Subject: legislation


From: Institute for Hemp <insthemp@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Date: 20 Mar 93 09:58 PST
Subject: Industry Stalls Hemp Bill In MN


ALERT     ALERT     ALERT

MINNESOTA TO MAKE
BIRD SEED
ILLEGAL !

The House of Representatives is about to hold hearings on a bill (
House File #851) that will in effect shut down a major industry
and make criminals of people who have BIRD SEED.  Hearings on this
bill are to be held in Room 300s of the State Office Bldg on
Friday March 19th at 10 am.

House file 851 which is trying to tighten the drug laws for the
state of Minnesota is redefining the word marijuana.  The effect
of this change will be to make anything that contains Hemp seed,
Hemp Rope, Hemp Cloth or any product containing any portion of
cannabis fiber or seed illegal and subject to the controlled
substances, taxes and forfiture laws.

As most people know the fiber of the plant is used to make Cloth,
Rope, Fiber Board, Paper, and the sterilized seed (seed that can
not grow) is used in animal feeds mainly for pet birds and small
mammals.  This bill would in effect make all of these useful
products illegal and criminals of those that possess and sell
these products.

Many businesses are speaking out against this bill.  Knight Seed
Company of Burnsville MN, The Third Stone of Albert Lea,  The Hemp
Hack Company of St Cloud and other companies are all in opposition
to any change in the legal defination of marijuana.

For more information please call

THE INSTITUTE FOR HEMP
612-222-2628 ask for John Birrenbach, President & Founder.

Sponsers of the Bill are Rep. Perlt  @ 296-7807 Rep. Delmont @
296-4226 Rep. Swenson  @ 296-4124

***********************************************

MEDIA ATTENTION
Bird Feed & ROPE ILLEGAL !  Industry responds "NO"

The House of Representatives, judiciary sub committee will hold
hearings on House File #851, a bill that is opposed by the Seed,
Pet, Rope, & Hemp Industries.

House file 851 is a bill which is trying to tighten the drug laws
for the state of Minnesota.  In addition to many other things,
hidden in this bill is a change in the definition of the word
marijuana  The effect of this change will be to make anything that
contains Hemp seed, Hemp Rope, Hemp Cloth or any product
containing any portion of cannabis fiber or seed illegal and
subject to the controlled substances, tax and forfeiture laws.

John Birrenbach, founder, The Institute for Hemp said "It is well
know that the fiber of the plant is used to make cloth, rope,
fiber board, paper, furniture, and the sterilized seed (seed that
can not grow) is used in animal feeds mainly for pet birds and
small mammals.  These uses have been accepted as safe and
legitimate for thousands of years.  This bill would in effect make
all of these useful products illegal and criminals of those that
possess and sell these products." adding "It is also well known
that there is no way to get a high from these products.  I mean we
are talking about making certain ropes, cloth, & books illegal."

Many businesses are speaking out against this bill.

Knight Seed Company of Burnsville MN in a letter to the committee
said " we ask that house file 851 be re-defined not to include
bird food hemp seed or defeated in committee."

Greg Domeier of the St Cloud based Hemp Hack Company wrote "The
purpose of these exclusions is to prevent the suppression of
legitimate commerce."

For more information please call
THE INSTITUTE FOR HEMP
612-222-2628 ask for John Birrenbach, President & Founder.

Sponsors of the Bill are Rep. Perlt  @ 296-7807,  Rep. Delmont @
296-4226,  Rep. Swenson  @ 296-4124 Hearings on this bill are to
be held in Room 300s of the State Office Bldg. on Friday March
19th at 10 am.

****************************************

MEDIA ATTENTION

MARIJUANA
to be PRESENTED to Members of the Judiciary Sub-Committee
TOMORROW !
John Birrenbach, Founder of the St Paul based Institute for Hemp
will present members of the judiciary subcommittee with various
products made from hemp that will be considered MARIJUANA if house
file #851 is passed as is.  "I intend to show them in a graphic
manner the absurdity of this change." Mr. Birrenbach said.

House file 851 is a bill which is trying to tighten the drug laws
for the state of Minnesota.  In addition to many other things,
hidden in this bill is a change in the definition of the word
marijuana  The effect of this change will be to make anything that
contains Hemp seed, Hemp Rope, Hemp Cloth or any product
containing any portion of cannabis fiber or seed illegal and
subject to the controlled substances, tax and forfeiture laws.

John Birrenbach, said "It is well know that these uses have been
accepted as safe and legitimate for thousands of years.  This bill
would in effect make all of these useful products illegal and
criminals of those that possess and sell these products." adding
"We are talking about making certain ropes, cloth, & books
illegal."

Many businesses are speaking out against this bill.

Knight Seed Company of Burnsville MN in a letter to the committee
said " we ask that house file 851 be re-defined not to include
bird food hemp seed or defeated in committee."

