LAS VEGAS, April 13, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemp, Inc. (OTC:HEMP), a leader in the industrial hemp industry reports, today, on more current material events in the industrial hemp and medical marijuana industries. The highlight of the week was Dewmar International BMC, Inc.'s (OTC Pink:DEWM) soft launch of its revamped Kush Cakes, now made with hemp flour. Dewmar previously signed a consultant agreement with Hemp, Inc.'s subsidiary, The Industrial Hemp and Medical Marijuana Consulting Company, Inc. (IHMMCC) to strategically launch a series of consumable goods that stem from the functional and nutritional components of hemp. Dewmar is now relaunching its Kush Cakes as the result of that successful venture with Hemp, Inc.'s IHMMCC.
"We are delighted to have Bruce Perlowin endorse the new Kush Cakes," said Marco Moran, CEO of Dewmar International. Perlowin is expected to attend the Big Industry Show in Denver, Colorado, April 14 – 15, 2015 with Moran to showcase the new product. The Big Industry Show is a "business to business trade show for the smoke shop industry. Exhibiting at the BIG Industry Trade Show are manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers looking to sell their products to store owners, distributors and all wholesale buyers." The Company plans to give out over 2,000 free Kush Cake samples to all registered attendees.
Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc. said, "Awareness is increasing but we still have to keep educating the public on the difference between hemp and marijuana and the astounding benefits hemp provide. Our decortication plant will serve us and our shareholders well by putting us years ahead of anyone else in processing hemp. In the recent news below, not only is there more emphasis on industrial hemp... this movement is reaching a higher level of awareness."
Here's a look at more material events just in the past week alone concerning the industrial hemp industry:
1. Causer Weighs in on Legislation to Establish Hemp Industry in PA - Senate Bill 50 was recently proposed for the purpose of establishing an industrial hemp industry in Pennsylvania. If passed, individuals and entities would be allowed to grow, cultivate, process and market industrial hemp. Legislators, with an eye to their farming constituents, are proposing the establishment of a state licensing board that would regulate the cultivation, growth and sale of industrial hemp. Read more (Source: The Bradford Era – 4/11/2015)
2. University of Hawaii grows hemp crop for research - Legally sanctioned industrial hemp is growing in Hawaii's soil for the first time in about 15 years. Researchers, lawmakers and farmers sprinkled newly acquired hemp seeds into the ground at the University of Hawaii's Waimanalo Research Station during a ceremony on Friday, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. UH professor Harry Ako and other researchers will use their first 5½ pounds of seed to study how tall the hemp plants will grow locally and how much water and fertilizer they'll require. They will also study how well the plants purify the soil and whether it is possible to grow three hemp crops a year. Read more (Source: Associated Press – 4/11/2015)
3. Capitol Chatter: Dayton strongly fights Minnsota Republican tax-cut wishes - Ranson is the House author of a bill to allow limited growing of hemp for research, in hopes it someday will be legal to grow hemp as a money crop. Ingebrigtsen is a former long-time law enforcement official, including Douglas County sheriff, and strongly opposes legal hemp. In fact, he told Forum News Service that legalizing hemp is a baby step to legalizing recreational marijuana, which is related to hemp but has very little of the chemical that can make a person high. So Franson decided so show Ingebrigtsen what Minnesotans are missing. "Just dropped off some hemp presents to my senator," she tweeted the day the story about his hemp views appeared. "I'm sure he'll enjoy them." Her gift bag included soap and hemp seed hearts. Hemp, grown just north of Minnesota in Canada, can be made into food, ropes, clothing and dozens of other items. It is illegal to grow in Minnesota. Read more (Source: Grand Forks Herald – 4/11/2015)
4. Maine: Medical Marijuana Inspectors Hired By State For The First Time - The state of Maine has, for the first time, hired an outside group to inspect medical marijuana growing operations, a move being heavily criticized by patient advocates who say the process is poorly planned. The inspections have already begun, with many caregivers being quite surprised when they happen? The Maine Department of Human Services last month signed a one-year contract with the Maine Sheriffs' Association, of all groups, agreeing to pay them $167,000 to inspect cannabis growing operations across the state, reports Michael Shepherd at CentralMaine.com. "The department has contracted with the sheriffs association to provide follow-up investigations on complaints that are medical marijuana related," DHHS spokesman David Sorensen said Friday, reports Nok-Noi Ricker at the Bangor Daily News. "They are not current deputies; they are retired law enforcement personnel," he claimed. "They are essentially investigators. They are not acting as law enforcement agents." Read more (Source: Hemp.org – 4/11/2015)
