cannabisnews.com: Senator Wants More Information on Hemp 





Senator Wants More Information on Hemp 
Posted by FoM on February 14, 2002 at 10:22:06 PT
By Jim Wallace, Daily Mail Capitol Reporter 
Source: Charleston Daily Mail
Sen. Karen Facemyer will have to wait at least until next week to get her bill to permit the growing of industrial hemp moving in the Senate.Senate Agriculture Chairman Leonard Anderson wants to hear more about the legal and agricultural consequences of growing hemp, which is related to marijuana, before allowing his committee to take action.
Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Steve Hannah told the committee Wednesday that hemp is produced commercially in 22 countries, including Canada, but the obstacles to its production in West Virginia would be law enforcement concerns and a lack of production facilities.David Miller of West Virginia University said he believes a rule of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration prohibits the growing of hemp and that agency might have to issue a waiver for WVU to even research whether it would be feasible and profitable to grow it in West Virginia.Facemyer, R-Jackson, wanted to amend her bill to make federal approval part of the process leading to hemp cultivation in West Virginia, but Miller said state officials should speak with federal officials before going forward with legislation. Although Facemyer was eager to get the bill out of the Agriculture Committee and over to the Judiciary Committee, where she said a staff attorney is already working on it, Anderson, D-Summers, insisted on waiting until next week for the Agriculture Committee to deal with the bill.One concern of some lawmakers is that, even though industrial hemp contains only a fraction of the ingredient that gives marijuana its hallucinatory properties, it looks so much like marijuana that permitting the cultivation of hemp could make law enforcement efforts against marijuana growing more difficult.Bob Williams of the West Virginia Farm Bureau told the committee that the difference between industrial hemp and marijuana is like the difference between grain corn and silage corn: they're just different varieties of the same plant.Facemyer argued that even if the Drug Enforcement Administration currently prohibits the cultivation of hemp, West Virginia could be in the forefront of benefiting from its growth by getting out early with legislation to permit it. Hemp can be used in the manufacture of many things, including rope, sacks, seat belts, oil, fuel and diapers.Note: Proposal to permit plant's growth will have to wait a weekSource: Charleston Daily Mail (WV)Author: Jim Wallace, Daily Mail Capitol Reporter Published: Thursday, February 14, 2002Copyright: 2002 Charleston Daily MailContact: editor dailymail.comWebsite: http://www.dailymail.com/FTE's Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on February 14, 2002 at 14:20:01 PT:
more background
from:
http://webpages.marshall.edu/~keller10/creform.htm
The most obvious problem with the system concerns candidates who fail to properly identify their major contributors, directly violating the law. For example, the West Virginia People's Election Reform Coalition (which involves groups such as the West Virginia Action Group, West Virginia Environmental Council, and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition) conducted a report that traced the campaign contributions of this years candidates; they found that Sen. Leonard Anderson, D-Summers, who currently campaigns for re-election, listed nine contributions ranging between $400 and $1,000 on one page of his campaign report, yet did not identify a single contributor properly (internet). 
The Coalition also found that Delegate Karen Facemyer, R-Jackson, also running for re-election, criticized the Coalition report as being "totally slanderous" because it stated that $2213.75 in primary contributions came from gambling interests. However, her campaign forms clearly showed that most of her money came from out-of-state owners of state racetracks. She had improperly identified two $500 contributors as a "real estate developer" and a "homemaker," when in fact the contributors were racetrack owners (internet). In order to correct the obvious weaknesses of the financing system, legislation must be made by the state. 
from:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/wolffiles9.html
Meals on Wheels 
 The West Virginia road-kill law might give new meaning to your car’s front grill.  
West Virginia is giving new meaning to drive-through fast-food. A new law lets you eat "road kill"
   Motorists can now take home and feast on the deer, possums and other critters they run over, as long as they report it to conservation or police officers within 12 hours.
   Under the old law, motorists had to alert authorities if they planned to eat this pre-tenderized meat. "That took hours," said state Sen. Leonard Anderson. By the time they got approval, the meat was spoiled.
   Anderson estimates his state has 40,000 animal-car collisions each year. He hopes that encouraging drivers to scrape meals off the interstate will reduce the cost of having game wardens dispose of the carcasses. 
   The law prohibits drivers from taking home spotted fawn and bear cubs and several endangered species. "This is only common sense," Anderson said.
   On Feb. 19, the state senate unanimously passed the road-kill bill, after West Virginia’s lower house gave it an 81-15 mandate. But Gov. Cecil Underwood let the bill pass into law without his signature. It was the first bill he had refused to either sign or veto since he took office in 1997.
   "There were some last-minute health concerns," said the governor’s chief of staff, Jim Teets. The governor wasn’t sure the legislature in their deliberations had addressed them.
   P.S. This law might do wonders to discourage jaywalking. 
Buck Wolf is a producer at ABCNEWS.com. The Wolf Files is a weekly feature of ABCNEWS.com’s U.S. section. 
from:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/2001/March/20/LNtop1.htm
Leaders 
             look at ways to revamp W.Va.’s practices 
             for stimulating development
            By 
             RANDY COLEMAN - The 
             Associated Press 
            CHARLESTON 
             -- On Jan. 18, 2000, following a seemingly unremarkable 
             meeting of the West Virginia Senate’s finance committee, 
             one committee member slapped the conference room table 
             in front of him in exasperation.
