Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this week is National Hemp History Week. Industrial hemp is a crop that can be used to produce more than 25,000 products, from textiles and fabrics to composites, auto parts, or even food. Hemp is such an industrial crop that, during World War II, the USDA produced a film encouraging farmers to grow hemp to support the war effort because textiles and fibers were in such short supply. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe all grew hemp. Today, however, industrial hemp is largely illegal for widespread production because the Controlled Substances Act does not make the distinction between hemp and marijuana. Both are varieties of the cannabis plant, but that is where the similarities end. Unlike marijuana, hemp is high in fiber that makes it so useful and only has miniscule amounts of PSC. In 2004, Congress began to recognize the differences when it passed the 2014 farm bill, which included language to allow industrial hemp pilot programs. Today, more than 30 States have enacted laws to legalize industrial hemp for research or commercial purposes. I was proud to lead the effort to create a hemp program in Kentucky that has been highly successful, with nearly 250 permitted growers and small businesses today. Now we need to take the next step in bringing hemp into the mainstream as a crop.…”