5. Arizona Supreme Court Says State May Not Deny Medical Marijuana To Felons On Probation - The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday issued two rulings barring courts and prosecutors from denying medical marijuana use as a term of probation, if the convicted felons in question have valid medicinal cannabis authorizations. In the first case, a Cochise County man convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to sell was forbidden from using medical marijuana by a probation officer after his release from prison, reports Michael Kiefer at The Arizona Republic. In the second, a woman pleading guilty to DUI in Yavapai County refused to abstain from using medicinal cannabis as a term of her probation, prompting the prosecution to withdraw the plea agreement. Both had valid Arizona medical marijuana cards. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that both probationers had the right to use marijuana for their medical conditions under state law, and that prosecutors and courts couldn't take that away from them as a term of probation. Read more (Source: Hemp.org – 4/10/2015)
6. Texas House Committee Takes Up Three Bills on Marijuana Reform - Three bills that take different approaches to reforming Texas' marijuana laws got a hearing before the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence on Wednesday. Supporters packed the only committee hearing scheduled on the bills in either chamber. With the clock running out on the session, other hearings aren't likely, and regardless odds are long against the Legislature passing any big changes to the state's tough marijuana laws this year. (Source: Dallas Observer – 4/9/2015)
7. Obama fields Rasta's question on marijuana - US President Barack Obama had been on the verdant Caribbean island of Jamaica less than 24 hours -- and had already visited Bob Marley's former home -- before he was asked by a dreadlocked Rastafarian about legalizing marijuana. In a Kingston town hall event, participant Miguel Williams, sporting a "Rasta4life" wrist band, asked the US commander-in-chief if he would become ganja's champion. "Give thanks! Yes greetings Mr President," said Williams, "life and blessings on you and your family." "My name is Miguel Williams but you can call I and I 'steppa'... That is quite sufficient, ya man." Unperturbed by giggles from the audience, Williams set forth his case for legalization and decriminalization of the hemp industry and marijuana. The Rastafari faith includes the spiritual use of cannabis. Read more (Source: Yahoo News – 4/9/2015)
8. U.S.: Smackdown! Congressmen Tell Justice Department To Halt Medical Marijuana Prosecutions - In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder released Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Reps. Sam Farr (D-CA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) refuted the Justice Department's recent interpretation of a spending provision intended to protect state medical marijuana laws and confirmed that any criminal or civil action against medical marijuana providers is a violation of federal law. The full letter is available at http://www.mpp.org/DOJletter. The letter comes in response to statements made last week by a Justice Department spokesman to The Los Angeles Times. In the article, the spokesman said the Justice Department can still prosecute medical marijuana cases, notwithstanding the spending restriction adopted by Congress. The full article is available at http://mppne.ws/1a6F6bb. In the letter, the Congressmen call the Justice Department's interpretation "emphatically wrong" and ask Holder to "bring [the] Department back into compliance with federal law" by halting prosecutions and asset forfeiture actions in states with medical marijuana laws. "Any questions federal prosecutors might have had about the meaning of the amendment are answered in this letter from the amendment's authors," said Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). "Throughout their debate on the measure, Congressional members made it abundantly clear that it prevents the Justice Department from bringing or continuing criminal and civil actions against medical marijuana providers. Even those who spoke against the amendment said as much. Read more (Source: Hemp.org – 4/8/2015)
