Don’t Travel with a Farm Boy…And Other Lessons from Hemp Lobbying in DC

James Comer, hemp, and the Fiddler on the Roof

When my alarm clock rang this morning at 4:30, my first thought was to remind myself — never again travel with a farm boy.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and I left on a 6 AM flight for DC this morning to begin our lobbying efforts on behalf of hemp legalization.  Comer who’s run a beef cattle farm since he was old enough to…uh, what exactly do you do on a beef cattle farm?  Well, it is clear that like most farmers — who Paul Harvey eloquently stated were created by God on the eighth day — beef cattle farmers like Comer like to get up really early — way too early for this city slicker.

But fortunately Comer’s early waking habits have put us in good shape for a full day’s of productive meetings in Washington.  While we will meet with an alphabet soup of federal agencies this afternoon — EPA, DOE, USDA, CEQ, WTF — we have started meeting with experts on the issue:  Michael Bowman, who has led the successful fight for hemp legalization in Colorado, and Eric Steenstra, who leads Vote Hemp, one of the leading national organizations supporting hemp legalization.

One early lesson:  A key focus of our efforts will be to seeking an amendment of the Farm Bill with hemp legalization language.

So, as we head back into our meetings, please help us out. 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:

President Obama: Legalize Hemp!

[signature]

263 signatures

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259Charles KellyLexington, KYJul 10, 2013
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214rich givanlou, kyMay 08, 2013

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