Hemp, Inc. Reports: Virginia Takes a Bold Action Towards Hemp Legalization

Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP) updates its shareholders on the rapid spread of hemp legalization throughout the states... most recently Virginia. On Tuesday, January 26, 2016, Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill to authorize the farming and production of industrial hemp in the state for commercial purposes with a 98-0 vote. Once passed into state law, Virginia would be able to ignore federal prohibition and authorize commercial farming and production, thereby setting the foundation to nullify in practice the now unconstitutional federal prohibition on the economically viable and sustainable plant, hemp.

House Bill 699 (HB699) introduced by Del. Brenda Pogge (R-Norge), would "amend current state law on hemp by removing a provision that authorized the licensing of hemp farming only upon approval of the federal government." Virginia's Department of Planning and Budget 2016 Fiscal Impact Statement states, "This substitute bill clarifies that it is lawful for a person with a license to manufacture industrial hemp products or engage in scientific, agricultural, or other research involving the applications of industrial hemp and that no person shall be prosecuted for the possession, cultivation, or manufacture of industrial hemp plant material or products. The current law authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt regulations necessary to license persons to grow industrial hemp or administer a research program. This bill requires the Board to adopt regulations as necessary to license persons to grow and process industrial hemp for any purpose and requires the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to establish a licensure program, with a maximum license fee of $250."

If HB699 is passed into law, Virginia would have followed the lead of states such as Colorado, Oregon, South Carolina, Connecticut, Maine, North Dakota and Vermont and would have broadened the scope of hemp in the state to include the commercial "manufacture of industrial hemp products" and eliminated the requirement for Federal approval to "allow individuals and businesses, rather than research institutions, to be licensed to grow and produce industrial hemp in the state."

Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP) said, "These are what you call monumental small steps towards the goal of complete legalization of hemp. After decades of prohibition, the 2014 Farm Bill set the motion for these waves of events. It's a gradual evolvement towards the eradication of the federal hemp ban. Virginia is making a bold statement and I believe more states will continue to follow."

If passed, the new law would read, in part: "No person licensed pursuant to § 3.2-4115 or 3.2-4117 shall be prosecuted under § 18.2-247, 18.2-248, 18.2-248.01, 18.2-248.1, 18.2-250, or18.2-250.1 for the possession, cultivation or manufacture of industrial hemp plant material and seeds or industrial hemp products."

While these are major achievements within the industrial hemp industry, it's important to note that federal law still has to be taken into consideration but as more people engage in hemp production and the market grows within these states, more people will become emboldened creating an exponential wave, ultimately nullifying the federal ban in effect.

The Virginia bill (HB699) now moves to the House Floor. It will need to pass by a majority vote to move on to the Senate. For action steps to help get this bill passed click HERE.

Hemp, Inc. Secretary Craig Perlowin said, "As farmers in more neighboring states, as we see developing in Virginia, begin to plant hemp, we will be deploying more and more of our portable decorticators to help process fiber on location without having to ship the hemp stalks to our facility in Spring Hope, North Carolina. By doing that, it not only creates more revenue for Hemp, Inc., it creates more revenue for the farmers. We are encouraging and supporting the small family farm. Hemp, Inc. is helping to create a new, clean and green agricultural and industrial revolution." Any farmer, in any state, interested in Hemp, Inc.'s portable decorticator machine can contact Craig Perlowin at info@hempinc.com.

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HEMP, INC.'S TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE

Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP) seeks to benefit many constituencies from a "Cultural Creative" perspective, thereby not exploiting or endangering any group. CEO of Hemp, Inc., 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 "up streaming" a portion of its profits back to its originator, in which some 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 -- the triple bottom line approach can be an important tool to support its sustainability goal.

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