U.S. Farmers Want In on Industrial Hemp

U.S. Farmers Want In on Industrial Hemp
U.S. Farmers Want In on Industrial Hemp
11/23/2005

Hemp, a close cousin of marijuana, is an increasingly prized agricultural product, and more U.S. farmers say the want the government to allow them to grow the plant, USA Today reported Nov. 22.

Hemp has very little THC content -- the substance that gives marijuana its high -- but cultivation nonetheless has been banned by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. However, the government does allow hemp products to be imported into the U.S.

Farmers like North Dakota's David Monson -- a conservative Republican -- say they are losing out to competitors in Canada and elsewhere who are allowed to grow hemp. The North Dakota legislature has passed a law allowing production of industrial hemp -- including background checks on growers and testing of plants for THC content -- but that's useless unless the federal government agrees. Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Montana and West Virginia have passed similar bills, and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has introduced a hemp legalization measure in Congress.

Both the DEA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy oppose legalizing hemp, saying it would provide cover for illicit marijuana production. "Let's not be naive: The pro-dope people have been pushing hemp for 20 years because they know that if they can have hemp fields, then they can have marijuana fields," said ONDCP spokesperson Tom Riley.

North Dakota officials reject the association with illicit drugs. "It's a silly argument," said North Dakota Agricultural Commissioner Roger Johnson. "Does (Monson) sound like a druggie?" Some states are considering a lawsuit to force open the market, saying it's unfair for the government to allow hemp products to be sold but bar farmers from growing the plant.

Sales of hemp products -- many of which do have counterculture associations -- are rising 50 percent each year, and now total about $15 million in the retail food market and $40 million in the cosmetic and body products market. Hemp growing was legal in the U.S. until 1970, when it was designated as a Schedule I controlled substance by Congress.

This article is online at http://www.jointogether.org/y/0,2521,578649,00.html