Cannabis Farming Has Kentucky Republicans Seeing Economic Boost

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-31/cannabis-farming-has-kentucky-republicans-seeing-economic-boost.html


Kentucky State Police and Kentucky National Guard troops wade through acres of dense Chinese silvergrass as they search for marijuana plants near Barbourville, Kentucky.

Kentucky Republicans and business leaders are promoting an unlikely way to boost the state’s economic development: Grow cannabis.

Kentucky leaders want their state to become the king of hemp, a plant that comes from the same species as marijuana, though doesn’t contain enough of the intoxicating ingredient to cause a high.

They want to help state farmers overcome the federal government’s treatment of hemp as an illegal drug, and produce it on an industrial scale, for use in items such as soap, horse bedding, building materials and auto body parts. Kentucky is one of at least five states, including Indiana and Vermont, where lawmakers have introduced measures allowing hemp farming.

The Kentucky effort is supported by legislative leaders, the state chamber of commerce, Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul and agricultural commissioner James Comer, a Republican who campaigned on bringing the crop to his state.

[el_bryanto]

1. Hemp and marijauna - not the same thing? n/t

[CBGLuthier]

4. Related, very similar, but Hemp has almost zero THC

Some do call proper cannabis hemp but that is more a euphemism than an accurate description.

EDIT:

My mistake: I was thinking of Hops which are related.

Hemp is a very, very low THC variety of Cannabis.

[el_bryanto]

5. I guess i'm confused as to why the chose to illustrate an article about hemp

with pictures of cops looking for Mary Jane? But then again, I've noticed that the press is often full of lazy people who don't think things through.

[A Little Weird]

6. They look the same

They belong to the same category of plants. It's sort of like the difference between varieties of corn (Zea mays). Both field corn and sweet corn are two varieties of the same species but are very different in taste. They can cross-pollinate with each other and are hard to distinguish just by looking - but the consumer will know the difference.

[Cirque du So-What]

10. Therein lies the rub

Although I believe the lion's share of opposition to industrial/agricultural/commercial hemp comes from lobbyists who represent corporations with vested interests in products made from other-than-hemp, I suspect there's some opposition based on the similarity in appearance of cannabis and hemp. After all, it would be a simple matter to sneak in a few pot plants among a field of hemp...not that there's anything wrong with that IMO, but you can count on politicos using that as an excuse to keep hemp illegal.

[A Little Weird]

12. Cross pollination

I do think there is a misconception among law enforcement that it would make it harder to find pot. And maybe finding big patches from the air would be harder. But it would be dumb to plant pot in or near a hemp patch because they can cross pollinate and it would make the pot less potent.

[Comrade Grumpy]

13. Our cops are saying they are too dumb to be able to tell the difference.

Unlike cops, say, in China, Canada, or Western Europe, where all the hemp we import is grown.

Cannabis plants for hemp DO look different from cannabis plants for pot.

[TeamPooka]

16. they do not look the same. Hemp grows more like a wheat stalk and cannabis grown for consumption

looks like nice sticky sweet smelling dankity dank.

[Recursion]

7. Sort of like broccoli and Brussels sprouts

Same species, vastly different cultivars

(also in that species: kale, cabbage, cauliflower, and collards.)

[ananda]

2. Lol

Don't worry, the Reeps will destroy this golden goose too!

[kestrel91316]

9. They will saddle it with such onerous regulations and fees that

only mega-corporations will be able to afford to grow it.

Like everything else in America, it's designed to help the already-wealthy and hurt the up-and-coming or mom-and-pop businesses.

[CBGLuthier]

3. Heh heh My Uncle used to grow a "relative of hemp" near Barbourville

My extended maternal family still lives in a holler a few miles out of town. My uncle died last year so no real worries about it any more but he did bring in a few crops in his day. LE had a hell of a time attempting to find anything in those woods.

[Sunlei]

8. a fine use of our taxpayer money!

[Bandit]

11. Many stories of old seamen smoking old hemp rope to relax themselves.

Especially in the whaling industry.. Hemp comes from marijuana however a low thc content is present because hemp is made from stems and not leaves...

[Go Vols]

14. Hemp for Victory

[felix_numinous]

15. What an ignorant drug policy

--hemp is a tall skinny plant grown for fiber, marijuana plants are shorter and resinous grown for their flowers. Farmers of hemp do not want marijuana plants anywhere close to their crop because they don't want cross pollination.

I think the DEA needs to justify it's own existence by going after both hemp and marijuana. But their ignorance and dishonesty is becoming clear for all to see.

[libdem4life]

17. The best kept California secret is that the counties north of San Francisco/Sonoma counties

have maintained their 6-7 digit rural property values and definitely the revenues of the small towns nearby, with the real (some say righteous) 420. Since logging went away due to the "tree huggers" and in favor of the Spotted Owl et al, there aren't many typical jobs or other industry anymore. It is very sparsely populated...millions of acres of lush forest-floor. Local Sheriffs and LEOs realize that it pays their salaries, while sometimes making a BFD about taking down a small dealer ... almost always an outsider ... to justify their existence. Hypocrisy and civic funding at its finest.

But we do know that the corporate interests/tobacco companies are absolutely poised to help themselves when MJ becomes available for those who do not have a "scrip" because of a backache or stubbed toe (medical MJ), etc. It will happen in Obama's 2nd term. The Obama/Holder first term raids, I believe, was a token to the Right Wing of both parties. It's going the way of Prohibition...just waiting for the corporations to get set up.

I'm wondering if profitable hemp requires more square foot production than MJ. In that case, it's more a Central Valley crop. If Kentucky leads the way, probably due to the tobacco corporations, California will not be far behind with the agriculture/vineyard table food corporations.

Hemp is the proverbial "foot in the door" which is why it's been shunned. Should have happened decades ago.