9. Industrial Hemp Legalized in North Dakota by Lawmakers - Farmers and distributors in North Dakota will soon be able to grow, produce and sell industrial hemp. This is yet another victory for those who have been pushing for an entry for local production in the U.S. market. Last year, the Hemp Industries Association estimated the plant, which has a host of valuable purposes, ranging from baby care to foods to auto parts to building materials to clothing. The hemp market nationwide was estimated to be around $620 million in 2014. Even though hemp has no intoxicating properties, it's been heavily restricted by federal authorities in the same manner as cannabis. That changed when President Barack Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill, which contained an amendment that allowed for the legalization of hemp cultivation and production for research purposes. The measure also allowed states that had legalized the crop to continue growing it within the parameters set forth by the state's agriculture department and local research institutions. As of right now, 21 states are legally allowed to grow hemp. That includes California. The new law in North Dakota exempts the need for a federal stamp of approval before farms can begin growing and processing the plant. (Source: Marijuana Lawyer's Blog – 4/9/2015)
10. Manchester Journal: Hemp: Vermont's next big thing? - A number of Vermont farmers would like to grow hemp, which has uses ranging from cosmetics to biofuel. There's a small problem, however: The federal government could arrest them for growing the plant because it is related to marijuana. The Vermont Legislature endorsed the production of industrial hemp in 2013 when it passed Act 84. The law cites the low-THC strain of Cannabis sativa, or hemp, as useful in producing "high-strength fiber, textiles, clothing, biofuel, paper products, protein-rich foods, biodegradable plastics, resins, nontoxic medicinal and cosmetic products, construction materials, rope, value-added crafts, livestock feed and bedding, stream buffering, erosion control, water and soil purification and weed control." For farmers, it's a question of opportunity. (Source: RuralVermont.org – 4/9/2015)
11. Retailers, Farmers, Hemp Advocates & Industry Leaders Join Together for 6th Annual Hemp History Week June 1-7th 2015 - The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and Vote Hemp are organizing the sixth annual Hemp History Week, which will be held June 1-7, 2015. Encouraged by federal support in Congress, with the Industrial Hemp Farming Act recently introduced in both the House and Senate in January 2015, the campaign's theme Sow the Seed will highlight spring plantings in states that have passed legislation to allow industrial hemp farming, and encourage consumers to participate in our Take Action campaign to garner support among legislators for hemp farming throughout all 50 states. Across the country, over 1,100 events will bring documentary film screenings, cooking demonstrations, retail promotions, educational outreach, spring plantings and hemp home building courses to the public, catalyzing movement on the issue of lifting the federal ban on industrial hemp farming. To learn more about Hemp History Week, visit: www.HempHistoryWeek.com. (Source: Ohio Hemp Industries Association – 4/8/2015)
ABOUT HEMP, INC.'s DECORTICATION PLANT IN NORTH CAROLINA
The new LED lighting that arrived at the facility last week has now been completely installed. The equipment is being moved into position this week to allow the Temafa engineers to reassembly the decortication machinery. The engineers are still on schedule to arrive later this month to begin the reassembly of Hemp, Inc.'s decortication line. See Hemp, Inc.'s previous press release on Breaking News for the video updates thus far on the decortication plant.
Hemp, Inc.'s automated Temafa decortication line, which can be used to process raw hemp and Kenaf for the American farmers, is the only one of its magnitude in North America. The highly coveted decortication line is currently the only commercial, large-scale machine of its kind in North America. According to Perlowin, it would take at least 2 years, minimum, to duplicate the line. Hemp, Inc. and its whole team is committed to the American farmers and plans to continue spearheading a new clean, green American Agricultural and Industrial Revolution based on hemp and hemp products. The decortication and milling plant, is housed in a 70,000 square-foot warehouse (with a 6-inch cement foundation and a refrigerated section).
HEMP, INC.'s TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
Hemp, Inc. (OTC:HEMP) seeks to benefit many constituencies from a "Cultural Creative" perspective thereby not exploiting or endangering any group. CEO of Hemp, Inc. (OTC:HEMP), Bruce Perlowin, is positioning the company as a leader in the industrial hemp industry, with a social and environmental mission at its core. Thus, the publicly-traded company believes in "upstreaming" of a portion of profit from the marketing of their finished hemp goods back to its originator, in which most cases will one day be the American farmer, cultivating natural, sustainable products as an interwoven piece of nature. By Hemp, Inc. focusing on comprehensive investment results—that is, with respect to performance along the interrelated dimensions of people, planet, and profits—our triple bottom line approach can be an important tool to support sustainability goals.
SAFE HARBOR ACT
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