HEMP FREEDOM ACT The following is model legislation approved by the Tenth Amendment Center. Activists, we encourage you to send this to your state senators and representatives – and ask them to introduce this legislation in your state. AN ACT To authorize the production of industrial hemp; to amend (SUBSECTION AND CODE) of the (STATE) Code, relating to the definition of noxious weed seeds; and to nullify certain acts of the Federal Government of the United States purporting to be laws and regulations resulting in the prohibition of industrial hemp farming in the state of (STATE). THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF (STATE) DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Name This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “Hemp Freedom Act.” SECTION 2. Findings A new section of law to be codified in the [STATE] Statutes as Section [NUMBER] of Title [NUMBER], unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: (CHAPTER) Section (#) (A) The General Assembly finds that : (1) The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States codifies in law that the only powers which the Federal Government may exercise are those that have been delegated to it in the Constitution of the United States; (2) The power to regulate interstate commerce was delegated to the federal government in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution. As understood at the time of the founding, the regulation of commerce was meant to empower Congress to regulate the buying and selling of products made by others (and sometimes land), associated finance and financial instruments, and navigation and other carriage, across state jurisdictional lines. This interstate regulation of “commerce” did not include agriculture, manufacturing, mining, malum in se crime, or land use. Nor did it include activities that merely “substantially affected” commerce; (3) The advocates of the Constitution, at the time of its ratification, assured the People of the Several States that the regulation of agriculture would be reserved to the States. This included Alexander Hamilton, who wrote in Federalist #17: “the supervision of agriculture and of other concerns of a similar nature, all those things, in short, which are proper to be provided for by local legislation can never be desirable cases of a general jurisdiction.” This was reinforced by many others, including Justice Sargeant of Massachusetts, who let it be known that only the states would have the power to regulate “common fields” and “fisheries” (4) The Constitutional Convention of 1787 considered a proposal to create, in the Constitution, a Secretary of Domestic Affairs, who was to have authority to regulate agriculture. That proposal was rejected; (5) The assumption of power that the Federal Government through its Drug Enforcement Administration has made by prohibiting industrial hemp farming exceeds its Constitutional authority and interferes with the right of the People of the State of _____________ to regulate agriculture as they see fit, and makes a mockery of James Madison’s assurance in Federalist #45 that the “powers delegated” to the Federal Government are “few and defined”, while those of the States are “numerous and indefinite.” (6) Federal agents have flouted the United States Constitution and foresworn their oath to support this Constitution by prohibiting industrial farming of hemp by the People of the State of (STATE), and these actions violate the limits of authority placed upon the federal agents by the United States Constitution and are dangerous to the liberties of the people; SECTION 3. Authorization to Plant, Grow, Harvest, Possess, Process, Sell, and Buy A. Industrial hemp (cannabis sativa l.), having no more than three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol, is recognized as an oilseed. Upon meeting this requirement, any person in this state may plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, sell, and buy industrial hemp (cannabis sativa l.) having no more than three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol. SECTION 4. Prohibition on Participation in Enforcement of Federal Laws, Rules, or Regulations Regarding Industrial Hemp. A. An agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, and a law enforcement officer or other person employed by an agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, may not contract with or in any other manner provide assistance or material support to a federal agency or official with respect to the enforcement of a federal statute, order, rule, or regulation purporting to regulate the planting, growing, harvesting, possession, processing, selling and buying of industrial hemp within the borders of this State. B. A political subdivision of this state may not receive state grant funds if the political subdivision adopts a rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the political subdivision requires the enforcement of any federal statute, order, rule, or regulation described by Section 5(A) or, by consistent actions, requires the enforcement of any federal statute, order, rule, or regulation described by Section 5(A). State grant funds for the political subdivision shall be denied for the fiscal year following the year in which a final judicial determination in an action brought under this section is made that the political subdivision has intentionally required the enforcement of any federal statute, order, rule, or regulation described by Section 5(A). SECTION 5. Rules for Implementation. A. Not later than [DATE], the Department of Revenue shall adopt rules necessary for the implementation of this act. Rules may not make implementation impracticable. Rules shall include: (1) Procedures for the issuance, renewal, suspension, and revocation of a license to plant, grow, harvest, process, and sell industrial hemp. (2) A schedule of application, licensing, and renewal fees, provided that application fees shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), with this maximum amount adjusted annually for inflation. (3) Qualifications for licensure that are directly and demonstrably related to the planting, growing, harvesting, processing, and selling of industrial hemp. (4) Civil penalties for the failure to comply with rules adopted pursuant to this section. SECTION 6. Severability. The provisions of this act are severable. If any part of this act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, that declaration shall not affect the part which remains. SECTION 7. Effective Date. youtu.be/rC3OoMc3V3c
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 00:23:12 +0000
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