NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS
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Internet http://www.norml.org
   
. . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana
Prohibition.
                              February 6, 1997
              Record Number Of State Legislatures To Decide On
                           Industrial Hemp In 1997
      February 6, 1997, Washington, D.C.:  At least ten state legislatures
will decide on measures pertaining to the cultivation of industrial hemp in
1997, the largest number since hemp was made illegal by the federal
government in 1937 under the Marihuana Tax Act.
      "Domestic sales of imported hemp products raked in approximately $25
million dollars in sales in 1994 alone and the American Farm Bureau now
calls hemp 'one of the most promising crops in half a century,'" said
NORML's Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre.  "The explosion of industrial hemp
legislation at the state level is a direct result of growing awareness among
legislators and the public that this is a viable crop for American farmers."
      Presently, legislators have introduced industrial hemp legislation in
at least six states: Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and
Virginia.  While some of these measures simply mandate state-run committees
to study the economic benefits of, and barriers to, production of industrial
hemp, other more progressive bills allow for test plots of hemp to be
cultivated for research purposes.
      "The state of Hawaii needs to act now and plant test plots of
industrial cannabis hemp so that it -- and not its competitors -- will be in
the position to establish important business ties with the manufacturers of
hemp-based fiber, pulp, paper, oil, paints, sealants, fuel and food," states
legislation introduced in Hawaii by Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R-Kailau Kameohe),
one of three state bills introduced to allow for domestic cultivation.
      According to former Colorado Senator and hemp advocate Lloyd Casey,
representatives and senators in at least six additional states "range from
75 percent to 95 percent" sure that they will also introduce industrial hemp
legislation in 1997.  These states are: Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon,
South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
      "Industrial hemp provides a window of opportunity for U.S.
agriculture producers to take advantage of a highly profitable fiber crop
[with] many uses ...," wrote Bob Winter in the June 17, 1996 edition of Farm
Bureau News -- the weekly newspaper of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
      "International trade agreements (e.g., GATT and NAFTA) recognize the
designation of 0.3 percent ... THC as the distinction between industrial
hemp and marijuana.  [Yet,] current U.S. law[s] do not differentiate between
hemp and marijuana.  Thanks to these laws, ... U.S. farmers are prohibited
from growing a highly profitable crop without government subsidy."
      Often described as marijuana's misunderstood cousin, industrial hemp
is from the same plant species (Cannabis sativa) that produces marijuana.
Unlike marijuana, however, industrial hemp has only minute amounts of
delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient that gives
marijuana its euphoric and medicinal properties.  Currently most of Europe
and Asia grow hemp for industrial purposes. Both Australia and Canada engage
in hemp cultivation for research purposes.
      For more information, please contact Laura Kriho of the Colorado Hemp
Initiative Project (CO-HIP) @ (303) 784-5632 or Paul Armentano of NORML @
(202) 483-5500.  Lloyd Casey may be contacted via e-mail at:
ahavoter@aol.com.  For updates on state hemp legislation, please check out
NORML's website @: http://www.norml.org or e-mail CO-HIP at:
cohip@welcomehome.org.  Copies of NORML's position paper: Can America Afford
Not To Grow This Plant? are available upon request.
      State Senator Proposes Cultivating Marijuana For Medical Research
      February 3, 1997, Sacramento, CA:  Senator John Vasconcellos (D-Santa
Clara) recently released language seeking to codify Proposition 215, the
medical marijuana initiative passed by California voters in November.  The
measure, known as the "Proposition 215 Implementation Act of 1997," will
authorize major clinical research regarding medical marijuana as well as
address distribution options and make minor clarifying amendments to
Proposition 215.  The language will be introduced to the state legislature
later this month.
      "On November 6, ... 56% of [the California electorate] voted to
protect the most basic right of Americans: to be free from inappropriate
control by government." said Vasconcellos.  "Now the work begins to ensure
the people of California's policy is translated into the most effective
practical terms for the Californians it's intended to benefit."
      The bill requires the University of California to establish a Medical
Marijuana Research Center and appropriates $2 million per year for three
years to fund its operations.  The bill also creates a task force to study
options for distribution of medical marijuana and report back to the
Legislature with recommendations.
      "If the federal government is unwillingly to conduct real research to
benefit sick and dying people, then California will," Vasconcellos said.
      Finally, the measure makes three simple clarifications of Proposition
215:
   * Specifies that the physician who recommends the use of medical
     marijuana be licensed by the state of California;
   * Provides standard protective procedures for the application of
     Proposition 215 to unemancipated minors;
   * Ensures defendants are allowed to claim the medical marijuana defense
     in a pre-trial hearing as well as in any subsequent hearing.
      The language released yesterday will be introduced as a Senate bill
by February 28.
      "This [language] carries forward the will of the voters and deserves
bi-partisan support, said Dave Fratello of Americans for Medical Rights.
"California can take the lead in beginning new Phase III human studies of
marijuana to speed the drug approval process."
      For more information, please contact either Sen. John Vasconcellos'
office @ (916) 445-9740 or Bill Zimmerman of Americans for Medical Rights @
(310) 394-2952.  For more information on medical marijuana or for a copy of
NORML's position paper: Making The Case For Medical Marijuana, please
contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.
    NORML Testifies In Support Of Marijuana Decriminalization Bill In New
                                  Hampshire
      February 6, 1997, Concord, New Hampshire:  NORML Legal Committee
Co-chair, Michael Cutler, Esq. of Boston, Massachusetts, testified before
the New Hampshire subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety on January 29 in
favor of legislation reducing the penalty for possession of less than one
and one-half ounces of marijuana from a class A misdemeanor to a
"violation."  He was joined by the bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Tim Robertson
(D/R-Cheshire), and a representative from the local American Civil Liberties
Organization (ACLU).
      Cutler discussed the failure of prohibition to deter adult and
adolescent marijuana use and access.  He submitted numerous state research
studies demonstrating that decriminalization has had virtually no effect on
either marijuana use or on related attitudes about marijuana use among
American young people in states that enacted such measures over 20 years
ago.  Cutler noted that at least two of the representatives attending
expressed support for the measure and speculated that New Hampshire's
governor may be sympathetic toward the bill.
      Under current state law, possession of marijuana is punishable by a
one-year sentence and/or $1,000 fine.  Under Rep. Robertson's proposal (H.B.
118-FN), individuals possessing small amounts of marijuana would receive a
ticket and a small fine.
      For more information, please contact Rep. Robertson @ (603) 271-3529
or Attorney Michael Cutler @ (617) 439-4990.
                                    -END-
  MORE THAN 10 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965 . . . ANOTHER EVERY 54
                                  SECONDS!
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