Painting of George Washington as Hemp Farmer

NEWS UPDATE! GEORGE WASHINGTON HEMP FARMER PRINT The first president of the United States grew hemp at Mount Vernon as one of his three primary crops. This beautiful PRINT of a modern painting in a 18th Century style of George Washington Hemp Farmer can be ordered from the Hempbuilding website. The original oil painting can be seen at the Hemp Museum Dublin opening on the 16th July 2013. Order the George Washington Hemp Farmer Print online from the Hempbuilding website click here

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US Army arrests General George Washington, send him to Purgatory

General George Washington is in BIG trouble! The US Army is now banning soldiers from using anything with hemp in it. Hemp is legal. So how is this ban legal? The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) does not ban hemp. So how can this be applied? They ought to remember the Hemp for Victory film in WWII, or the fact that the US Armny fed hemp to its carrier pigeons (as noted by Capt. Wendell Levi who wrote The Pigeon).



The United State Army has recently released an article on their website urging people away from the alcoholic drink Purgatory, a vodka. Not caring about the fact that it’s a strong alcoholic drink, which is entirely fine for soldiers to take part in, the Army instead takes issue with the fact that this particular vodka is made with 20% hemp seeds. The product is sold legally throughout the U.S.; it goes through a stringent process to ensure that it contains no amount of THC. Like other hemp products, there’s nothing illegal about the drink on the federal level.
However, the Army doesn’t care, stating: “What must be stressed among military personnel is that even though Purgatory Vodka is said to be free of THC, and even though hemp byproducts are not illegal in the civilian world, this gives zero justification to those in the military…It is the ‘prohibited use’ that soldiers need to remember.”
The article points to AR600-85, the “Army Substance Abuse Program”, which explicitly disallows the use of hemp products by soldiers, including any of its derivatives: “this regulation prohibits Soldiers from using hemp or products containing hemp oil.”
This is brainwashing at its absolutely worst. There’s no reason for them to deny soldiers the use of hemp products any more than they would object to their use of aloe vera. Even among this ridiculous prohibition on cannabis, it’s entirely legal to possess and use hemp products – as long as you don’t cultivate the actual plant.
The only reason that can be seen for the Army continuing to push this archaic portion of their rules, is to try and sway their soldier’s opinion on hemp and cannabis policies. When you consider how incredible of a protein hemp seeds can be, denying our soldiers even the ability to consume hemp seeds or hemp seed oil is absurd.
As many know, it wasn’t too long ago that our government was promoting the propaganda video “Hemp for Victory“, which laid out how important it was for Americans to get behind hemp as an industrial commodity. The government even gave draft deferments to farmers willing to grow hemp, and handed out hemp seeds themselves.
As citizens, we should be speaking out on behalf of our soldiers: The U.S. Army has absolutely no right or justification to deny soldiers the use of a crop that, indicated by congressional research, has a legal market in this country of over 25,000 various products, ranging from foods to clothing.

Hemp support in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania back in the day was a hemp growing state; many Amish had their mills grinding it and the ropes were made of it, as was paper; Benjamin Franklin was a paper manufacturer and hemp advocate. Today the powers-that-hate-America seek to keep Pennsylvania poor with their stupid authorative sounding arguments about hemp looking like dope. Go arrest Ben Franklin you hapless idiots if that's what you believe, and take George Washington and Thomas Jefferson with you.
Crain Layne on Radio Pennsylvania tells us about the new movement for Common Sense in the Keystone State:

(Lancaster) -- A state senator's effort to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania is being applauded by people who say it could be a valuable cash crop.
State Senator Daylin Leach has proposed legalizing marijuana for recreational use and regulating it much like the sale of alcohol through the state store system.
Advocates say legalizing pot and its relative, industrial hemp, could be an economic boon for the commonwealth.
Lancaster County-based hemp historian Les Stark says the plant has dozens of uses.
"It's a natural, non-toxic, non-lethal, renewable, sustainable resource for food, fuel, fiber, medicine, paper, plastics, fiberboard and thousands of other products," Stark says.
Governor Corbett calls marijuana a "gateway drug" and says he would veto any legalization bill.
The most recent Franklin and Marshall College poll shows 55 percent of respondents oppose legalization.
However, the same survey by the Lancaster-based college reveals 82 percent of those surveyed "strongly" or "somewhat" favor medical marijuana.

