Afternoon Report from Capitol Hill

Commissioner Comer speaks to USDA officials

It’s been a packed day of very productive meetings on hemp legalization in our nation’s capital.  After a morning filled with briefing sessions with our allies from other states, we have moved on to sales mode, convincing Obama Administration officials and Members of Congress about the economic and environmental benefits of hemp legalization.

Our first effort was an hour long session with officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including senior executives from various sub-agencies, including Farm Development and Rural Development (as well as Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary Tim Vilsack, Robert Bonnie — a Louisville native and a college classmate of mine).  Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer held them captive with the dozens of potentially exciting applications of industrial hemp — from food to automotive products to clean energy production.  They told us that Secretary Vilsack is constantly approached by Americans about the economic viability for hemp, and we hope that he will become a partner in our efforts within the Obama Administration.

Later this afternoon, we will be meeting with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House to discuss environmental applications — both in the cleaner burning of fuels, as well as the more sustainable agricultural practices associated with hemp.

Currently, we are sitting in Capitol Hill, awaiting meetings with Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie (R) and John Yarmuth (D), who will be introducing us to key Members of both parties to help build support for the legalization legislation that are co-sponsoring.

As always, we strongly encourage to get involved — NOW. Here are three very simple things that you can do — right now, at your computer — to register your support for legalized industrial hemp and pressure Washington to fulfill the people’s will:

1. Contact your Senators to urge them to co-sponsor and support S. 359, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013. introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rand Paul (R-KY) that would exclude hemp from the definition of marijuana and allow states to legalize and regulate the product.
2. Contact your Congressman and urge him or her to co-sponsor the companion bill in the House, H.R. 525, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013, introduced by Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY).
3. Sign the following petition to President Obama, urging his Administration to lift the barriers to legalized hemp: