Political Quotes

“In 1794, George Washington, our founding father, wrote to his gardener that he should ``make the most of the hemp seed and sow it everywhere.'' He wasn't alone. Thomas Jefferson grew hemp. Betsy Ross even made the first American flag out of hemp fiber. In fact, here is a flag right here that's made entirely from hemp. Today, U.S. retailers sell over $300 million worth of hemp-related goods. It's not just flags. Hemp is found in over 25,000 products from lotions to soaps, to protein bars, to auto parts, to fuel. Yet somehow it's caught up in a completely unrelated drug war that prevents American farmers from growing this crop and forces us to import it from other countries. Our institutions of higher education can't even grow or cultivate hemp for research purposes. Mr. Chairman, my bipartisan amendment, which I'm offering with my good friends Mr. Thomas Massie and Earl Blumenauer is simple. It would allow colleges and universities to grow and cultivate hemp for research purposes. Our amendment would only apply in States where hemp cultivation is already legal, such as my home State of Colorado. I recently had an exchange with the premiere agriculture research university in my district, Colorado State University.…”