Apr. 07, 2016
HARRISBURG – Legislation introduced by Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) that would create an agricultural pilot program in Pennsylvania for industrial hemp research today unanimously passed the Pennsylvania House. The bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration.
Diamond’s proposal (
House Bill 967) would permit industrial hemp to be grown or cultivated in special research and development programs administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the state’s institutions of higher learning.
“We put a lot of effort into educating other legislators about the usefulness of this crop and its positive economic and environmental promises for Pennsylvania,” said Diamond. “While the passage of House Bill 967 is cause for some celebration, we still have a lot of work ahead of us to get the Senate to concur, the governor to sign it into law, and to create a hemp industry from scratch. This is the very first step on what I hope to be very long and prosperous journey for the people of this Commonwealth.”
Pennsylvania once led the nation in industrial hemp production, and the plant was widely grown nationwide for use in many products. In an overreaching attempt to fight marijuana use, the federal government outlawed industrial hemp in the 1930s, misidentifying it as an intoxicating plant.
After numerous studies demonstrated the safety of industrial hemp, and to remedy the growing trade imbalance occurring from the importation of hemp-containing merchandise, the 2014 federal Farm Bill allowed industrial hemp to be grown in pilot programs reserved for universities and state departments of agricultural. Diamond’s bill would bring Pennsylvania law into line with the new federal guidelines, allowing the state to reap the economic benefits as restrictions are further lifted.
For more information, please visit
RepDiamond.com or
Facebook.com/RepDiamond.
Representative Russ Diamond
102nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Ryan Travis, 717.260.6335
rtravis@pahousegop.com
RepDiamond.com /
Facebook.com/RepDiamond