Deborah Zippel, General Manager of the Oakland Ca based Quick
Trading Co., wrote "The people adversely affected by the passing
of this bill would be manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of
birdseed, animal food, fabric, rope, paper, (all cigarette papers
are made from hemp fiber), oils and cosmetics.  It would have no
effect on marijuana growers,"

Greg Domeier of the St Cloud based Hemp Hack Company wrote "The
purpose of these exclusions is to prevent the suppression of
legitimate commerce." For more information please call
THE INSTITUTE FOR HEMP
612-222-2628 ask for John Birrenbach, President & Founder.
Sponsors of the Bill are Rep. Perlt  @ 296-7807,  Rep. Delmont @
296-4226,  Rep. Swenson  @ 296-4124 Hearings on this bill are to
be held in Room 300s of the State Office Bldg. on Friday March
19th at 10 am.

MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES WELCOME


From: Institute for Hemp <insthemp@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Date: 20 Mar 93 09:56 PST
Subject: Testamony on HF 851 Stalls Hemp Bi


OPENING STATEMENT


Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee

	My name is John Birrenbach, I am the owner of The
	Institute for Hemp, based in St Paul.

	I come before you in opposition, and to express my
	concerns regarding a part of the bill before us House File
	851

	I speak to you as a member of and on behalf of the
	industry that will be unduly effected by this bill.

	Mine and the industry concerns about this bill is in
	regard to the redefining the definition of the word
	Marijuana.

	In 1937, congress held hearings to make marijuana illegal.
	At that time the hemp industry came before the
	congressional committee and asked that this definition of
	marijuana be used so as not to affect their legitimate
	industries.  Congress had the foresight to take the
	industries concerns to heart and made the definition of
	marijuana that has been upheld in court till this day.

	In striking from the definition the exclusion for the
	legitimate industrial uses you will suppress an industry
	that is flourishing in the state of Minnesota. You will in
	effect make the use of sterile hemp seed, that has been
	approved by the Drug Enforcement Agency, and federally as
	a legal substance, into a controlled substance.  In
	addition any product that contains a MIXTURE of sterile
	hemp seed will be a controlled substance as well.  The
	effect of this upon the Pet & Wild bird industry will be
	catastrophic.  Currently the manufacturers of bird feeds
	use a percentage of sterile hemp seed in some of their
	mixtures.  If the definition of marijuana is changed these
	bird feeds will be considered a marijuana, because they
	contain mixture of sterile hemp seed.  This would subject
	anyone who has a pet bird to all of the laws regarding
	marijuana.  This means that a person with 5lbs of bird
	seed that has a percentage of hemp seed will be subject to
	the forfeiture, and sentencing guidelines resulting from a
	conviction in possession or sale of that quantity of feed.
	I do not think that it is the intention of this committee
	to make bird food illegal, but this is what the result of
	this change will in effect bring about.

	In the manufacture of many commonly used products hemp is
	used.  From the production of paper, to the manufacture of
	furniture hemp is used in its construction.  If the
	definition of marijuana is changed then these products by
	virtue of their containing a mixture of cannabis fiber in
	their construction will in effect become a controlled
	substance.  The effect of this will be like that of those
	people who have bird food with hemp seed, with one
	exception that a couch can weigh hundreds of pounds, and
	the implications of having hundreds of pounds of MARIJUANA
	are enormous.

	I am also informed by members of the industry that paper
	used to manufacture cigarettes contain a small percentage
	of hemp fiber in them as well.  This would in effect make
	the sale of cigarettes as illegal as selling a marijuana
	cigarette.

	Additionally, the original drafts of the Declaration of
	Independence, The United States Constitution, and many
	bibles and books in our libraries also contain MIXTURES of
	cannabis fiber in the paper.  This change in the
	definition of the word marijuana will in effect make these
	items as illegal as a bag of marijuana mixed with
	oregano.

	I hope that you can see why I am so concerned with this
	introduced change in the current statute.

	I also question the constitutionality of this change in
	the definition as it will interfere with interstate
	commerce.  As has been previously upheld in the United
	States courts the states have repeatedly lost in their
	battle to regulate interstate & international commerce.
	This change is likely to challenged and overturned in the
	courts.

	I have talked with the B.C.A. and I understand their
	concerns with the recent court decisions.  I have not yet
	examined these court decisions they site but I am sure
	that the method used to prosecute these cases were flawed.
	Minnesota's law is not flawed.  In our state law we make
	it specific that a MIXTURE of marijuana is considered all
	marijuana by weight, so that the concerns of the BCA are
	unfounded.

	I am also very concerned with the manner in which this
	bill was introduced.  It concerns me that the authors of
	this bill did not read the bill before introducing it.  It
	further concerns me that the industries that are effected
	by this bill are not notified that a bill of this nature
	is before this committee.  If it were not for the fact
	that I receive the House Session weekly I would have never
	known that this bill had been presented.

	I ask that you make amendments to this bill to exclude
	this change in the definition of marijuana.

	In closing I say to you that Minnesota's definition of
	marijuana is not in need of change as the BCA implies.
	Further that with the current status of Minnesota law it
	would be imprudent of you to make this change at this
	time.  I ask that you amend this bill so as to exclude any
	change in the legal  definition of marijuana.

I ask that the letters I have received, and presented to you, from
members of the industry be read into the official record.

I thank you for allowing me a chance to voice mine and the
industries concerns regarding this matter. I am now open to
questions from the committee.


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