My name is Rob Gilmore. I graduated from MSU in December 2013 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department. I want to start a conversation about ballot initiative No. 48 Kelly Jacobs recently created. I’m also writing to you today in order to bring awareness to an emerging industry that needs to be a topic of discussion in our state. As a graduate and previous part ­time employee of the university, I want to help evolve the agricultural industry in Mississippi and the United States. The agricultural industry represents 29 percent of Mississippi’s job opportunities and is responsible for 17 percent of the local economy. The Magnolia State is also notably poor; therefore, it is important for Mississippi’s constituents to respond quickly to the emerging cannabis industry.

In February of 2014, President Obama signed the Farm Bill into federal law. In Section 7606 (Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research), industrial hemp is defined as a distinct plant, it gives individual states the right to regulate hemp via State Departments of Agriculture and allows institutions of higher education and State Departments of Agriculture to grow hemp for research purposes or agricultural pilot programs. Earlier this month the “Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015” (SB134) was filed by Senator Ron Wyden (D­OR) and cosponsored by three other senators. The bill would remove all federal restrictions to domestic hemp cultivation. To bring awareness to this issue, I’ve created a startup business called i­Hemp Mississippi, LLC. I’m in the process of forming an online retail store and finding venues for educational events. Facebook is currently my way to reach out to the world along with my website ihempms.org. It is also my intention to build a network of farmers, academics, corporations and lawmakers. And that’s why I’m advocating for Mississippi to at least consider removing industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana and allow for commercial development of the hemp industry in Mississippi.

Now, you might be asking yourself… “Isn’t hemp another term for marijuana?” The political answer is yes, but, scientifically speaking, the ‘industrial’ hemp plant is different from the federally sanctioned ‘marijuana’ growing at the Coy W. Waller Laboratory Complex in Oxford, Mississippi. Industrial hemp is an annual fiber and oilseed crop that grows in 90­,150 days depending on the variety of hemp. While it shares the same scientific name as marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.), hemp is bred for fiber, seed and low THC levels (< 0.3 percent THC). For those who don’t know, THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol and is the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana that triggers the “high” feeling.

Over the past decade the hemp market has taken root in the U.S., due to different lobbying handles and business organizations, as well as the global attention being given to America’s medical marijuana industry. Take The Rocky Mountain Hemp Association (RMHA) for instance. It was created in 2012 in response to Colorado’s outright legalization of cannabis. 

Vote Hemp, on the other hand, has been the nation’s leading   advocacy  group since 2000. The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), which has a new Mississippi chapter, is a membership-based nonprofit trade group. It represents the bulk of hemp-based businesses in America including over 150 hemp product makers and retailers that are involved in over $580 million in sales revenue. Unfortunately, many of these industry leaders have to import most of their hemp raw materials from Europe and Canada, where industrial hemp is a billion dollar crop.

It would be highly beneficial for Mississippi to legalize industrial hemp for research and/or commercial purposes. As a university known for its agricultural, engineering and plant science based programs, MSU could go a long way in helping develop the hemp industry in the Deep South. Farmers will need to breed a variety that works well in Mississippi’s soil and climate. It will inevitably take several growing seasons in order to perfect Mississippi’s own variety of hemp.

Medical/retail cannabis has its own advocacy handles. National organizations such as the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and Drug Policy Alliance have been working to legalize cannabis. By next year, recreational or retail marijuana will be sold to adults in Washington D.C., but not in Mississippi. The hypocrisy continues when you realize that Ole Miss has been growing medical marijuana since 1968. As a notable cannabis research institution, the University of Mississippi could greatly benefit from cannabis legalization.

By legalizing cannabis, Mississippi could rake in its own share of the 10 to 20 billion dollars the medical cannabis industry is making every year in America. The taxes generated from the cannabis industry in Colorado exceeded $3.5 million in Jan., 2015 alone. So there is huge potential for economic growth, even with federal prohibition of marijuana. For now the cannabis industry in the South is up for grabs, and Mississippi could surprise everyone by taking the lead in this profitable new industry.

While this issue takes off in America and more states begin to start commercial and research based cannabis programs, will Mississippi catch on? At first glance, it seems we might have already.

Mississippi Alliance for Cannabis (MAC) is a nonprofit group that was formed in early 2014. MAC has endorsed ballot initiative 48, which is sponsored by Kelly Jacobs. This initiative is worded to fully legalize cannabis for industrial, medical and recreational purposes.

This could be a huge opportunity for the Magnolia State. If enough signatures are gathered in time, then an amendment will be placed on the 2016 ballot for Mississippi voters. The initiative will allow Mississippians to decide for themselves if cannabis is right for the state. The petition is currently available for registered voters, and it will need to have 107,216 approved signatures to be on the ballot in 2016.

While it may have good intentions, recreational legalization is a bold move in a predominantly red state. Failure to pass this initiative can potentially undermine any future industrial or medical campaigns that wish to use the ballot initiative process. If 48 fails in 2016, then by law cannabis advocates will have to wait a full two years to start a similar campaign, which will put Mississippi way behind the curve. Luckily, on Jan. 19 representative David Baria (D­122) has introduced an industrial hemp bill (HB562) in Mississippi’s House, and senator Deborah Dawkins (D) has introduced a medical cannabis bill (SB2318) in Mississippi’s Senate.

In the end, the cannabis industry in Mississippi has only one true hope, and that is an informed general population. To conclude I will leave you with this. In Mississippi, agriculture is the no. 1 industry representing $7.4 billion in 82 counties, spread out over 42,300 farms, 11.2 million acres and 260,000 people. Mississippi is also the poorest state in the country, yet again, which makes it hard for our people to afford adequate health care. So, I think getting involved in the cannabis industry would be a great way for Mississippi to shine medically, agriculturally, academically and economically, and I am prepared to be an advocate for the cause. I hope one day I’ll be able to grow, process and research cannabis here in Mississippi. That’s the dream I have.