HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	3
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

ENCOURAGING CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT TO RE-STATE THAT THE CONGRESSIONAL INTENT OF THE FEDERAL UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT IS NOT TO PROHIBIT THE PRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP.

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp and marijuana are both in the plant genus and species Cannabis sativa, which contains a unique class of molecules called cannabinoids, one of which is delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which delivers a psychoactive effect; and

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp refers to the nondrug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis that have less than three-tenths of one percent delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol and are cultivated exclusively for fiber, stalk, and seed, and are genetically distinct from drug varieties of Cannabis; and

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp is genetically distinct from drug varieties of Cannabis, and the flowering tops of industrial hemp cannot produce any drug effect when smoked or ingested; and

     WHEREAS, the legislative history of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 indicates that Congress never intended to prohibit the production of industrial hemp when restricting the production, possession, and use of marijuana; and

     WHEREAS, the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1970 specifies the findings to which the government must attest in order to classify a substance as a schedule I drug, and those findings include that the substance has a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use, and a lack of accepted safety for use, none of which applies to industrial hemp; and

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp is a high-value, low-input crop that is not genetically modified, requires little or no pesticides, can be dry-land farmed, and uses less fertilizer than wheat or corn; and

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp grows in a wide variety of climates, has a short growing cycle, leaves the soil well ventilated, and clears weeds from fields; and

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp is one of the most versatile, productive, and useful fiber plants known and is part of a greater trend that is transforming agricultural crops into new products that are economically and environmentally sound; and

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp is grown for its fiber, woody stalk, and seeds; and

     WHEREAS, the fiber of industrial hemp, located on the outside of the stalk, can be used to make clothing, bags, carpeting, upholstery, and rope; and

     WHEREAS, the woody stalk of industrial hemp can be used to make paper, teabags, cigarette rolls, construction materials, animal bedding, fiberglass, and plastics; and

     WHEREAS, the seeds of industrial hemp can be used in food products such as bagels, salad dressing, dietary supplements, and animal feed; in personal care products such as skin lotion, moisturizers, and shampoo; and in industrial products such as paints, inks, varnishes, or biomass fuel; and

     WHEREAS, industrial hemp thus offers significant business and employment opportunities in such broad commercial sectors as farming, processing, manufacturing, retailing, recycling, and cooperatives; and

     WHEREAS, in Hawaii, the production of industrial hemp will allow Hawaii to fulfill its constitutional mandate to conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency, and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands because the production of industrial hemp involves little use of water and little or no pesticides; and

     WHEREAS, the production of industrial hemp in Hawaii will also support the self-sufficiency of the building and construction industries in Hawaii because industrial hemp can provide a local source of building materials that are superior to lumber, would not need to be imported at great expense from overseas, and basically would require mixture with only one other locally produced product, lime, to produce hempcrete; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress and the President of the United States are encouraged to re-state that the congressional intent of the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act is not to prohibit the production of industrial hemp; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

Report Title: 

Industrial Hemp; Federal Uniform Controlled Substance Act