Hemp going legit with feds; some wonder if marijuana is far behind

[unhappycamper]

http://gazette.com/hemp-going-legit-with-feds-some-wonder-if-marijuana-is-far-behind/article/1513527



In this Oct. 5, 2013 file photo, hemp chef Derek Cross helps harvest hemp during the first known harvest of the plant in more than 60 years, in Springfield, Colo. The federal farm bill agreement reached Monday Jan. 27, 2014 reverses decades of prohibition for hemp cultivation. Instead of requiring approval from federal drug authorities to cultivate the plant, the 10 states that have authorized hemp would be allowed to grow it in pilot projects or at colleges and universities for research.


Hemp going legit with feds; some wonder if marijuana is far behind
By Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press - • Updated: January 28, 2014 at 2:01 pm • Published: January 28, 2014

DENVER — The federal government is ready to let farmers grow cannabis — at least the kind that can't get people high.

Hemp — marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin that's used to make everything from clothing to cooking oil — could soon be cultivated in 10 states under a federal farm bill agreement reached late Monday.

Some wonder if the move is an indication that the federal government is ready to follow the 20 states that have already legalized medical marijuana, including two that also allow its recreational use.

"This is part of an overall look at cannabis policy, no doubt," said Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp, a Washington-based advocacy group.

[WovenGems]

1. Good Ploy

Hemp suffered when MJ was made illegal. The reverse will now play out.

[Bennyboy]

2. Decades away. Hemp will take decades

Growers are reluctant to grow hemp because there is no place to sell it. No place to process it. Farmers are not willing to risk even one years worth of $$$ from the crop they grow now, in order to grow a crop without a market. Or way to process it.

They have dismantled most of the wood fibre plants in the US and sent the machinery to China, like everything else. So there is no way to process it now here in the US outside of a boutique economy.

It is a start but the reality is, unless the Gov't puts out a LOT of subsidies, Hemp, no matter how legal to grow, will not have a large market.