At their recent annual convention, the National Farmer's Union issued a press release announcing the passage of a strong resolution urging the production of industrial hemp on America's farmlands.
Here is the resolution, as passed:
"We urge the President, Attorney General, and Congress to direct the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to differentiate between industrial hemp and marijuana and adopt policy to allow American farmers to grow industrial hemp under state law without requiring DEA licenses."
The resolution was sparked by situations like North Dakota's industrial hemp regulations. For the last four growing seasons the production of industrial hemp has been sanctioned by North Dakota, but any farmer daring to produce hemp under state law risks forfeiture of their farms, assets, and freedom to DEA persecution.
Also, in a recent statement, the National Grange added pro-hemp language to its national policy. This leaves only the Farm Bureau, among national farmers groups, without a stated industrial hemp policy.
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In England, a house built from panels of hemp and straw recently passed an industry standard fire safety test which exposed it to temperatures above 1,000C.
The experimental house is part of a new research project looking into sustainable building materials that can be used for home construction.
The house is made from prefabricated cells filled with straw or hemp, covered with a lime-based coating.
During a fire resistance test for non-loadbearing elements, the panel had to withstand heat for more than 30 minutes. After more than two hours it had still not failed. Another panel, which had been put through structural tests for loadbearing elements, also passed.
The building will be monitored for the next year. Insulating properties, humidity levels, air tightness and sound insulation qualities will be recorded to assess the performance of straw and hemp as building materials.