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DEAR MEMBERSHIP
Our announcements this issue are many and
brief. Much has happened since our last issue and this pace seems only to quicken.
The following are only brief mentions of noteworthy current events.
The long-awaited Diversity article,
featuring the VIR/IHA Cannabis Germplasm Preservation Project, is finally in
print (see Vol. 13, No. 1, pps. 14-15). We hope that the article will highlight, for
a more general audience, the need for our planned 1998 project phase, consisting of
comparative evaluation grow outs, at a projected cost of approximately US $50,000.
The VIRs acceptance into the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
beginning January 1998, should help with co-ordination and funding of VIR projects.
BIORESOURCE HEMP 97 was fantastic, even
better than the first event in 1995. The nova-Institut did an amazing job and not
enough can be said in thanks for all their efforts (see review pps. 61-65).
Vancouvers Commerical and Industrial Hemp
Symposium in February was a pivotal event in Canadas new hemp movement, witnessing
the hand-off from activist-hempsters to the industrial hemp researchers and farmers of the
future (see pps. 65-66).
Due to popular demand, the IHA Press will be
re-publishing Hayo Van der Werfs Crop Physiology of Hemp. It will be
available in August and both retail and wholesale inquiries are invited.
Some members of the IHA are contributing
chapters to Advances in Hemp Research, a new book to be edited by Dr. Paulo
Ranalli. This work should provide a definitive scientific update for a rapidly
expanding agricultural, technical and economic movement.
If you havent already heard, Canada and
Australia are in the midst of changing their present regulations governing hemp
cultivation. Simpler licensing programs for commercial hemp crops are expected.
We shipped industrial hemp seed to IHA members in Australia and Canada, as well as
China, Germany, Finland and Yugoslavia.
The IHA is always looking for interesting
contributions for our Cannabis Educational Pack. We need a minimum of 25
duplicates of any contributed items (see the back cover of this issue). Please
contact Rob Clarke with the particulars of your offer.
The IHA is trying to find additional
agricultural universities and other institutional libraries that would like to provide our
journal. Please show our issues to your local librarians and if they seem
interested, contact information should be provided to Irene Bijl at the IHA.
If anyone has information on additional hemp
museums or museum displays anywhere in the world, please notify us so that we can arrange
an article. Past work has revealed to our members, hemp museums previously unknown
to the general public.
Please remember to submit your manuscripts as
early as possible before the April 15 and October 15 deadlines, so that we will have
adequate time for peer review and any needed changes. Our Guide for
Authors is available upon request (or please refer to JIHA
Vol 1, No. 1, p. 26).
We are requesting our members to submit
articles on Cannabis in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Manchuria, Turkey, Egypt, the Middle East and Africa, especially concerning its
history and traditional use. As always, we are happy to provide a one-year free IHA
membership in exchange for accepted articles.
Finally, we would like to thank the following
people for their generous donations to the VIR/IHA Cannabis Germplasm
Preservation Project: US $12,000 from an anonymous contributor, US $1,000 from Richard
Rose of Rella Good Cheese Company, and US $50.00 from Bruce Meyer of the Agricultural Hemp
Association. Donations of time and money are what enable us to continue our work to
protect this endangered germplasm.
Irene Bijl Treasurer |
Robert Clarke Projects Manager |
David Pate Secretary |
David Watson Chairman |
Hayo van der Werf Editor-in-Chief |