Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - June 3, 2016

Hemp Growers Ask the Feds to Legalize It

On June 1, the Hemp Industries Association and the Kentucky Hemp Industry Council filed a petition with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to declassify industrial hemp as a controlled substance. Despite hemp’s low tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) content, roughly 0.3 percent, compared to marijuana’s 3 to 10 percent or higher, it has been considered a controlled substance in the United States since 1970, primarily due to it being visually indistinguishable from marijuana.  Hemp is a low input crop that can be used for a myriad of food, industrial and other products – from clothing to building materials, plastics and industrial lubricants as well as consumer care products and health foods. The U.S. hemp industry is worth approximately $573 million annually, yet most hemp used to make these products in the United States are sourced from hemp grown primarily in Canada, China and Europe.    

Read More

 

Headlines

1. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thinks Farmers Can Help Solve Global Warming

2. Luxury Cars Could Boost Ethanol Demand  

3. Abengoa’s Two Nebraska Ethanol Plants Have Restarted

4. Big Food to Congress: Show Us You're Serious About Climate Change

5. Opinion: Paying to Fight Forest Fires with Forest-Health Funds Is a Disaster

 

To Contact the Editor: Jessie Stolark at eesi@eesi.org

Please distribute Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests to your colleagues. Reproduction of this newsletter is permitted provided that the Environmental and Energy Study Institute is properly acknowledged as the source. Past issues are available here. Free email subscriptions are available here.

Do you like receiving this newsletter? If so, please consider taking 2 minutes to tell us why SBFF is useful to you! Your review of EESI's services on GreatNonprofits will help us keep bringing you more of what you like. EESI has been named a “Top-Rated Nonprofit” three years in a row, and with your help we want to make it four! Click here to Review EESI.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus dedicated to finding innovative environmental and energy solutions. EESI’s work, including this free newsletter, is made possible by financial support from people like you. Please help us continue to make it available by making a secure, online donation today or mailing a check to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute at 1112 16th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. You can also learn more about why you should give to EESI for clean energy. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Williams by email at swilliams [at] eesi.org or by phone at 202-662-1887. Thank you for your support!