Qoutes on hemp from US presidents

I just looked at the petition at www.minawear.com/about-us and saw we had reached a milestone of 750 signatures, with a new goal of 1,000. The ulitmate goal is to get 25,000. The it goes to the President. Signer #750, Samsun from Berkeley CA, left 5 quotes from former presidents about hemp.

“Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.”
 – George Washington
“Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country.”
– Thomas Jefferson
“Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.”
– Abraham Lincoln
“We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption.”
 – John Adams
“The greatest service which can be rendered any country is the add a useful plant to its culture!”
  -Thomas Jefferson

Hemp bill set for debate 11 Feb. in Kentucky

The fight for hemp is really heating up in Kentucky, the previous post was one about UNITE - a law enforcement group that has decided to go against the good of the state and fight against. One wonders if these cops would arrest George Washington or Thomas Jefferson for what they grew - and what made American then a strong nation?
Americans who love their country are fighting for the likes of Washington and what he knew was good - and are not stupid enough to think that a hemp field is a marijuana field. This is the argument that is put out to stall debate at every level - it causes political cowardice while the US goes broke. China is most likely laughing at this as they produce just about everything in Walmart - and of course, they grow hemp!
Please support Kentucky in any way you can - and also sign the petition to the White House at www.minawear.com/about-us/ so this issue can be settled for the good of the people in this country.
Below is the latest article by Bruce Schreiner of the Associated Press:



FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The chairman of Kentucky's Senate Agriculture Committee sounded upbeat Monday about prospects for his bill that would regulate industrial hemp production in the state if the federal government lifts its decades-long ban on the crop that once was a Bluegrass state staple.
Republican Sen. Paul Hornback of Shelbyville said Monday he intends to bring the hemp bill up for a vote in his committee, which is expected to review the legislation at a Feb. 11 hearing. Hemp proponent U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is scheduled to appear at the hearing and put his political weight behind the measure.
"I feel very good about it getting through the Senate Ag Committee," Hornback said in an interview prior to a meeting of the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission. "I feel very good about (its prospects in) the full Senate."

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The state General Assembly resumes its regular 2013 session next week. The hemp bill's outlook in the House is less clear. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said recently it would be difficult to pass any bill that doesn't have the support of Kentucky State Police.
State police oppose the bill, raising concerns about law enforcement being able to distinguish between hemp and its cousin, marijuana.
Hemp and marijuana are the same species, cannabis sativa, but are genetically distinct. Hemp has a negligible content of THC, the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high.

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Later Monday, several anti-drug groups issued a release criticizing efforts to re-establish hemp in Kentucky. They expressed concerns that people would pose as hemp producers to further marijuana operations.
"It would be very enticing for someone to obtain a license to grow hemp, then divert a small part of their fields to growing illegal marijuana," said Jere Hopson, director of the South Central Kentucky Drug Task Force. "Law enforcement wouldn't be able to tell the difference without testing, and how would you even know which plants to test?"
Hemp supporters say that marijuana growers would not want to try to conceal their pot crop in a hemp field because cross-pollination would greatly weaken the potency of the marijuana.

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Dan Smoot, vice president of Operation UNITE, an anti-drug group in southern and eastern Kentucky, said hemp advocates are "looking through rose-colored glasses" in promoting the plant's potential to boost the state's economy.
"Hemp is not in demand, would cause more problems than benefits," he said in the release.
Hornback, a tobacco farmer, said he would like to find common ground with law enforcement skeptics of hemp. He said he understands their position opposing a crop that for now is banned by the federal government.

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"Until the federal law changes, they should be opposed to it," Hornback said "That's their job."
Kentucky has the ideal climate and soils to grow hemp, he said, and the crop offers "an opportunity for niche markets." he said.
The versatile crop could create jobs in processing and manufacturing, Hornback said. At least a couple of Kentucky companies — a tobacco processor and a seed supplier — have expressed interest in branching out into hemp if the crop becomes legal again.

