Poll Shows Strong Voter Support for Industrial Hemp Farming in California

Vote Hemp - Media Center & PR
http://www.votehemp.com/media_center_pr.html

Poll Shows Strong Voter Support for Industrial Hemp Farming in California
http://www.votehemp.com/PR/03-19-07_new_zogby_poll.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 19, 2007


CONTACT: Adam Eidinger
adam@votehemp.com
Ph: 202-744-2671

Tom Murphy
tom@votehemp.com
Ph: 207-542-4998

Poll Shows Strong Voter Support for Industrial Hemp Farming in California

71% of Californians Support Changing State Law to Allow Hemp Farming;
Hearings on New Hemp Bill AB 684 Scheduled March 27

SACRAMENTO, CA - Vote Hemp, the nation's leading grassroots
organization working to give farmers the right to grow
non-psychoactive industrial hemp to be made into everything from
food, clothing, paper, body care, bio-fuel and even auto parts, has
released a new poll of 801 likely California voters about industrial
hemp. The telephone poll has a 3.5% margin of error and sampled
likely California voters from February 22 - 26. The survey was
conducted by the respected research firm Zogby International on
behalf of Vote Hemp and five manufacturers of hemp food products
including Alpsnack(TM), French Meadow Bakery(TM), Living Harvest(TM),
Nature's Path Organic Foods(TM) and Nutiva(TM).

The poll results released today for the first time confirm there is
strong support for reform on the issue of industrial hemp. A total
of 71% support changing state law to allow farmers to grow hemp and
of those surveyed 46% strongly support and another 25% somewhat
support changing state law so California farmers can to supply
manufacturers with hemp seed, oil and fiber. Presently companies
must import hemp from other countries.

Over the past several years the California Legislature has passed
resolutions and bills to permit farmers to grow industrial hemp. AB
684, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, is authored by
Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore
(R-Irvine) and will be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee
on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 If passed and signed into law, AB 684
would regulate commercial industrial hemp farming in California.
Today more than 30 industrialized nations grow industrial hemp and
export to the US. It is the only crop that is both illegal to grow
and legal for Americans to import. Sales of hemp food and body care
products have grown rapidly in recent years fueling an expansion of
hemp farming in Canada which topped 48,000 acres in 2006.

Poll questions and results regarding industrial hemp farming policy
and consumer attitudes on hemp products and nutrition can be viewed
online at http://www.votehemp.com/polls.html. There is evidence of
strong support among men and women and self-identified liberal and
conservative voters on the issue. Among California Republicans, 60%
support changing state law on hemp while 74% of Democrats are in
support. Support was also steady among all age groups, ranging from
54% of 18 to 29 year olds to 82% of 30 to 49 year olds, 74% of 50 to
64 years olds and 60% of those over 65 years old.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, who introduced AB 684 in February said, "The
Zogby poll underscores that California voters of all political
persuasions support changing the senseless policy of importing
industrial hemp while prohibiting our own farmers from growing it."

# # #

More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses can
be found at http://www.VoteHemp.com.

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