Legislators from both the House and Senate met in the Governor’s office to officially sign the “hemp bill” into law.
History was made in Hawaii on April 30, 2014 when Governor Abercrombie signed into law Act 56, which provides for the University of Hawai’i at Manoa to conduct an industrial hemp research project. With over 25,000 uses, this non-hallucinogenic agricultural crop can be used to for everything from clothing to building products. Billions of dollars of hemp products are imported into the United States, and to bring these profits home would be a tremendous boon for Hawaii’s struggling agricultural industry.
Representative Thielen said, “With its ability to cleanse the soil of toxins, industrial hemp would be an environmentally friendly replacement for sugar and pineapple. Hemp is often grown without pesticides or herbicides due to its natural ability to ward off unwanted insects and weeds. And hemp’s potential as a biofuel feedstock could be a game-changer for Hawaii.”
Currently, twenty-three states, including Hawaii, are now preparing to grow hemp in some type of research project. The potential for our state, not only in terms of revitalizing our agricultural lands through remediation, but in introducing a new and profitable crop, is limitless. For over two decades Rep. Thielen has been a strong and persistent advocate for increasing Hawaii’s sustainability and economic stability through hemp production. This first step towards bringing a unique and profitable business to our state is long-awaited and much-needed.
