Day 2 of the Hemp Parade Continues…

We’re in the middle of another very productive day of lobbying on behalf of hemp legalization in DC. This morning, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and I were joined by Kentucky State Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Paul Hornback, who was the lead sponsor of SB 50, the groundbreaking legislation that was left for dead at least a half a dozen times, until it passed with overwhelming majorities in both houses on the very last night of the General Assembly session.

Today so far we have met with most of the members of the Kentucky delegation, securing co-signers for Congressman Thomas Massie’s legislation to legalize hemp. As of today, we have 38 Congressmen, of both parties, signing on to the Massie bill.

Commissioner Comer also held a press conference (see the picture above) attended by several inside-the-Beltway political journalists. I think they were quite surprised by the consistent theme of bi-partisanship, not only with our lobbying group, but especially among the Congressional supporters, and of course paving the passage of SB 50 in Kentucky.

Of course, we still have much more ground to plow (although I learned from Senator Hornback that you don’t need to plow ground to plant hemp). We have met with resistance from the Drug Enforcement Agency, and still far too many policymakers are not aware of the underlying facts about the value of hemp, and the clear distinction with marijuana.

But if our success in Kentucky, as well our few days here in Washington, demonstrate, all that stands between hemp legalization and final passage is just a little bit of education. We are still in the middle of our journey, but the finish line appears to be quickly approaching.

To get there, we need YOU  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.  Here is a great link to contact them from Vote Hemp.
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).  Here is a great link to contact them from Vote Hemp.
3. Sign the following petition to President Obama, urging his Administration to lift the barriers to legalized hemp: