Polis in bipartisan effort to remove federal hemp ban

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan group of more than 40 representatives, including U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., have introduced a bill to eliminate the federal ban on hemp production.

Polis co-sponsored the Industrial Hemp Farming Act this week. Hemp is used in textiles, biofuel, paper and other products. Growing hemp became legal along with the retail sale and possession of small amounts of marijuana after Colorado voters passed Amendment 64 in November 2012.

The Industrial Hemp Farming Act would remove industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and require the federal government to defer to state laws that let farmers to grow the crop.

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“The federal ban on hemp has been a waste of taxpayer dollars that ignores science, suppresses innovation and subverts the will of states that have chosen to incorporate this versatile crop into their economies,” Polis said in a statement. “I am hopeful that Congress will build on last year’s progress on hemp research and pilot programs by passing the Industrial Hemp Farming Act to allow this historical American crop to once again thrive on our farmlands.”

The federal ban has made importing seed a challenge for hemp growers in Colorado.

Ken Stanton, a hemp grower in Fort Collins, said that removing the federal ban would help the situation, as well as open up the hemp trade.

Polis “is addressing the most important element of hemp as a commodity or a product in this country by bringing this bill up,” he said.

Vote Hemp, a Vermont hemp advocacy group, applauded the bill, saying it would eliminate federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp and fiber varieties of cannabis.

“We are eager to see 2015 be the year Congress finally passes comprehensive legislation to legalize industrial hemp farming,” said Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp.