The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) last Friday released a study downplaying the utility of industrial hemp and the amount needed to be grown to satisfy current demand.
The study, entitled Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market Potential, concluded there would be only a “small thin market” for hemp products and that only 2,000 acres of farmland would be needed to fulfill the current supply that is imported into the U.S.
“Those estimates are a gross misrepresentation of the facts,” said Tom Dean, Esq., NORML Foundation Litigation Director. “The report only takes into consideration the textile segment of the market. That segment only makes up about 5 percent of the total industry in Canada, and there are many more uses that will develop as technology advances. Why doesn’t the government allow the free market to demonstrate that fact? Why does the government spend millions of dollars to prevent an industry from developing if it believes that its size would be insignificant at best?”
The current federal laws have made it nearly impossible for farmers or researchers to grow industrial hemp. Three states have recently approved industrial hemp measures, but Hawaii is the only state that has planted a test crop.
For more information, please contact Tom Dean, Esq., NORML Foundation Litigation Director or Scott Colvin, NORML Publications Director at (202) 483-8751. The report can be found at http://www.econ.ag.gov/epubs/pdf/ages001E/index.htm