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Hemp can be turned into paper, clothing, food, biofuels, auto parts, lotions and many other products.
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, has signaled that it is up to Hornback to decide whether to call for a committee vote on the bill.
Stivers' spokeswoman, Lourdes Baez-Schrader, said that state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and state police representatives have been invited to speak to Senate Republicans at a caucus meeting next week. Comer, a Republican, has championed the effort to re-establish hemp as a legal crop in Kentucky.
Comer said Monday that hemp legislation is supported by both House and Senate majorities.
"There's a desperate need out there to create some jobs and this is one bill that will do that," he said.
Asked about Stivers' position on the bill, Baez-Schrader said, "He knows that some members have concerns about industrial hemp and understands those concerns."
The bill has an ally in Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, who has signed on as a co-sponsor.
"I do think the hemp bill has some momentum but there are still some members who have questions," Thayer said recently. "I think a hearing will be able to help answer many of those questions."
Hornback's hemp bill would set up a framework to regulate the crop if the federal government gives its blessing for it to be grown legally in Kentucky.
Under the bill, the Kentucky agriculture department would license growers and inspect production. Growers would undergo criminal background checks and give GPS coordinates for their fields. Licenses would be valid for one year and would be recorded with state police. Anyone convicted of a felony within the last 10 years would not be eligible for a license to grow hemp.
Comer said the bill would put Kentucky at the forefront of the hemp movement if the crop is legalized by the federal government.
"If this bill passes, for the first time in a long time Kentucky will be the first state to do something and not the last," Comer said.

Abhay Deol of India talks about hemp in the US

An article from india.nydailynews.com by Abhay Deol of India struck me as pertinent, especially as we are in the midst of getting this petition signed to go to the White House - www.minawear.com/about-us/ -  to make hemp legal in the US. Not sure its status in India, I think it is legal, but is certainly not grown in any abundance there - though it used to be very much. 



Abhay Deol at PVR Nest screening. (Photo: IANS)

New Delhi, May 24 -- Conspiracy theorists will have you know that the "war" on drugs is just a way to keep drugs in the black market so that their value remains "high". Comparing cannabis (marijuana/hemp) with hard drugs like cocaine, crack, heroin etc is a way to demonise the drug further.

The downfall of the plant started early last century in the US. Ironically, it was illegal NOT to grow hemp in a few states in the early part of US history. Even George Washington grew it. Its uses were many - as fiber for ropes and sails, to make paper, its seeds are high in proteins, it makes for a stronger, longer lasting material to make clothes with, than cotton. It was possibly the first agricultural crop. It can be grown in most climates, is drought resistant, requires little fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides. Its seeds can be used to make hemp oil.

A little known fact is that it can also be used to produce fuel! Henry Ford's first Model-T (the people's car) was even constructed from hemp! He said it was "grown from the soil" and its impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel! Hemp fuel is also biodegradable, does not contribute sulphur dioxide to the atmosphere and is non-toxic. Farmers around the world would greatly benefit from growing it. But alas, we live in a market driven economy and I personally have come to believe that the market is driven by scarcity.

If upon further research it is proved that hemp can provide us with so many alternatives, it would drive many companies out of business. Think about it, it can replace trees for paper, that would not be good for companies who make profit from cutting down trees. Being a weed, it grows really fast and outcompetes other weeds. Hemp strains produce their own resins that make the crop naturally pest free. Not good for companies that make pesticides! It can be used as a fuel! This is one of the major threats! Oil companies are some of the biggest giants in the corporate world. Both Henry Ford and Rudolf Diesel designed cars that ran on vegetable oils and hemp oil. This was a century ago!

Ford even said that the fuel of the future is going to come from weeds and fruits, anything that can be fermented to produce ethanol/ethyl alcohol. But as gasoline emerged as the dominant transportation fuel in the early part of the last century, as more and more oil fields were discovered, there was intense lobbying by the petroleum companies to maintain steep taxes on alcohol thereby killing the market for alternative fuels.

