hempland Security