Our group was interested in non-food agriculture. Jokingly, we talked about what it would like if we were to focus on marijuana. As our conversation continued, we wanted to look at hemp. One of our group members had done past research with hemp and was familiar with the legal issues that it entails, so she really convinced us that there was a lot of material to go off of. Given the global aspect of our class and the growing conversation about hemp, we thought this would be a topic that had endless resources. We wanted to partner with an organization that would allow us to make actual change regarding the policies, either locally or nationally, around hemp. We talked to many organizations, through email and the phone, and with the short time span of the project the lack of enthusiastic responses forced us to be creative in other aspects for the project.
Because we are in Washington, I assumed that there would be plenty of groups that would be willing to accept volunteers as free labor to advocate for their cause. However, we weren’t able to get any fruitful responses, so we had to move on and find other options. Luckily, our group was very communicative, so when our original plan started to fall apart, we were able to quickly work together and figure out our next steps. Our group ended up making educational advertisement products that we think would be useful in helping the public make more intentional decisions about legislation around hemp. We made a brochure that discusses what hemp is, its positive and negative impacts, and how to get involved with its legislation. We also made a white board video that explores the same topics and ideas.
There were a lot of things about hemp that I didn’t know before I started this project. Hemp is used in textiles, building materials, and can be found in everyday, nutritious foods. There is also a lot of current research being done on other uses for hemp, like as a synthetic plastic. Hemp also has amazing benefits for the environment, itself. Often noted as being carbon neutral, hemp is one of the types of plants that is able to hold on to carbon and doesn’t release it back into the atmosphere. If we were to legalize industrial hemp, the United States would have an opportunity to really tell the world that environmental safety and sustainability are a priority by using hemp in the construction of our everyday goods.
Here’s information from our video and brochure that could be used to get more involved:
Currently there are two bills moving through Congress that would legalize industrial Hemp nationally: HR 5485 and S2667.
Although states are taking matters into their own hands in passing state legislation legalizing the production and distribution of Hemp, the Hemp industry is still hamstrung by federal restrictions that make transporting Hemp across state lines and interstate sale illegal.
To help ensure our country takes this important step, you can contact your congressional representatives, and ask them to support their chamber’s bill. To find your congressional district’s representative, you can go to: