A farmer in Colorado, where hemp was legalized, along with recreational marijuana, last November, has planted 60 acres of industrial hemp in hopes that the federal government will actually allow him to grow and harvest it. Which makes him one of the most optimistic people in the country. 

Because that dank shit sustainable fiber is still straight-up Schedule I illegal, hemp farmers don’t qualify for federal crop insurance and other government benefits afforded to farmers of legal crops. And fear of reprisal is keeping many farmers and researchers away, even in states that say it’s OK.

Unfortunately, one of the baffling failures of the Obama administration has been its  determination to keep the massive and stupid drug war going and especially it’s inexplicable persecution of marijuana growers and sellers even for medical purposes, even in states that have chosen to decriminalize it. It’s always been a head-scratcher that the first President to admit smoking, inhaling and enjoying pot culture has been just as bad on this issue as his white, fatally unhip, Mad Men-era cocktail swilling law and order loving predecessors.  

Don’t really know if all the legends about the stuff are real or hyperbole. I’ve heard all my life about the amazing utility of hemp including the use of the fiber for paper and clothing, its biofuel potential, and more recently about the health benefits of eating the seeds, which are said to have a perfect balance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids and other benefits.  Supposedly the stuff is amazingly sustainable and possibly even carbon neural. 

Of course without passage of a federal law similar to what Colorado and other states are considering, it’s just a (THC fueled?) dream.  The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 is going nowhere in Congress to date.  Although this time it was co-sponsored by 30 Congressman including Republicans from farming communities and not just Nutty Old Ron Paul. Like decriminalization itself, there’s a ground swell around allowing small farmers to explore this crop and that seems smart