WHEREAS, Hemp is a variety of the cannabis genus, as is marijuana, but the two plants are distinctly different; hemp grows tall and spindly, while marijuana, is shorter and densely-packed; more importantly, hemp has only nominal amounts of THC, the psychoactive compound present in marijuana; hemp cannot get a person high; and
WHEREAS, Hemp is an agricultural crop with over 25,000 identified uses ranging from health foods, to nutraceuticals, to biofuels, to clothing, to car dashboards, to biodegradable plastics, to food, to feed, to construction materials like “hempcrete;” and
WHEREAS, The United States hemp market had $820 million in sales in 2017; that market is projected to grow to nearly $2 Billion by 2022; and
WHEREAS, Historically, the United States has been compelled to import hemp primarily from Canada and China, because hemp was classified in 1970 as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act; and
WHEREAS, Under a provision of the 2014 Federal Farm Bill, 40 states already allow farmers to grow hemp through a research pilot program with universities and state departments of agriculture; and
WHEREAS, On November 29, 2018,
United States House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairmen Mike Conaway (Republican, Texas) and Pat Roberts (Republican, Kansas) and Ranking Members Collin Peterson (Democrat, Minnesota) and Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, Michigan) reached an agreement in principle on the 2018 Federal Farm Bill, which includes
establishing hemp as an agricultural commodity, removing it from the restrictions of the Controlled Substances Act; and
WHEREAS, The prospect of hemp as a permanent new crop with huge economic potential warrants the strategic assessment of how Philadelphia can capitalize on that economic potential through research, production, business, jobs, and trade, in the 21st Century’s global, creative, and innovative economy; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it herby authorizes Council’s Committee on Global Opportunities and Creative/Innovative Economy to hold hearings on how hemp can spur economic development in Philadelphia.
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