Hemp Hisotry booth at Mystic's Denison Farm Market, June 8

INDUSTRIAL HEMP ADVOCATES ANNOUNCE 5th ANNUAL

HEMP HISTORY WEEK    JUNE 2 – 8, 2014

MYSTIC, CT - The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and Vote Hemp announce the fifth annual Hemp History Week to be held June 2 – 8, 2014. The theme of the 2014 campaign is Hemp: Time to Grow!

Sunday, June 8 from 12 to 3 p.m., volunteers and advocates will staff the Hemp History Week booth at the Denison Farm Market on Pequotsepos Road in Mystic. At the booth will be free samples of hemp products, while they last; informational and educational literature; examples of products derived from the hemp plant and the opportunity to support legalization of industrial hemp growth in Connecticut.

Margot Johnstone of Stonington founded the local branch of the industrial hemp campaign, Ct Grows Hemp. Already, the group has achieved some traction with the hard work of local representatives. Just last month, State Senator Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, pushed through the both the house and the senate a hemp industry feasibility study (SB 5476 ) proposed by Rep. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford and the CT General Law Committee.

Johnstone said, “The enormous impact of this first step may not be seen right away...but in years to come and for generations whose lives will be powerfully and positively impacted by hemp.”

A primary objective of Hemp History Week is to advocate for federal policy change, while sending a strong positive message to President Obama and Congress to lift the ban on hemp farming and let U.S. farmers grow the versatile, profitable crop again.

A national grassroots campaign to support hemp farming in the U.S., Hemp History Week 2014 features events in cities and towns in all 50 states. Volunteer-led grassroots events, retail promotions, community screenings of the industrial hemp documentary, “Bringing it Home” are just part of the campaign to bring this profitable and environmentally sustainable crop back to American soil.

“If the farming of the hemp plant is legalized, it offers the state of Connecticut the possibility of limitless growth for a new economy,” said Johnstone.

 Hemp History Week, June 2 – 8, 2014, is an initiative of the Hemp Industries and Vote Hemp. The HIA is a non-profit trade group representing hemp companies, researchers, farmers and supporters. Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit advocacty group founded in 2000 by members of the hemp industry to remove barriers to industrial hemp farming in the U.S. through education, legislation and advocacy. For more information, visit www.TheHIA.org and www.VoteHemp.com.