SACRAMENTO, CA – Vote Hemp and the Hemp
Industries Association, the nation’s leading grassroots organizations
working to revitalize industrial hemp production in the U.S., urge
Governor Brown to support SB 676, the California Industrial Hemp Farming
Act. After moving smoothly through the California legislature with
bi-partisan support, this landmark legislation is now up for the
Governor’s signature and would establish guidelines for farming the
non-psychoactive plant that is used in a wide variety of every day
consumer products, including food, body care, clothing, paper, auto
parts, building materials and bio-fuel.

“California is one step closer
to building a successful hemp industry in the Central Valley,” said
Senator Mark Leno, following news on September 7 that the Assembly
approved the legislation in a vote of 49-22. The legislation allows
California farmers to grow industrial hemp for the legal sale of seed,
oil and fiber to manufacturers. The Senate approved the bill last night
in a concurrence vote of 26-13, making the next stop, Governor Jerry
Brown’s desk.

Introduced by Senator Mark Leno
earlier this year, SB 676 would create an 8-year pilot program to allow
industrial hemp farming in four California counties: Kern, Kings,
Imperial, and San Joaquin. This is the third time in ten years that the
California legislature has passed a hemp farming bill. However, SB 676
is further refined than previous bills and has significant support from
businesses, farming groups, local governments, labor unions, and even
law enforcement.

Strong support for the bill has
come from Kings County Sheriff David Robinson who wrote in a letter to
Senator Leno: “I strongly support this important step in giving our
farmers another crop option and another economic opportunity, to help
create jobs during these difficult economic times.” Letters of support
from the Kings and Kern County Sheriffs, as well as the Kings County
Board of Supervisors who voted unanimously to support the bill, can be
viewed at: http://votehemp.com/letters

The bill is also endorsed by the
California State Grange, the UCFW-5, the Imperial County Farm Bureau,
California Certified Organic Growers and other leading farm
organizations. SB 676 takes careful and measured steps toward industrial
hemp cultivation with a 4-county pilot program that will sunset after 8
years. Near the end of the pilot program the Attorney General will
report to the legislature on law enforcement impacts, and the Hemp
Industries Association (HIA) will provide a report on the economic
impacts.

“Hemp is a versatile cash and
rotation crop with steadily rising sales as an organic food and body
care ingredient. Today, more than 30 industrialized nations grow
industrial hemp and export it to the U.S. Hemp is the only crop that is
illegal to grow yet legal for Americans to import,” explains Eric
Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp and Executive Director of the Hemp
Industries Association.

California businesses spend
millions of dollars each year importing hemp from Canada, China and
Europe. Demand for hemp products has been growing rapidly in recent
years. It is estimated that the U.S. hemp market now exceeds an
estimated $419 million in annual retail sales. From natural soaps to
healthy foods, there is a large variety of “Made in California” hemp
products that could greatly benefit from an in-state source of hemp
seed, fiber and oil.

For the environment, the
agricultural benefits are not limited to the versatility of uses.
Industrial hemp is an excellent rotation crop because its dense growth
smothers weeds without herbicides and helps to break the disease cycle.
Hemp requires less water and agricultural chemicals than other crops,
has deep roots that leave the soil in excellent condition for the next
crop, and is proven to increase yields. These benefits save farmers
money and reduce the amount of pesticides, defoliants and chemical
fertilizers that run into our waterways.

“Vote Hemp’s goal is to relieve
California farmers of the over-reaching prohibition on industrial hemp
cultivation and reintroduce the crop to the state,” says Patrick Goggin,
California Legal Counsel for Vote Hemp. Among the numerous California
based companies supporting the bill are Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps,
makers of North America’s top-selling natural soap, and Nutiva, a rising
star among innovative health food companies. Both of these businesses
currently must import hemp from other countries. “We expect Governor
Brown to do what’s best for the state of California and sign this
important bill into law,” continues Goggin.

# # #

Vote Hemp is a national,
single-issue, nonprofit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and
free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to
allow U.S. farmers to once again grow this agricultural crop. More
information about hemp legislation and the crop’s many uses may be found
at www.VoteHemp.com or www.TheHIA.org.

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