[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 207 (Wednesday, January 2, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8058-S8059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-320. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urging the United States 
     Congress to pass the language from the Hemp Farming Act of 
     2018, as contained in the Farm Bill of 2018, removing 
     industrial hemp from the Schedule 1 Controlled Substance List 
     and legalizing commercial industrial hemp production in the 
     United States; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                       Senate Resolution No. 421

       Whereas, A bipartisan effort has taken place at both the 
     Federal and State levels to pass legislation which would 
     allow American farmers to compete with foreign nations in 
     industrial hemp production; and
       Whereas, The United States relied upon hemp production from 
     the time period of the Mayflower voyage to the War of 1812 
     and through every world war; and
       Whereas, Hemp production in Pennsylvania has a 260-year 
     history due to the favorable climate and soil, and
       Whereas, Industrial hemp plants are cultivated for products 
     derived from the whole plant, including stalk, seeds, flower 
     and roots for products including fiber, food, oil and 
     extracts; and
       Whereas, Industrial hemp has thousands of applications and 
     can be refined into a variety of commercial products 
     including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, 
     cannabinoids, paint, insulation, biofuel, food and animal 
     feed; and
       Whereas, Each year, American companies are forced to import 
     millions of dollars' worth of industrial hemp seed and fiber 
     products annually from China, Canada, Europe and other 
     countries; and
       Whereas, Industrial hemp has often been confused with 
     marijuana, as it is a member of the cannabis family; however, 
     it has no psychoactive effect due to a very low level of 
     tetrahydrocannabinol; and
       Whereas, Chapter 7 of Title 3 of the Pennsylvania 
     Consolidated Statutes defines industrial hemp as the plant 
     Cannabis saliva L. and any part of the plant with less than 
     three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol, also known 
     as THC; and
       Whereas, Uncertainty about Federal laws inhibits investment 
     in the United States and Pennsylvania hemp industry by 
     agricultural producers, manufacturers, processors and other 
     businesses; and
       Whereas, Section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, the 
     Farm Bill of 2014 and the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2016, 
     authorized State industrial hemp agricultural pilot research 
     programs and the activities associated with such programs; 
     and
       Whereas, The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth, 
     farmers, researchers and industry leaders recognized the 
     potential for opportunities in industrial hemp production and 
     products and in investment in Pennsylvania's industrial hemp 
     industry where this Commonwealth could become a national 
     leader to take advantage of the potential $1 billion national 
     market for growing, producing, processing and selling 
     industrial hemp and industrial hemp products; and
       Whereas, To this end, in 2016, the General Assembly and 
     Governor of the Commonwealth enacted Act 92 of 2016, which 
     established Chapter 7 of Title 3 of the Pennsylvania 
     Consolidated Statutes and authorized an industrial hemp 
     research pilot program to commence the initial research into 
     such potential opportunities; and
       Whereas, In the fall of 2018, the Congress of the United 
     States is poised to pass the language from the Hemp Farming 
     Act of 2018, as contained in the 2018 Farm Bill, which 
     removes industrial hemp from the Schedule I

[[Page S8059]]

     Controlled Substance List and legalizes commercial industrial 
     hemp production in the United States; and
       Whereas, The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth 
     is encouraged to immediately commence a study of this 
     Commonwealth's industrial hemp pilot program and other 
     industrial hemp pilot programs in other states and their 
     regulations to recommend any draft statutory or draft 
     regulatory language to the General Assembly to expedite the 
     entry of this Commonwealth into the commercial industrial 
     hemp market upon passage of the language from the Hemp 
     Farming Act by the Congress of the United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to pass 
     the language from the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, as contained 
     in the Farm Bill of 2018, removing industrial hemp from the 
     Schedule I Controlled Substance List and legalizing 
     commercial industrial hemp production in the United States; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania urge the Department of Agriculture of the 
     Commonwealth to begin a study of the industrial hemp research 
     pilot programs established under Act 92 of 2016 and similar 
     research pilot programs in other states and their regulations 
     to prepare any recommended draft legislation for submission 
     to the General Assembly and a framework for any draft 
     regulatory provisions that incorporate the following:
       (1) The growth and cultivation of industrial hemp produced 
     in compliance with Federal law is an agricultural crop.
       (2) The producers of industrial hemp within the 
     Commonwealth have access to United States-supported seed, 
     germplasm, rooted cuttings and other genetics.
       (3) All industrial hemp products, including genetics, that 
     are produced in this Commonwealth shall be able to be freely 
     shipped across State lines into and out of this Commonwealth.
       (4) The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth 
     prepares a process for institutions of higher education in 
     this Commonwealth to obtain approval to conduct industrial 
     hemp research that complies with existing law and is eligible 
     for Federal grant funding.
       (5) The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth 
     prepares educational programs and materials for the education 
     of youth and the public on the growth, cultivation and market 
     potential for industrial hemp; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the Governor, the Secretary of Agriculture of the 
     Commonwealth, the presiding officers of each house of 
     Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.

                          ____________________