Legacy Hemp Company to host hemp planting near Hoptown
Legacy Hemp Company will host a hemp planting for the press and interested hemp farmers/processors today and Wednesday at 415 Oak Lane, Crofton in Christian County, to celebrate the 6th Annual Hemp History Week.
Last year, Kentucky was one of three states to legally plant and harvest industrial hemp for the first time in over half a century. Through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Program, universities and privately licensed farmers had the opportunity to grow industrial hemp for research and development.
This will be the second year that farmers in Christian County grow industrial hemp as part of the KY Department of Agriculture’s Hemp Pilot Program. Production acreage will be well over 80 acres in various plots around Christian County
Many people are still unaware that hemp is not a drug. This is a product of our country’s ban on cannabis for the past 80 years, and it must be remedied by mass education about the crop.
As farmers open their hemp fields to the public, grassroots activists will offer educational events about industrial hemp—its history, agronomy, health and ecological benefits—as we join together to sow the seed.
The Kentucky Hempsters, hemp advocates who’ve begun partnering with hemp farmers, processors, and businesses to provide industrial hemp education and marketing, have been sowing the seed across Kentucky since April preparing for this year’s Hemp Week. They will be in attendance distributing hemp food samples from Hemp History Week sponsors, along with educational and promotional materials.
“We believe the key to generating the amount of support necessary to lift the federal ban on industrial hemp is to create awareness and demand through education and promotional efforts. With the Industrial Hemp Farming Act recently introduced in both the House and Senate in January 2015, it’s imperative we focus on educational outreach to clear the common misconceptions that have kept us from moving forward with a thriving American hemp industry for decades,” said Alyssa Erickson, co-founder of Kentucky Hempsters.
“We’re excited to celebrate our state’s rich hemp history – past, present and future – along with the economic, environmental, nutritional and industrial advantages hemp can offer.”
To date, 33 states and Puerto Rico have introduced pro-hemp legislation and 22 have passed pro-hemp legislation. Twenty-one states (California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia) have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production. Three states (Colorado, Kentucky, and Vermont) in 2014 had research crops planted in accordance with section 7606 of the Farm Bill. For updates please see: http://votehemp.com/legislation)
Hemp has been misclassified with drug varieties of Cannabis and therefore falls under the Controlled Substances Act, though it offers no potential for drug use. # # # Hemp History Week, June 1–7, 2015, is an industry??wide initiative of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and Vote Hamp Association (HIA) and Vote Hemp.
The HIA is a non??profit trade group representing hemp companies, researchers, farmers and supporters.
Vote Hemp is a national, single?issue, non?profit advocacy group founded in 2000 by members of the hemp industry to remove barriers to industrial hemp farming in the U.S. through education, legislation and advocacy. For further Information about the campaign and these organizations, please visit: www.HempHistoryWeek.com, www.TheHIA.org and www.VoteHemp.com.