August 23, 2006 by PT Rothschild.

Kimberly Geiger for the San Francisco Chronicle

Sacramento — California lawmakers narrowly passed a bill Monday that would allow California’s farmers to tap into the $270 million hemp industry by providing the raw materials used to create hemp products.

The bill, AB1147, is a bipartisan effort by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine (Orange County), that would allow California’s farmers to produce hemp oil, seed and fiber — the raw materials that are used in hemp products.

Industrial hemp, marijuana’s nonhallucinogenic cousin, is used to produce personal care products, food, paper, clothing, car parts and building materials.

Because state law does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana crops, farmers have been reluctant to grow hemp, fearful that their crops could be confiscated, said DeVore, the only Republican Assembly member to support the bill.

Currently raw hemp is imported from about 30 countries that allow the farming of hemp.

The bill would require farmers to undergo crop testing to ensure that their variety of the cannabis plant is nonhallucinogenic in return for assurances that their crops won’t be confiscated by law-enforcement officials.

“Hundreds of hemp products are made right here in California, but manufacturers are forced to import hemp seed, oil and fiber from other countries,” said Leno. “When this bill becomes law, it will be an economic bonanza for California.”

Despite their chemical differences and their physical differences — marijuana is a bushy plant that grows up to 6 feet tall while hemp resembles bamboo shoots and reaches heights of 16 feet — the measure was nearly defeated because lawmakers were spooked by hemp’s close relationship to marijuana.

“As a conservative Republican, I can’t have my name attached to hemp,” said Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, R-Monrovia (Los Angeles County). Mountjoy said the bill would burden law enforcement because hemp “sends off the exact same heat signal that is used to spot marijuana crops.”

Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert (Riverside County), shared Mountjoy’s concerns, saying hemp and marijuana plants are “indistinguishable.”

But Leno said the differences between hemp and marijuana plants are so great, “a 5-year-old could tell the difference. … Law enforcement who have the gift of sight would have no trouble.” Leno added that by requiring hemp growers to test the THC levels in their crops, the bill would relieve law enforcement of the burden of discerning hemp from marijuana.

The bill was approved on a 43-28 vote in the Assembly and now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk.

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August 23, 2006 by Bill Gould, Publisher.

Dear California Sierra Club Supporter:

As scientific evidence continues to make an urgent case for reducing global warming pollution, President Bush and the Republican Congress stonewall any possibility for a meaningful response at the national level. California must fill the leadership void and show how to turn down the heat.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 would put into law an enforceable limit on statewide emissions of greenhouse gases. Firm caps on emissions would kick in beginning in 2012, with progressive reductions until emissions were returned to 1990 levels by 2020. The Act would also require the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gases from significant sources.

This bill has widespread support from businesses, environmental and health groups, and local governments. But big polluters like the oil and auto companies have formed a new front group to oppose the bill by obscuring the facts and deceiving the public.

The State Legislature will vote on this bill in the next week. You can help make the most important global warming measure anywhere in the country become law — send a message to your Assemblymember and tell them to pass the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

California has always been a leader when it comes to the environment. Help show President Bush, the Republican Congress, and the rest of the country that we owe it to future generations to be part of the solution to global warming.

Thank you.

– Sierra Club

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August 23, 2006 by Bill Gould, Publisher.

Dear America,

Pretty amazing: In under 24 hours, folks have pitched in $343,940 of the $416,000 needed to turbocharge our Call for Change get-out-the-vote program.  

The techniques we’re hoping to use to boost our impact—”microtargeting” and “banking” votes—aren’t something we can do half way.  So we’re only going to accept these donations if people pledge the remaining $72,060. Think of it this way—every dollar contributed today to put us over the top will unleash almost $5 in money that’s already been pledged.

We don’t have the high-dollar corporate donors Republicans rely on to afford these voter turnout techniques.  But we are 3 million people strong, and we’re ready for a change. Together, we can beat them at their own game. Can you donate $25?