[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8704-8705]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL HEMP HISTORY WEEK

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I asked for an extra few minutes. I want to

[[Page 8705]]

spend another few minutes just talking about another part of our 
economy that I think can grow in the days ahead, and I would ask 
unanimous consent, Mr. President, to bring a basket of Oregon products 
onto the floor at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, this week is National Hemp History Week, 
and to help celebrate I thought I would show a few Oregon-made hemp 
products to highlight the many uses and opportunities for industrial 
hemp in my State and across the country.
  In the basket I brought, I have food, soap, clothes, and even deck 
sealant, all made in Oregon, bought and sold in American stores and 
used by Americans. Oregon companies such as Bob's Red Mill, 
Fiddlebumps, and Hemp Shield contribute to our economy in unique ways. 
Industrial hemp supports a $620 million industry in America, and our 
companies have found innovative ways of incorporating it into everyday 
products.
  However, the full growth potential of this industry is being cut down 
before it can fully bloom because a single ingredient that links all of 
these products--the hemp itself--cannot be grown in America. The 
unfortunate reality is that current Federal rules prohibit our farmers 
from growing industrial hemp on American soil. This means 100 percent 
of the hemp used in these products is imported from other nations. The 
Federal ban on hemp amounts, in my view, to a restriction on free 
enterprise, and it doesn't accomplish anything but stifles job creation 
and economic growth.
  We are the world's largest consumers of hemp products, but we are the 
only major industrialized nation to ban hemp farming. This hasn't 
always been the case, and it doesn't have to continue to be the case. 
It was once a booming crop in America and it can and should be again.
  American farmers were growing this product as early as the 1600s, 
before our Nation was even founded. The Declaration of Independence, 
colleagues, was written on paper made from hemp. In the 1800s and early 
1900s, it was used to make rope, heating oil, and textiles. During 
World War II we used it as part of the Hemp for Victory Program to 
support our soldiers. But everything got changed when hemp got wrapped 
up with marijuana in Federal regulations, and it has been banned ever 
since. Are they related? Maybe industrial hemp and marijuana are 
related species, but one should not be confused with the other, much 
like a Chihuahua and a St. Bernard. Mixing hemp in with a ban on 
growing marijuana is based on a lot of misconception. No matter where 
Members of this body come down on medical or recreational marijuana, 
industrial hemp and marijuana might be related plant species, but there 
are big differences between them, such as their chemical makeup.
  Because they are not the same plant, they should not be treated with 
the same regulation and prohibitions. In my view, keeping the ban on 
growing hemp makes about as much sense as instituting a ban on 
Portobello mushrooms. There is no reason to outlaw a product that is 
perfectly safe because of what it is related to.
  That is why the majority leader Senator McConnell and I came 
together, with our colleague from Kentucky Rand Paul and my colleague 
from Oregon Jeff Merkley--we came together on a bipartisan basis to 
introduce the Industrial Hemp Farming Act. Our bill would make sure 
hemp does not get lumped into the definition of marijuana in the 
Controlled Substances Act.
  Our bill is all about stopping the unfair punishment of entrepreneurs 
and farmers who want to be part of a growing ag industry here in 
America. Companies in our Nation that are importing hemp to use in 
food, cosmetics, soap, clothing, and auto parts, they ought to be 
buying that hemp from American farmers and contributing to our 
agricultural sector.
  I will close by way of saying there are also big environmental 
benefits to industrial hemp. It takes less water to grow hemp than it 
does to grow cotton, and hemp generally requires fewer pesticides than 
other crops. I will put it this way, colleagues: If you can buy it at 
your local supermarket--and I got involved in this because I saw it at 
Costco when my wife was pregnant with our third child--if you can buy 
it at the local supermarket, American farmers ought to be able to grow 
it.
  I urge my colleagues to join me, the distinguished majority leader 
Senator McConnell, his colleague Senator Rand Paul, and my colleague 
Senator Merkley in our legislation to address this gap in American law 
and today join me in celebrating National Hemp History Week by learning 
more about this safe and versatile crop and the potential it holds to 
bolster American agriculture and the domestic economy.
  These products are products that are sold all across America. We 
ought to have a chance for our farmers--farmers in Nebraska, farmers in 
Arkansas, farmers in Indiana--to be able to grow this product and reap 
the benefits of the private economy associated with it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.

                          ____________________