Introduced by Rep. Mike Colona and cosponsored by Reps. Galen Higdon and Paul Curtman, House Bill 2054 (HB2054) passed by a vote of 16-1 in the house committee on economic development.
The bill states, quite simply, “Industrial hemp production, possession, and commerce in industrial hemp commodities and products shall be permitted in this state.”
HB2054 sets up “shall issue” licensing program. In short, the Missouri department of agriculture will be required, under broad parameters, to issue licenses to those wishing to grow industrial hemp or become an industrial hemp seed producer. A similar requirement was included in a bill passed by the Tennessee legislature earlier this month.
Three other states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed bills to authorize hemp farming, but only in Colorado has the process begun in practice. Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013 and the state began issuing licenses on March 1, 2014. In Vermont and Oregon, hemp farming was authorized, but no licensing program was mandated, so implementation has been delayed due to regulatory foot-dragging.
HUGE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL
Experts suggest that the U.S. market for hemp is around $500 million per year.
But, since the enactment of the unconstitutional federal controlled-substances act in 1970, the Drug Enforcement Agency has prevented the production of hemp within the United States. Many hemp supporters feel that the DEA has been used as an “attack dog” of sorts to prevent competition with major industries where American-grown hemp products would create serious market competition: Cotton, Paper/Lumber, Oil, and others.
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