Independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Myers is all about hemp. His advocacy for industrial hemp and his consumption of hemp dietary supplements earn derision from my opportunist-conservative counterpart in the blogosphere.
But if backing hemp makes a candidate crazy, then bring out the straitjackets for 87% of the South Dakota House. On Thursday, 61 of our 70 state representatives approved House Concurrent Resolution 1017, which in true conservative fashion exhorts Uncle Sam to get off our backs and let us grow non-intoxicating hemp, the way folks do quite legally in Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Romania, Australia, and the world's leading hemp producer, China.
HCR 1017 doesn't take the direct action the Madville Times community proposed in January, but it makes Myers backer Tara Volesky's point that promoting industrial hemp is not some politically suicidal fringe idea. The ayes included gubernatorial candidate Rep. Susan Wismer, U.S. Senate candidate Stace Nelson, and nine of the ten reps who have already filed for re-election.
In news from the generation gap, Rep. Don Haggar voted for legalizing industrial hemp, while his daughter Rep. Jenna Haggar voted against it. Maybe she needs to go undercover-shopping at the dietary supplements store with her good friend and co-scholar Rep. Isaac Latterell: he voted for HCR 1017.
I am surprised. Pleasantly so.
Pierre should provide more pleasant surprises.
If corn and cotton acres are threatened expect those lobbies to be schmoozing Pierre to stop the passage of this legislation.
Hemp is particularly susceptible to herbicides residual in most soils and to dissolved solids in irrigation water from aquifers. It is also one more species introduced from another continent speeding the extinction of native plants. That Alex White Plume would have wanted to start it on the rez remains a mystery.
Having gotten all that said, hemp is far friendlier on the environment as a biofuel and can be burned in the equipment used to grow it.
http://www.livescience.com/42329-is-industrial-hemp-the-ultimate-energy-crop.html
Hemp is another huge bullet to fight the war against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls a weapon of mass destruction or climate change. South Dakota could be a huge and major player in that war with our geo-thermal, wind power and solar collecting potential, if only we had leadership.
America would need an influx of hemp to make enough ropes to hang the bastards on Wall Street,if we ever get serious about prosecuting white collar criminals. Of course,the very shysters that need hanging would be the major investors in hemp production and then wingnuts would declare all crimes null and void and give them more tax breaks and apologize for any Democratic legislation that requires some semblance of honesty from them.
"An extremely nutritious sprout from a delicious seed. We do not currently sell Hemp because a live Hemp seed is still illegal in the U.S. When we can, we will."
http://sproutpeople.org/hemp-sprouts/