Wisconsin State Rep Introduces Industrial Hemp Bill

Madison, Wisconsin- A state bill, if successful, would allow the farming and production as well as the sale of hemp, which would nullify the federal’s restrictions and prohibitions on such activities.
On May 14, State Representative Dave Considine, together with 23 bill sponsors introduced Assembly Bill 215 that aims at opening the hemp market in the state.
This bill eventually would allow the growing, processing and selling of industrial use hemp for research or commercial purposes by individuals who shall be issued a license. They will only be if they would pass a criminal background check and pay no more than $150.
Remarkably, AB215 addresses some concerns coming from the opposition who are worried about the idea of licensing hemp farmers and growers on the philosophical grounds by creating the license ‘shall issue,’ standing as a legal term requiring the state government in issuing licenses. But in that section, a department could reject someone’s license application for specific reasons.
If the bill would pass as a law, the Wisconsin State will join Oregon, Colorado, Vermont and South Carolina, where the same measures have already been passed.
In SE Colorado, farmers started harvesting cannabis crops in 2013 while Vermont in 2014, both states nullifying federal prohibitions on agricultural hemp activities. Then on February 2, Oregon opened its industrial hemp, with the first license going out a week later to a small non-profit that hoped farming a 25-acre land for cannabis this spring.
Experts reveal the hemp market in the US is making at least $600 million annually, counting as many as 25,000 for industrial hemp uses, including for cosmetics, food, bio-fuel and plastics. Currently, the US is the top exporter of hemp fiber, with Canada and China being the top exporters.
AB215, after its introduction, was submitted to the Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations, where it should be evaluated and pass through before it could get a vote in the full state Assembly.
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