North Dakota May Legalize Hemp Cultivation
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 9.06
We love hemp here at Treehugger, and have not only featured numerous products made from this versatile plant, but have even tried to lay to rest some of the myths surrounding this cousin of the "demon weed." So we were happy to see that the state of North Dakota is pushing forward with plans to create a licensing procedure for farmers that would like to add this crop to their rotation. That's right: a state previously known mainly for really cold winters and Fargo will likely become the first to legalize hemp cultivation. According to an article in today's Forbes.com:
North Dakota is pushing ahead with plans to license state farmers to grow industrial hemp even as it tries to allay law enforcement fears about marijuana's biological cousin.State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson and his department are crafting hemp rules after meeting in February with Drug Enforcement Agency officials in Washington. A public hearing on the proposed rules is slated for June 15.
The rules would require a criminal background check on farmers who want to grow hemp. The sale of hemp and location of the hemp fields must be documented. And the farmer must get a permit from the DEA.
Adam Eidinger, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, the lobbying arm of the hemp industry, said North Dakota is the first state to actually craft rules to license hemp farmers.
"We're very supportive," Eidinger said of the state's efforts.
While this move is largely symbolic, as federal laws prohibiting hemp cultivation still override any state-level efforts, North Dakota could both start a rational discussion on the economic and environmental benefits of growing industrial hemp, and position itself as a leader in the industry should the folks in Washington come to their senses.
Can you smoke hemp? Sure. You can also smoke the leaves that fall off the oak tree in your back yard. Both will likely give you a good headache and nothing more. Industrial hemp cultivation could prove a real boon to US farmers and manufacturers, so perhaps it's time to get past our confusion and join with countries like Canada and Romania that have found hemp a sustainable and profitable cash crop. :: Forbes.com
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It's about freakin' time! Give GMO corn a run for its money in the production of ethanol!
Jeff, I fully support the planting of fields of hemp in North Dakota. Having lived there for three years and seeing their massive increase in Meth production, I'd think that hemp wouldn't be such a big issue there.
As for the rest of the US, it comes down to who's for it and who's against it. My guess is that the folks in the cotton industry are less than thrilled with a rival like hemp.
As for the DEA getting all concerned about the hemp fields, here's an idea for you folks in the DEA. As soon as you clean up the Crack, Cocaine, Heroin, and Methamphetamine use in the US, THEN you can come bother us about hemp. Suffice it to say, that'll never happen because they've never even begun to have control of those drugs.
Hemp isn't even a drug, it just looks like one. The US is rather dim witted for banning it, unless the cotton industry paid them to.
"The US is rather dim witted for banning it, unless the cotton industry paid them to."
It wasn't cotton. It was paper and chemicals (Dupont and Hearst)
http://www.parascope.com/mx/hemp02.htm
As a long-time resident of North Dakota, I'm very supportative of this initiative. We've been trying to find ways to diversify our economy for years, and personally, I think industrial hemp is just the ticket that can open other economic possibilities here. We can't grow cotton here, but we can sure grow hemp.
I agree that it is about time! Americans need to stand up for world equality, and industrial standards; such as Hemp production. It is posidle to make anything out of Hemp that is not metal. Ofcourse this includes FUEL for vehicals.
North Dakota is moving forward with Industrial Hemp!
http://www.northdakotahemp.com/
The federal government of the United States banned hemp in 1937 as part of its prohibition of marijuana. The hemp plant, Cannabis Sativa 1, is related to, but not the same as, marijuana plants, and government agents on missions to destroy the plants may confuse hemp with the other plant. The word "cannabis" comes from the ancient Greek word for hemp, of the plant family