Thursday, September 13, 2007

AB 684 Passes in California - UC Davis as Mars Hemp Central?

A wonderful opportunity has appeared for areo-agricultural cannabis research within the United States.

On September 11th by a 26-13 vote, the California legislature passed AB 684, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act. The bill now goes to the Governor for signing.

According to Section 1g of the Act, within four pre-selected counties in the stste of California to produce hemp; Imperial, Kings, Mendocino & Yolo, agricultural hemp research can be conducted under strict criteria.

The perfect choice for this research would be Yolo County's UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Not only does it perfectly fit the criteria set by the Act as a research facility, ironically Davis, California is also the home of celebrated Mars Trilogy author Kim Stanley Robinson.

But the Act has a built-in expiration date. Unless otherwise put into law, this act will automatically be repealed on 01 January 2013.

Also by no later than 01 January 2012, the Hemp Industries Association must report no later than 01 January 2012 to subcomittees of agriculture & pubic safety the economic impact of this act.

Within this time frame, along with fundamental research on growing hemp (not marijuana) aquaponically (which to date I can't find any research ever done), the real business of research and development could begin on producing a hemp variant for use in martian greenhouses.