More Marijuana Bills
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, February 12, 2016 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
Two more marijuana bills have been introduced this session. S.B. 254 reduces to a misdemeanor the penalty for possessing any amount of marijuana, which could mean a year in prison or a $1,000 fine, or both. This would repeal the law against unlawful possession, but growing or buying or selling marijuana would continue to be illegal.
H.B. 704 concerning the cultivation of industrial hemp is a problem, because hemp and medical cannabis are derived from the same marijuana plant that could be legally grown in Georgia if Representative Allen Peake’s 25-page H.B. 722 passes this session. The hemp-producing marijuana plant is listed as a hallucinogenic drug in the Controlled Substance Act.
The difference between hemp and marijuana is the amount of THC in the plant. Industrial hemp contains no more than three-tenths of one percent of THC on a dry weight measure. But, finding the right seed to cultivate is a major complication in the production of industrial hemp. Since available seed is not certified to produce plants with a THC content as low as necessary for hemp, no viable hemp seed has been documented or legally imported in decades.A small amount of hemp seed is being produced in Colorado under the Colorado Industrial Hemp Act of 2013, but seed quality is not reliable. The seed is not a specific variety, and THC levels are so uncertain there’s no guarantee that farmers can produce hemp.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is registered under the federal Controlled Substances Act to import industrial hemp seed. With that registration, Colorado universities are doing research with hemp seed available from worldwide sources. Certified seed is absolutely necessary to assure THC levels will be consistently low to produce hemp.
You might be surprised to know that hemp can be used to produce hemp milk, hemp juice, and hemp oil. Also, it may be added to cereal, frozen waffles, ice cream and nut butters. It can be blended with flax, cotton or silk to make clothes or made into mulch, animal bedding, and litter. Don’t look now, but it might be in your face cream or bird seed.
The issue is this: Both hemp and marijuana are made from the same marijuana plant and Georgia law enforcement opposes in-state cultivation of marijuana. Call Representative Golick at 404 656-5943 to comment on these bills. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.