Washington State house votes to nullify federal hemp ban, 97-0selfnews Post Sponsored by Representative Matt Shea (R), along with Christopher Hurst (D), Cary Condotta (R), Jeff Holy (R), David Taylor (R) and Jason Overstreet (R), the Hemp Freedom Act would permit the development in Washington of an industrial hemp industry, effectively nullifying the de facto federal prohibition on the farming and production of hemp crops within the United States. Introduced in February 2013, HB1888 was first passed by a House committee nearly a year ago. Since the enactment of the unconstitutional federal controlled-substances act in 1970, the Drug Enforcement Agency has prevented the production of hemp within the United States. Many hemp supporters feel that the DEA has been used as an attack dog of sorts to prevent competition with major industries where American-grown hemp products would create serious market competition: Cotton, Paper/Lumber, Oil, and others. Experts count as many as 25,000 uses for industrial hemp, including food, cosmetics, plastics and bio-fuel. The U.S. is currently the worlds #1 importer of hemp fiber for various products, with China and Canada acting as the top two exporters in the world. Industrial hemp is used for a wide variety of purposes including the manufacture of cordage of varying tensile strength, durable clothing and nutritional products. During World War II, the United States military relied heavily on hemp products, which resulted in the famous campaign and government-produced film, Hemp for Victory! Even though soil, climate and agricultural capabilities could make the United States a massive producer of industrial hemp, today no hemp is grown for public sale, use and consumption within the United States. China is the worlds greatest producer and the United States is the #1 importer of hemp and hemp products in the world. HB1888 now moves on to the full Washington state senate where it will first be assigned to a committee for consideration before the full senate has an opportunity to send the bill to Gov. Jay Inslee for a signature. ACTION ITEMS For Washington State Residents: Take action today to help pass HB1888 by clicking HERE. For All Other States: Take action in your state to push legislators to introduce and support bills to legalize hemp farming by clickingHERE Source: 