|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
US IL: Hemp Bill Vetoed By Ryan
ccguide Saturday 24 Feb 2001 Pubdate: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 Source: State Journal-Register (IL) Copyright: 2001 The State Journal-Register Contact: Address: P.O. Box 219, Springfield, IL 62705-0219 Fax: (217) 788-1551 Website: http://www.sj-r.com/ Author: Adriana Colindres, State Capitol Bureau HEMP BILL VETOED BY RYAN Drug Concerns Cited In Blocking Study Gov. George Ryan on Friday rejected legislation that would have allowed two state universities to study industrial hemp, a biological relative of marijuana that some people eyed as a potential cash crop for struggling Illinois farmers. In his veto message, Ryan said he has "always tried to support our state's largest industry, agriculture, and I have gone to great lengths to open up new and viable markets for our .. . many agricultural products." But he cited several concerns with Senate Bill 1397, saying those "must be addressed before I would consider a bill to allow even the study of industrial hemp in the state of Illinois." The bill would have permitted researchers at the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University to study hemp production, including how well it would grow here. Ryan said one problem with the legislation is it wouldn't require researchers to try to develop a hemp plant without the psychoactive ingredient known as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC in marijuana and hemp is what produces a "high." "I will not ignore the unified concern of drug treatment and prevention groups that the ultimate commercial cultivation and availability of a product that contains a mind-altering substance would leave open the prospect of substance abuse," Ryan said. "This would send a mixed message to the youth of our state at a time when marijuana use has doubled in our rural areas over the past eight years alone." While industrial hemp was grown in Illinois during World War II, the plant may no longer be cultivated legally in the United States. In other countries, hemp's seeds and fibers are used to produce a variety of products, such as hand cream, paper and clothing. Other states have been looking to industrial hemp as a possible cash crop. Taking the lead is Hawaii which, in 1999, obtained permission from the federal government to grow hemp in test plots. Even though hemp's versatility "offers some potential for future markets to be developed, the current market for hemp products is not substantial enough to warrant the expenditure of nearly $1 million in taxpayers' money for this study," the governor said. "If there is indeed great interest in developing a viable market for hemp products, private funds for such a study should be available." The bill's Senate sponsor, Sen. Evelyn Bowles, D-Edwardsville, said Ryan earlier had indicated to her that he would veto the measure. "But it's a terrible disappointment," she said Friday. "I see such tremendous value and potential in this." She didn't know yet whether lawmakers might try to override the veto. That would require a three-fifths vote - 36 in the Senate and 71 in the House. When lawmakers approved Senate Bill 1397, the vote was 49-9 in the Senate and 67-47 in the House. Opponents of the legislation, including the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Drug Education Alliance, said it would send the wrong message about drug use and could lead to the legalization of marijuana. "I'm thrilled, thrilled, thrilled," Priss Parmenter, president of the alliance, said after learning of the governor's veto. "I think it's a victory for kids and for (drug) prevention in Illinois." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!