SENATE VOTES TO PUT OREGON IN THE HEMP BUSINESS

SALEM -- When the history of the 2009 Legislature is written, it may
record that this was the year lawmakers put Oregon in the industrial
hemp business.

The Senate voted 27-2 Friday to approve a bill that clears the way
for hemp to be grown and processed in Oregon if and when the federal
government gives growers a green light.

Senate Bill 676 still must pass in the House before the session ends
later this month. But its sponsor, Sen. Floyd Prozanski, says he's
convinced it will pass.

The bill would authorize the production, possession and commerce of
industrial hemp and products. It would put the state Department of
Agriculture in charge of regulating growers.

Industrial hemp is a cousin to marijuana. But it contains just trace
amounts of THC, the psycho-active chemical in marijuana.

Hemp seeds are cultivated for food and other products in China,
Canada and other countries. Hemp was grown in the United States until
1970, when it was redefined by the federal government as marijuana.

Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat, said he first learned about industrial
hemp while campaigning in 1994. He's convinced it would be an
economic boost for Oregon and has been pushing legislation to promote
the industry since 1997.

Prozanski brought a variety of hemp products to the Senate floor
Friday to illustrate his point, including hemp chocolate milk and
hemp chips. He also waved a T-shirt that read: "Industrial hemp is
rope. It's not dope."

"Senate Bill 676 will allow farmers to re-establish industrial hemp
as an agricultural crop in Oregon," Prozanski said.

A couple of Republican senators who are also farmers voted in favor
of the bill. Sen. Larry George, R-Sherwood, groused that "this may be
the only way we can pay the taxes you all have passed."

And Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, complained: "This may be the only
crop left for me."

Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, had a question for Prozanski:
Do they make a hemp brownie mix?