Kentucky hemp farmers may face prosecution

Kentucky hemp farmers chance prosecution

Attorney General Jack Conway says hemp remains illegal substance under federal law

By Kevin Wheatley,Published: September 26, 2013 10:48AM

Farmers who plant industrial hemp in Kentucky soil risk prosecution regardless of a U.S. Department of Justice memo on federal marijuana enforcement issued earlier this year, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said Wednesday.
Regardless, the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission will continue its effort to launch a hemp-licensing program, said Holly Harris, chief of staff for Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer.
In an advisory opinion to Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer, Conway said hemp remains an illegal substance by federal law. Although the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 50 to set up a regulatory framework for industrial hemp farming, Conway said state law identifies hemp as a cannabis plant with a federally established concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient in hemp’s botanical cousin marijuana.
The problem, Conway said, is the federal government has not set such a tetrahydrocannabinol level and still bans hemp in the Controlled Substances Act.
“We do not have either a change in the Controlled Substances Act to exempt industrial hemp, nor do we have a federal waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration,” Conway told reporters on a conference call.
Comer criticized Conway’s opinion, saying the attorney general “is wrong to threaten to prosecute farmers.”
“Hemp is legal in Kentucky, and the federal government has made it clear that it is not going to prosecute farmers for growing hemp,” Comer said in a statement.
“It makes no sense that Attorney General Conway would throw up an unnecessary government obstacle to an industry that has the potential to create jobs and revenue for Kentucky.”
The hemp commission pressed forward with a licensing program this month in light of a Department of Justice memo that laid out guidelines for prosecuting federal drug laws in Colorado and Washington, the first U.S. states to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana.
Luke Morgan, a Kentucky Department of Agriculture attorney, also presented a 2003 regulation from the Drug Enforcement Administration that separated hemp from marijuana.
The Department of Agriculture is drafting regulations governing hemp farming. Comer and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul will co-sign a letter notifying the Department of Justice of plans to implement a hemp-farming program.
But Conway disputed the department’s interpretations on both documents. The 2003 regulation deals with hemp products but not the plant itself, and the Department of Justice memo does not change the legality of hemp, he said.
“I think it’s irresponsible for anyone to take the Department of Justice’s guidance, their guidance to prosecutors in states that have legalized marijuana, and to take that and contort it that suddenly industrial hemp is now legal in Kentucky,” Conway said. “That’s not the state of the law.”
Conway said he heard concerns from state police and Gov. Steve Beshear’s office after the Department of Justice issued its memo to federal prosecutors, but he has not discussed the issue with Comer, a key supporter of industrial hemp farming in Kentucky.
Harris maintained that the 2003 DEA regulation clarified federal law on hemp and the Department of Justice ruling only cemented hemp’s status as a legal crop.
“It’s legal at the federal level, and it’s legal at the state level,” she said. “It’s legal, period. That is our position.”
Still, Conway’s opinion could have “a chilling effect” on progress made in recruiting hemp manufacturers to Kentucky, Harris said. The opinion does not carry the force of law, but she noted the department might need some clarification on his opinion before licenses are issued.
“It appears what he’s saying is farmers could be subject to prosecution,” Harris said. “Well, that’s not really an answer to that question: Are you going to pursue prosecution of hemp farmers?”
Conway did not say whether he would pursue criminal cases against hemp farmers, but the opinion made plain that those who plant hemp seeds could wind up in court.
“Any farmer that grows industrial hemp for business purposes is thus still subject to any applicable criminal provisions and the financial risks of investing and producing a product that it is illegal for the general public to possess or grow,” the opinion reads.

Greg Stumbo responds

All eyes are on Kentucky as the hemp bill goes into more extra innings than the hanging chad of 2000 ever did, and this time it's a democrat holding things up. This latest report goes into more detail than ever as the plot thickens as Greg Stumbo sends in a letter to the Floyd County Times to defend his slowness, using the excuse that hemp may be a cover for pot, and patronisingly asserting that there is not enough of a market for hemp anyway. Is he an idiot? Is he paid to sabotage US business interests? He really appears either dangeroulsy stupid or deliberately intent upon kicking American business interests when they are down.  He is either vile or cluelss. For instance, I am a founder and investor (to the tune of over $100,000) in a US company, Minawear. Sadly, we must buy the hemp from China, a country known for hacking US businesses and subverting US politicians. I have made no money from this in over ten years, and struggle to keep it open. The aim was to support the initiative to make hemp legal in the US, and thereby bring jobs and industry to the US. The Founding Fathers were very in support of hemp; Stumbo stands against them. And against most Americans, and against people like me who are poor right now, watching what little money they do have go to China. Thank you very much indeed Dumbo.

Here is his lame excuse for going against the American people, the Fouding Fathers, and common sense. In 1776 they might have just hanged such a fool - and would not have had to buy the rope from China. There was plenty of hemp to deal with traitors. We could use it for this purpose again today.

Stumbo's response:



Recently, this newspaper editorialized in favor of industrial hemp and suggested that I am standing in the way of its legalization.
Nothing could be further from the truth. To begin with, the current national ban was enacted by the federal government in the 1950s, and no state can reverse that action by itself. It would either take an act of Congress or a waiver from federal officials, neither of which is expected anytime soon.
Another point to make is that, back in 2001, Kentucky took steps to be ready should any aspect of this ban be lifted. This 12-year-old law calls for Kentucky to automatically adopt the federal guidelines, whatever they might be.
Recently, I asked Attorney General Jack Conway to rule whether this law is all that Kentucky farmers would need to grow industrial hemp if there were no more federal restrictions. As a former Attorney General, I believe that to be the case, which would mean that the legislation being debated would add nothing new other than an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
Whatever happens, it is crucial that law enforcement’s concerns are addressed. Our police officers rightly worry that industrial hemp could, quite literally, provide cover for marijuana, its genetic cousin. I am very sensitive to this possibility, which is another reason why we should spend more time studying our options.
Another concern is whether there is a strong, viable market for hemp. Estimates indicate the country only imports little, and that there is not a pressing need as there is for such crops as corn and soybeans.
However, I will say that, if all of these concerns can be met, and if the federal government grants farmers the right to grow industrial hemp, then I will work to see how we can make it beneficial for the state. Until then, though, I will not join those who, for now, are only sowing false hope. Every minute we spend on this issue is one that we lose to others that are much more pressing.

Rep. Greg Stumbo

Speaker of the House

Greg Stumbo vs. the Kentucky taxpayers

Janet Patton and Beth Musgrave just gave us another inside view of what is happening with the blocked vote in Kentucky - which looks set to go now that so many citizens have spoken up and
told their legislators to stop wasting time. One concerned taxpayer called Greg Stumbo's office and
left that # for others to do the same: 502 564 3366.



Below is their article:

The hemp bill is back on track, at least for now.
House Agriculture and Small Business Committee chairman Tom McKee said Monday that a proposal to regulate hemp farming in Kentucky was expected to win approval from his committee Wednesday.
"I anticipate a very strong vote. It could be a unanimous vote," the Cynthiana Democrat said.
But House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, reiterated that he opposed the hemp bill as unnecessary, casting doubt on a full House vote even as supporters hailed an incremental step forward.
"I'm not for the bill," Stumbo told reporters. "I don't think we need it."
Meanwhile, McKee said he has dropped the idea of a substitute bill, which would have scrapped a licensing framework for farmers and replaced it with a research project at the University of Kentucky. He said he did not plan to file amendments, signalling the original version of Senate Bill 50 could get the up or down vote that supporters have sought.
McKee's move came after Sen. Paul Hornback, the bill's sponsor, and Agriculture Commissioner James Comer held a news conference last week to accuse McKee of blocking the bill. McKee's committee heard two hours of testimony about the bill Wednesday, but McKee rejected Republican efforts to force a vote.
McKee announced his support for the bill Monday at a lunch with about 75 farmers in Cynthiana.
"He said he would vote for it himself," said Brian Furnish, a Cynthiana farmer who criticized McKee's handling of the bill in committee last week.
Amendments still might be offered from committee members, McKee warned.
"I certainly can't control the members," he said. "There's no 24-hour rule. I'll take an amendment on the spot."
Comer, a Republican, tweeted Monday that he had "had a very productive meeting" with McKee in Cynthiana and that the bill would get a vote.
"I'm very excited," Comer said in an interview. "I feel good about its chances of passing the committee. No one's contacted me about any amendments."
McKee said he thought there was widespread support for Hornback's version of the bill, which would allow Kentucky farmers to apply for a license to grow hemp if the federal government legalizes the crop. Members of Kentucky's congressional delegation intend to lobby for a waiver to let the state serve as a pilot project for growing hemp, which could attract hemp processors to the state.
"I anticipate it passing. I think our members have digested and gotten the information now," McKee said Monday. "We certainly don't want to stand in the way of, as the commissioner says, thousands of jobs and thousands of acres of hemp being grown."
McKee said he did not know when or whether the bill would be called for a vote by the full House. SB 50 passed the Republican-led Senate 31-6 last month.
Comer said the bill would pass the House if it met no more roadblocks, but House Stumbo has expressed doubts about the legislation. Gov. Steve Beshear also has said he shares concerns raised by Kentucky State Police that allowing hemp farming would make marijuana eradication more difficult.
On Feb. 27, Stumbo requested an opinion from Attorney General Jack Conway on whether the legislation was necessary given Kentucky's existing hemp statute, which requires the state to adopt federal rules.
"My question is whether this statute, as currently enacted, allows Kentucky farmers to grow hemp when and if that practice is allowed by the federal government?" Stumbo wrote to Conway. "It is my contention that Kentucky is already poised to adopt the federal hemp-growing rules as soon as they come into existence and that Kentucky has no need for additional state bureaucracy involving permits issued by a state Hemp Czar."
Stumbo said Monday he did not know whether SB 50 would get a vote on the House floor if it is approved by the agriculture committee.
"If Speaker Stumbo lets the bill come for a vote, it will pass 80-20," Comer said. "I can't imagine, after all they went through when they tried not to let it go up for a vote last week, that they would block it again. ... This is one bill everyone understands. If it does not come up for a vote, it will symbolize everything that's wrong with Frankfort."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/03/04/2542053/key-lawmaker-says-hemp-bill-regaining.html#storylink=cpy