Hearings begin today before the Colorado State Senate Agriculture Committee to determine the fate of a bill that would allow Colorado to become the first state to grow industrial hemp in almost 40 years.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Lloyd Casey (D-Northglenn), permits the planting of no more than 40 acres of industrial hemp in Colorado in 1996 for agricultural, commercial, and scientific research. The legislation allows for full scale commercial production of hemp to begin in 1998.
Appearing before the Committee today are a wide assortment of hemp activists, businessmen, farmers, and lobbyists. However, Casey speculates that the bill’s most influential endorsement may come from Hollywood actor and businessman, Woody Harrelson. In a fax to the Agriculture Committee, Harrelson stated that he “will personally guarantee that all hemp produced in Colorado will be purchased at fair market prices.” Harrelson is a hemp proponent who has commercial interests in both the clothing and paper industry.
“That [endorsement] might do the best for us,” notes Casey. In the past, a major concern for the committee was whether there is a legitimate market for industrial hemp. Harrelson’s announcement demonstrates that there are buyers willing and waiting, the senator states.
If Casey’s legislation is approved by the 7-member Senate Agriculture Committee, the bill will then move on to the Senate floor for a vote.
For more information on this bill, please contact either Colorado State Senator Lloyd Casey at (303) 866-4865 or the Colorado Hemp Initiative Project at (303) 784-5632. For more information on industrial hemp, please contact Allen St. Pierre at NORML.