Vote Hemp

When your job is to air the dirty laundry of the world’s worst loggers, you get asked a lot about alternatives to wood. There are, of course, many.

This week, the California State Assembly (that’s a legislature to all you non-Californians) considers one of the most economically and ecologically promising of those alternatives–Hemp. Sponsored by San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (AB1147) would lift state ban on production of Hemp through a licensing program for farmers interested in growing the product.

Bi-partisan sponsors of the bill are expecting a close vote on the floor next week. If you live in California and haven’t weighed in yet, be sure to send a letter to your Assembly Member today.

http://ga3.org/campaign/hemp

Hemp, of course, has been around for some time. From around 1900 to 1920 hemp was grown as a commercial crop in California, providing a more sustainable source of fiber for paper, industrial oils, textiles and a host of other products. In fact, hemp is twice as productive as pine by acre as a source of paper fiber. Today, hemp has to be imported from Canada–go figure.

For all you ever wanted to know about hemp, the fast-growing hemp industry, visit our friends at VoteHemp.com.

Side note: Hemp was banned over fears that it was a drug. For an interesting read about the very strange “reefer madness” scare spurred in part by San Francisco’s infamous media magnate William Randolph Hearst in the 1930’s (and its connections to industrial forestry) see this commentary from ABC’s Hugh Downs circa 1990.