California State Grange to Host Hemp Festival Saturday May 22
Beloved George Would Be Serving Time
If George Washington were alive today he would be arrested. Because besides being the "father of our country", hero of the Revolutionary War and our first President, George was a hemp grower.
In early America, hemp was grown second only to tobacco as a useful and profitable crop. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on hemp. Benjamin Franklin’s famous electrified kite was attached to a string made from hemp.
Henry Ford experimented with manufacturing automobiles out of durable and lightweight hemp fiber. The United States Department of Agriculture encouraged American farmers to grow hemp during World War II to provide uniforms for the Army and rope for the Navy.
And although it has been used for 10,000 years by civilizations around the world to make everything from clothing to bibles, in 2010 it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States.
Ironically, it is not illegal to purchase and use items made from hemp such as lotions, food, clothing, paper, and building materials. Produced and imported from 30 industrial countries, like France, China, and New Zealand hemp is a profitable crop. Canadian farmers make $2 billion per year legally growing industrial hemp.
Why then is it illegal to grow hemp in the United States? The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was intended to thwart the distribution and use of recreational cannabis but effectively prohibited all varieties of cannabis, including industrial hemp which contains less than 1% THC content, the active ingredient that produces a "high" from its distant cousin.
Opponents of the legalization of industrial hemp mistakenly fear its use as a recreational drug. It simply isn’t possible to get high smoking industrial hemp. Farmers and consumers therefore must suffer the loss of this useful and profitable crop because of ignorance.
The Grange, the oldest agricultural organization in California with 180 chapters and 10,000 members across the state, supports the legalization of industrial hemp as an income producing opportunity for the American farmer and for its many beneficial uses for consumers.
In celebration, the Grange will sponsor an Industrial Hemp Festival May 22, from 10:00am – 4:00pm at its headquarters property located at 2101 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento. The public is invited. Admission is free.
This festival supports Hemp History Week, a national grassroots education campaign designed to renew strong support for hemp farming in the U.S. There will be four symposia throughout the day on topics related to the past, present, and future of industrial hemp in California.
Guest speakers will include San Francisco Attorney Patrick Goggin of the Hemp Industries Association to talk on California legislation to permit hemp farming, Los Angeles merchant Lawrence Serbin of Hemp Traders to talk on the many uses of hemp fiber and Chris Boucher of Laguna Beach ’s Hempstead, recounting his experiences over the last 20 years including raising hemp in Imperial County, California in the mid-1990s.
Also on hand will be exhibitors displaying a variety of products made from hemp, and musicians entertaining attendees throughout the day.
Exhibitors will include Livity, a pioneer of the eco-textile and sustainable apparel, Hemp Traders producers of hemp products such as hemp fabric, hemp twine, hemp rope, hemp oil, hemp clothing, and more, and JungmavenI, a hemp textiles and hemp t-shirt manufacturer.
Musical acts will include Be Brave Bold Robot, known to joyfully weep wispy musical ghost tears, Rio Linda Swamp Thing with their mix of originals and covers, and Richard March, a songwriter/storyteller, and throwback to melodic, progressive country music, O Street with toe-tapping music in the Jamaican tradition, hot Sacramento Band Walking Spanish, and Cricket Culture, the best unknown band ever playing soul punk and experimental pop.
For more information phone (916) 454-5805