Mr President, act now and remove barriers to hemp cultivation

Dear Editor,
We, the Executives and Members of the Region 10 Industrial Hemp and Agriculture Farmers Group, are peeved that the beneficial herb industrial hemp is illegal, even though communities, the economy and the environment can benefit tremendously from it.
Over 300 Region 10 farmers and other residents are calling on our President, David Granger, to legalise hemp, contending that industrial production would create jobs for the hundreds of unemployed youths around Region 10.
More importantly, too, being a green initiative, it will complement the Government’s push for a green environment and green economy.
As we observe Hemp Awareness Week 2017, the group strongly believes that industrial hemp can become the chief cash crop of Linden and Region 10, ushering in a period of great economic and environmental benefits to the Region.
With no large-scale job creation initiative ongoing in Linden, and consistent with the continuous call by President Granger for persons to go into agro-processing and other value-added production, we are confident that cultivating industrial hemp is the way to go.
Processed industrial hemp can be used for large scale production of bio-fuel, and if legalized, the herb would not only power, but empower, Linden and Region 10.
In addition, hemp, when value-added, could produce vehicles, textiles, food products, building materials, medicines, cosmetics, animal food, and hemp flour, among other thing.
Please, Mr President, act now and remove the barriers to enable the cultivation of this amazing crop and the manufacture of over 25,000 hemp products.
Do not wait for 2020, the expected gas and oil boom.

Yours sincerely,
Aaron Gardner
Chairman