With the guidance of Thielen hot on the Fed's heals, the final and most difficult leg of the now four-year conquest was granted to Hawaii a month later. Industrial hemp could meet both of these objectives. Hemp farming is of integral importance to Hawaii as the state's economy is still suffering from the loss of its main export, sugar cane. Hawaii also has the dubious national distinction of 17.6 percent unemployment rates on one of its islands. Thousands of farmers across the nation are also suffering from the declining profitability of crops they produce.
Farmers have a dearth of options.
The dilemma of the American farmer is aggravating for Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative president, Andrew Graves, who spearheaded the lawsuit filed against the DEA last year, in an effort to allow Kentucky tobacco farmers the right to grow industrial hemp in lieu of their diminishing tobacco crops. It makes no sense that the same government that encouraged and paid my father good money to grow hemp 40 years ago during WWII, is restricting me from saving my ailing tobacco business by forbidding me to grow the exact same plant. Despite the domestic demand for hemp products, American businesses are still forced to import hemp from any one of the 29 industrialized nations that grow the crop. Like Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp in spring of 1999 and aim to plant seeds in spring of 2000. The California Democratic National Party adopted a resolution supporting hemp at its state convention in March of 1999, which is the first time in history that a major political party has embraced industrial hemp.