BILL NUMBER: HR 32	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Strom-Martin

                        AUGUST 16, 1999

   House Resolution No. 32--Relative to industrial hemp.


  HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, Industrial hemp was first domesticated 10,000 years ago;
was required in 1619 to be grown by all farmers in Jamestown,
Virginia; was legal tender in America and accepted as payment for
taxes from 1631 to the early 1800's; was a cash crop grown on the
plantations of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson; was grown in
America and regulated by the Department of Agriculture until 1937;
and was the domestic source of maritime rope during the 1942 to 1945
World War II "Hemp for Victory" campaign; and
   WHEREAS, Industrial hemp provided the ropes and sails for
Christopher Columbus' ships and the paper on which the Declaration of
Independence was first drafted; and
   WHEREAS, Industrial hemp has been used to produce more than 25,000
products; and
   WHEREAS, Industrial hemp is produced by 30 nations, including
Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Romania, Australia, and China, none
of which are classified by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
as drug-producing countries; and
   WHEREAS, The DEA permits industrial hemp to be grown under strict
rules and regulations that are currently being revised; and
   WHEREAS, The importation of industrial hemp is permitted by the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the North American Free
Trade Agreement; and
   WHEREAS, North Dakota has legalized industrial hemp for commercial
farming; Hawaii and Minnesota have legalized test crops of
industrial hemp; the Legislatures of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New
Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and
Wisconsin are considering the legalization of industrial hemp; and
the City and County of San Francisco is currently drafting an
ordinance to permit its residents to grow industrial hemp; and
   WHEREAS, Industrial hemp can be easily distinguished from
marijuana by appearance, cultivation methods, and chemical analysis
because industrial hemp is a nonintoxicating, benign form of the
cannabis sativa plant that contains less than 1 percent
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), while marijuana contains 5 to 20 percent
THC; and industrial hemp seeds are planted to yield more than 1,000
stalks per two square yards, while only one marijuana plant can be
grown in the same size plot; and industrial hemp matures in 70 to 120
days and is harvested before it flowers, while marijuana is
cultivated for its flowertops and takes 120 to 180 days to mature;
and, when grown together, industrial hemp will pollinate marijuana,
reducing its THC content to a nonintoxicating level; and
   WHEREAS, Industrial hemp thrives without herbicides, reinvigorates
the soil, requires less water than cotton, matures in three to four
months, and can potentially yield four times as much paper per acre
as trees, building materials that are twice as strong as wood and
concrete, textile fiber that is up to eight times as strong as
cotton, better oil and paint than petroleum, clean-burning diesel
fuel, biodegradable plastics, and more digestible protein per acre
than any other food source; and
   WHEREAS, Industrial hemp can be planted and harvested in
California several times per year, and gross $200 to $600 per acre
per harvest at current market prices; and
   WHEREAS, All industrial hemp raw materials currently must be
imported to manufacture products that are distributed by, and sold
in, more than 60 specialty shops and 250 general stores throughout
California, with national sales and exports exceeding $100 million
per year; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly finds and declares that industrial hemp is a vital,
sustainable, renewable resource for building materials, cloth,
cordage, fiber, food, fuel, industrial chemicals, oil, paint, paper,
plastics, seed, yarn, and many other useful products; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Assembly finds and declares that the domestic
production of industrial hemp can help protect California's
environment, contribute to the growth of the state economy, and be
regulated in a manner that will not interfere with the enforcement of
marijuana laws; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Assembly finds and declares that the
Legislature should consider action to revise the legal status of
industrial hemp to allow for its growth in California as an
agricultural and industrial crop; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Assembly finds and declares that the
Legislature should consider directing the University of California,
the California State University, and other state agencies to prepare
studies in conjunction with private industry on the cultivation,
processing, and marketing of industrial hemp.