The flag flying over the Capitol Building today is made of hemp. Yes you read that correctly, hemp! Although the flag may look no different today than any other day, but yes the fibers that it is sown with come from hemp. “It’s believed to be the first hemp flag to flutter over the dome since the government began outlawing marijuana’s less-recreational cousin back in the 1930s.”
A Colorado hemp advocate, Michael Bowman, is the man responsible for getting this flag on top of the Capitol today. The flag was made of Colorado-raised hemp and then screen printed with the stars and stripes. Michael Brown had worked earlier this year to lobby Congress to include pro-hemp measures in the farm bill, which we all know to have failed.
Representative Jared Polis of Colorado helped Mr. Bowman’s idea of a hemp flag come to fruition. He worked with the Capitol’s flag office to get this new flag in the rotation. (Fun fact: the flag program allows people to buy flags that have flown over the Capitol and therefore there is a new flag up there almost every day).
Hemp advocates claim that the history of using hemp has made it an important substance in American history. After the flag is flown today on top of the U.S. Capitol Building the flag will make its way back to Colorado where it will fly over that state capitol too. Then Mr. Bowman plans on sending it on a countrywide tour to states where hemp is up for legalization.
Although hemp may not have THC like its cousin marijuana, it is still illegal in the United States. Is it really the best idea to be promoting illegal activity right on top of the Capitol Building? What does that say for all other laws?
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