LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging the New York State Congressional deleg-
ation to recognize industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity
and to pass legislation which removes barriers to state regulation of
the commercial production of industrial hemp

WHEREAS, The agricultural industry is part of the foundation upon which
our distinct American heritage is built; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to urge the New York
State Congressional delegation to recognize industrial hemp as a valu-
able agricultural commodity and to pass the Industrial Hemp Farming Act
of 2015 (S134, HR525) which removes barriers to state regulation of the
commercial production of industrial hemp; and
WHEREAS, June 1-7, 2015, marks the Sixth Annual celebration of Hemp
History Week; and
WHEREAS, Industrial hemp refers to the non-drug oilseed and fiber
varieties of the Cannabis plant which have less than three-tenths of one
percent Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and are cultivated exclusively for
fiber, stalk and seed; and
WHEREAS, The flowering tops of industrial hemp cannot produce any drug
effect when smoked or ingested; and
WHEREAS, The New York State Legislature passed legislation in 2014 to
allow pilot programs to research the growth of industrial hemp in New
York State by the Department of Agriculture and institutions of higher
education; and
WHEREAS, The bill signed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
(A9140/S7047-2014) defines industrial hemp as an agricultural product
for the purposes of research pilot programs, in accordance with the
language passed in the federal farm bill (Sec. 7606 of H.R. 2642), which
legitimized state industrial hemp pilot research programs; and
WHEREAS, The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 specifies the findings
to which the government must attest in order to classify a substance as
a Schedule I drug; these findings state that a substance must have a
high potential for abuse, possess no accepted medical value, and have a
lack of accepted safety for use; none of the specifications apply to
industrial hemp; and
WHEREAS, Industrial hemp is a high-value, low-input crop which is not
genetically modified and requires little or no pesticides; it can also
be dry land farmed and uses less fertilizer than wheat and corn; and
WHEREAS, Each year, American companies are forced to import millions
of dollars worth of hemp seed and fiber products annually from Canada,
Europe, and China; and
WHEREAS, Nutritious hemp foods can be found in grocery stores nation-
wide and strong durable hemp fibers can be found in the interior parts
of millions of American cars; and
WHEREAS, In addition, retail sales of hemp products nationwide in 2013
are estimated to be over $ 581 million annually, and numerous buildings
are being constructed using a hemp and lime mixture which acts to
sequester carbon; and
WHEREAS, The reluctance to permit industrial hemp farming is denying
agricultural producers in this country the ability to benefit from an
important crop which can provide significant economic benefits to
producers and manufacturers; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional Delegation be and
hereby is respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to recog-
nize industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity; to pass the
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015; to define industrial hemp in Feder-
al law as non-psychoactive and genetically identifiable species of the

genus Cannabis; to acknowledge that allowing and encouraging farmers to
produce industrial hemp will improve the balance of trade by promoting
domestic sources of industrial hemp; and to assist United States produc-
ers by removing barriers to State regulation of the commercial
production of industrial hemp; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to each member of the Congressional Delegation from the State of
New York.