            "Everywhere 
             we turn, we’re losing. We’re losing jobs and revenue 
             and students. We seem to be 49th in everything," 
             said Sen. Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas.
            As 
             Helmick spoke, two other finance committee members sitting 
             close by -- Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin,D-Mingo, 
             and Sen. Leonard Anderson, D-Summers -- nodded their 
             heads in agreement. It’s time for action, they said.
from:http://www.appalachianfocus.org/_civil1/000000f6.htm
Sen. Leonard Anderson, D-Summers, said Monday he has no regrets about crossing party lines to endorse Gov. Cecil Underwood. 
U.S. Rep. Bob Wise, the Democratic nominee, defeated Wise in Tuesday's general election. 
"I don't regret the endorsement, and I'd do it again. But at the same time, I hope to be able to offer my support to Bob Wise and I hope he and I will be able to get along," Anderson said. 
"You know, I didn't support Gaston Caperton in the beginning, but I ended up working hard for him." 
Two weeks before the general election, Anderson endorsed Underwood, saying the governor had worked "honestly and effectively" with the state Legislature. 
The Hinton resident chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee and also serves on the Finance; Industry and Mining; Natural Resources and Rules committees. He is serving his third four-year term in the Senate. 
Copyright 1996 Associated Press 
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Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on February 14, 2002 at 14:19:35 PT:
background
Senator Leonard Anderson - 304/466-2018 
Senator Karen Facemyer 304-372-2260 
from:
http://www.wvecouncil.org/legisupdate/legis_2001_02_23.html
SB51---Proposed by Senator Facemyer, this bill is to check the ever-increasing volume of administrative rules by giving some flexibility for state agencies and private businesses to make decisions without involving the government. This law-circumventing bill can be found in Judiciary.
from:
http://members.aol.com/wvlgc/legislation.htm
and:
http://www.actwin.com/eatonohio/gay/westvirginias.html
HATE CRIMES ADDITION
  Date: 2-23-01   Bill Number: SB 23   Votes: For=20 Against=12 
  Vote to add disability and sexual orientation to a 16-year-old law that 
  provides additional penalties - up to $5,000 in fines and up to 10 years 
  in prison - for crimes perpetrated because of the victim's race, religion, 
  ancestry, national origin or political affiliation.
Note: Leonard Anderson (district 10) and Karen Facemyer (district 4) voted against the above measure.
From:
http://www.dominionpost.com/af/election2000/2000/11/09/ah/
Sen. Leonard Anderson, D-Summers, said he believes he will work well with Wise, despite his endorsement of Republican Gov. Cecil Underwood to show gratitude for millions of dollars in economic development projects in his district.
''I never asked Underwood for a dime that he didn't give me,'' he said. ''I liked him for that.''
from:
http://www.appalachianfocus.org/_logging/00000019.htm
Currently, DNR and the Division of Forestry share responsibilities for managing state forests. Kanawha is the only one of the nine state forests where timbering is prohibited. 
The bill by the Kanawha delegation was sparked, in part, by an announcement by the Division of Forestry last year that it would seek legislation to permit logging of about 150 acres of fire- and wind-damaged trees in the state forest. 
However, Sen. Leonard Anderson, D-Summers, offered an amendment Monday in Natural Resources Committee to allow oil and gas companies who have natural gas leases to have open access to their wells. 
Where the bill would continue to prohibit timbering within the forest, the amendment provides for "inconsequential timbering" for access to wells, both on and near the state forest property. The amendment also specifies that nothing may restrict future access to the property, as needed, by utilities. 
Sen. John Mitchell, D-Kanawha, argued that the original gas leases - some of which date back 40 or 50 years - already provide for reasonable access to the wells. 
He said current law already allows companies to seek permission from the state for access to state forest grounds. 
"Why should we lock ourselves into language that goes way beyond what was negotiated in the original leases?" Mitchell asked. 
Michael McThomas, lobbyist for the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia, said the group wants the amendment to assure that the leases aren't compromised, and to prevent restrictions on future uses of the property. 
"You can call it paranoia if you will, but we want the existing jurisdictions to be preserved," he said. 
"You want us to bypass the management process and just give you carte blanche," Mitchell responded. 
from:
http://excelsior.netphase.net/~harcc/harcc_history.html
...The building, which was in extremely poor condition, having been vacant for five years, needed extensive repairs and it wasn't until July 19, 1999 that it was opened to the public. In the meantime the Board of Directors worked steadily seeking financial support and material donations for the needed repairs. Dances were held at various locations including the Moose Lodge, Memorial Building and the Wellness Center, along with the other events. Progress was slow, but self-reliance paid off when State Senator Leonard Anderson volunteered to offer his assistance and sent us a $7,500 grant to complete the opening of the youth center. A corporate grant of $2,500 from Man Tech International completed the renovations, Michael Platt, Technical Director for the Hinton branch saying, for "demonstrating faithful and vigorous efforts to make life better for young people in Summers County."

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