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GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
www.cagreens.org
Monday, February 28, 2005
Contact: Sara Amir, spokesperson 310.270.7106 saraamir@earthlink.net
Kevin McKeown, spokesperson 310.393.3639 kevin@mckeown.net
Beth Moore Haines, spokesperson 530.277.0610 beth@ncws.com
State Green Party throws support behind 'Industrial
Hemp' bill at Capitol; Hemp hailed as more environmentally safe
SACRAMENTO, Ca. (February 28, 2005) - In an effort
to bring the environmentally sound and renewable practice of hemp
cultivation to the state, the Green Party of California is urging quick
passage of a bill (AB1147) to license industrial hemp growers,
introduced in the state assembly this past week.
"Public perception is shifting in the realm of
industrial hemp," said Beth Moore Haines, a spokesperson for the
GPCA media committee, adding that the GPCA's platform supports the
promotion of hemp production.
"As the rest of the developed world realizes
the advantages of hemp cultivation - and the environmental advantages of
growing it - California has a real opportunity to lead the nation in
bringing us in step with the rest of the world," she added.
Hemp provides materials for durable clothing, a
viable alternative to the use of forest products and also provides food
supplements, according to the GPCA.
One example of hemp's advantage over cotton for
clothing is that current cotton cultivation methods cause it to be one
of the most polluting crops. Cotton requires defoliants and biocides,
but industrial hemp has a natural resistance to pests and weeds. In
addition, hemp had been a staple in American society until the late
1930s.
According to a 2005 Congressional Resource Service
report, the U.S. is the only developed nation that does not cultivate
industrial hemp as an economic crop.
Hemp is a variety of the plant species
"cannabis sativa" that contains less than three-tenths of 1
percent of tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive ingredient in
marijuana. Background information:
http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=7091631&type=ST
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