A bill that would have allowed farmers in four California counties to grow hemp for commercial purposes has been vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Oakland Tribune reported Oct. 15.

"I would like to support the expansion of a new agricultural commodity in this state," said Schwarzenegger. "Unfortunately, I am very concerned that this bill would give legitimate growers a false sense of security and a belief that production of 'industrial hemp' is somehow a legal activity under federal law."

Backers of the bill expressed disappointment over the veto, saying they had rewritten the measure to address the concerns expressed by Schwarzenegger when he vetoed the Industrial Hemp Farming Act last year.

"This bipartisan measure would have cut costs for business, opened up new opportunities for farmers, reduced the use of agricultural chemicals and cut carbon emissions," said Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). "It is disappointing that Gov. Schwarzenegger chose to embrace an irrational application of federal drug law that prevents California farmers from producing a valuable raw material for our own U.S. industries."

The bill would have authorized a pilot hemp-growing project in King, Imperial, Yolo, and Mendocino counties, allowing DEA-certified labs to test the crop to ensure that it contained minimal amounts of THC, the psychoactive agent in hemp's close cousin, marijuana.

About $300 million worth of hemp products are sold annually in the U.S., but the plant cannot be legally grown here. Federal drug laws make no distinction between hemp and marijuana.