The rabbit hole goes deeper. The case for hemp as mankind's (and the Earth's) saviour cannot be made by me in a 300 word article (which I have far exceeded). Before the western influence started to dictate our laws, we were happy to spark up, drink, and even eat the damn drug with no one having any objection. Our festival of Holi is proof of that. Today it is illegal. So how is it that bhang is sold at government outlets during Holi? Why is it that sadhus who smoke chillums are not arrested? When and why did we bring a law to ban it? Was it to benefit us, or the US?

THE LAND OF LINCOLN SAYS NO TO HEMP

The GOP's first president came from a hemp growing state: Illinois. His father-in-law was a Southern plantation owner who grew hemp. The same party today is against hemp; it is not new information to most of you that the Founding Fathers grew hemp. The former president, what would he think? But more importantly, the present president, also from Illinois, what is he doing about it? Nothing. Both parties (the present POTUS is a Democrat) have little to offer the US, which is sowing more and more cotton which dries up the water supply.

And while they filibuster, we lose. Illinois last week voted against the legalisation of hemp, joining the ranks of South Dakota, California and Vermont. In contrast to this, Canada, China and all of the EU countries can grow it.

This week I got email from two people in Uganda about growing it, and they are now in touch. Hopefully they will be able to get the seeds they need, and line up a buyer - there are hemp shops in South Africa, where the legality of growing hemp is a grey area. It would be ironic if the next jar of hemp seed oil sold in Illinois is grown in Uganda...just now what they buy is mostly Canadian. But, if US legislators would act more like Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, whose faces are on the currency that is actually made with hemp - Illinois could be raising a cash crop. It's sad...what can we do?

NEW YORK TIMES STORY ON MEDICAL CANNABIS IN NEW JERSEY

A story on the front page of the NY Times, written by David Kocieniewski, ran on 12 January. It is on New Jersey's vote to allow medical cannabis, making it the 14th state in the union to do so. The outgoing governor, Jon S. Corzine, approved it days before leaving office. The incoming, a Republican, seemed to do everthing in his power to stop it. The vote, in both the General Assembly and the State Legislature, was unanimous: 48-14 and 25-13 respectively. Assemblyman Reed Guscriora, who sponsored the legislation, said his state's initiative would be the most restrictive of its kind, limiting the maladies for which cannabis, in quantities of up to 2 oz. per month, could be prescribed, were mainly serious or chronic illnesses. Insurance companies are not required to pay for it, which looks like a bit of crafing from the GOP. Hysterical rants were out there to be heard, with the likes of David G. Evans, executive director of the Drug-Free Schools Coalition, warning that dispensaries would lead to abuses. How? Do pharmacies lead to drug abuse? Well, let's leave that a rhetorical question. Common sense would show that people with a prescription for controlled amounts of cannabis are not going to bring the whole neighbourhood along to share their much needed medicine. The incoming governor, Christpopher J. Christie, kept pointing the finger at California, where he claimed is was "out of control." He cited a non-existent loophole. What a waste of time. In the end, sense prevailed, and a low cost, proven effective medicine is available to Americans in New Jersey. This was supported by some Republicans, such as Senator William Baroni. But sadly, most in the GOP are against all forms of cannabis, from hemp seeds to medicine. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would have been in jail with them in power!

NOTES ON HEMP FROM THE HEART

OF THE HOMELAND

Brandon Brown in the Appalachian wrote this month (13 Nov.) on the history of hemp in the US, where, sadly, some people confuse it with dope. Brown goes back to the founding of the US and quotes two presidents, Washington and Jefferson. Obviously, hemp was ubiquitous then; John Quincy Adams wrote about its cultivation and other politicians grew it. Quoting Jefferson, the article notes: "The greatest service which can be renderd by any country is to add a useful plant to its culture."

It seems George B. has not read the words of his predecessors. Other US politicians, such as Gov. Ryan of Illinois, who vetoed the 2 hemp bills in that state, might also take note. In Lincoln's time hemp was grown exensively (this first GOP president married into a hemp growing family) and one of Illinois' governors in his day was also a hemp farmer. Food for thought.