Thursday, August 6, 2009

Email 2- Hemp in Hawaii

It was great to talk with you yesterday. You had lots of great questions and kept the meeting interesting.

I'm sorry that I didn't have the documents I should have. I didn't really know that I was going to get to sit down with you for so long. Thankfully, everything is online, so here are several links:

First of all, as far as growing trends go, new reports are coming out everyday.
Just earlier this week, on August 4th, an Oregon based hemp company (that conducts research in Vancouver) signed a deal with Hanes apparel.
About two weeks ago, BBC released a mini-documentary of a eco-car made of hemp.

I wanted to make sure to show you how instrumental Hawai'i has been throughout the years.

Here is the Dear Colleague Letter written by your boss Rep. Neil Abercrombie and former Hawai'i Rep. Patsy Mink. Hawai'i was the only state to have two Representatives come together for the State. Their letter was sent alongside another letter with 21 signatures.

Legisation:
Since 1999, four pieces of legislation have been passed. Hemp farming bills have been introduced several times as well. For links to all of these, please visit the Hawai'i section of our site.
Currently, there is a farming bill on the table, HB 305
Whether or not this passes, it shows that support for hemp is still thriving, if not growing.

Hawai'i is one of the only places where industrial hemp has actually been planted. A study was conducted for over two years before it had to be terminated, when administrative delays on the part of the DEA became too costly. The final report can be found here. By the end of the report, Dr. David West proved that it is certainly possible to breed a strain of hemp that can thrive in tropical environments.

Hawaii has had so much support for hemp.
In 2001, six bi-partisan state legislators wrote a letter to former president George W. Bush asking for support to grow hemp.
If you really have the time, here is a report prepared for State Representative Cynthia Thielen, democratic floor leader who became a major proponent for industrial hemp. The report, while written in 1996, is very insightful and well researched.

Hawai'i was one of the earliest hemp supporters, and throughout the years, has definitely been one of the strongest. I hope that Rep. Abercrombie sees some of this support during his recess, and reconsiders it as an issue worthy of attention.

Thank you so much for your interest in this topic. Let me know what you think about this, and certainly if you have any other questions. I would love to be in touch as I try to gain support from other Hawai'i delegates as well.

Thanks again,

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