Industrial Hemp Farming Act H.R. 1831

There was an online campaign yesterday to notify your representatives of support for H.R. 1831. This campaign was headed up by VoteHemp.com. I participated by emailing my Representative Reid Ribble with the following message:

I am writing to ask that you please become a cosponsor of H.R. 1831, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011. The legislation allows American farmers to once again grow hemp to the extent that it is allowed under state laws. The text of the bill is available from THOMAS: 

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.01831: 

To become a cosponsor, please contact Adam in Rep. Ron Paul's office at 5-2831 or Pilar at 5-5931 in Rep. Barney Frank's office. 

If you or your staff would like to learn more about this agricultural issue, please read the latest version of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report "Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity," which is dated December 22, 2010 and has the order code RL32725. The report can be ordered from the CRS or it can be downloaded from the National Agricultural Law Center at: 

http://nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/RL32725.pdf 

Please also consider watching the video "Controversial Crop" from America's Heartland, which is produced by KVIE in Sacramento, California: 

http://www.americasheartland.org/episodes/episode_315/controversial_crop.html 

To date, twenty-nine states have introduced hemp legislation and seventeen have passed legislation; nine (Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia) have removed barriers to its production or research. Passage of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011 would finally allow these states to choose whether or not to let farmers grow industrial hemp. 

I would specifically like to know: Will you become a cosponsor of H.R. 1831, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011, which will permit agricultural hemp farming in the U.S. once again? What is your position on supporting farmers in the U.S. having the opportunity to once again farm this valuable agricultural crop? What did you, or your staff, think of the CRS report and the video? 

I look forward to your reply.

Representative Ribble replied in less than 24 hrs with the following:

Thank you for contacting me about the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (H.R. 1866).  I always appreciate when constituents contact me about issues important to them. I must apologize for my delayed response; I have received more than fifteen thousand letters from constituents since I took office. 

The Industrial Hemp Farming Act was introduced in the last Congress by Rep. Ron Paul (TX-14), but the bill has yet to be reintroduced this year. As you know, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act aims to allow for the production of the cannabis plant by amending the Controlled Substances Act to exclude hemp from the definition of marijuana. To date, the last major action on this bill took place on May 26th, 2009 when it was referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.  

I appreciate you contacting me about this important piece of legislation. Should the bill be reintroduced, I will carefully study its content and review cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.  

Again, thank you for contacting me on this important issue. I hope you continue to engage in the legislative process. 

Sincerely,  

Reid J. Ribble 

Member of Congress

Unfortunately it is obvious he(or his staffer) did not read the email nor was he aware of Rep. Ron Paul's efforts. very disapointing