Farmers Ask Federal Court To Dissociate Hemp and Pot

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: Washington Post

Wayne Hauge grows grains, chickpeas and some lentils on 2,000 acres in northern North Dakota. Business is up and down, as the farming trade tends to be, and he is always on the lookout for a new crop. He tried sunflowers and safflowers and black beans. Now he has set his sights on hemp.

Hemp, a strait-laced cousin of marijuana, is an ingredient in products from fabric and food to carpet backing and car door panels. Farmers in 30 countries grow it. But it is illegal to cultivate the plant in the United States without federal approval, to the frustration of Hauge and many boosters of North Dakota agriculture.

On Wednesday, Hauge and David C. Monson, a fellow aspiring hemp farmer, will ask a federal judge in Bismarck to force the Drug Enforcement Administration to yield to a state law that would license them to become hemp growers.

"I'm looking forward to the court battle," said Hauge, a 49-year-old father of three. "I don't know why the DEA is so afraid of this."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/11/AR2007111101451.html?nav=rss_print/asection

[truthisfreedom]

1. It's about time.

I hope they win.

[Solon]

2. U.S. law is insane, completely removed from reality, especially in this case...

Hemp and Marijuana are NOT the same plant, both are profitable cash crops, but you can't get high off of hemp. I simply don't understand how fucked up someone has to be to be against legalization of hemp.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. It was done for the profit of a few at the expense of many

The most historically famous player was William Randolph Hearst, of the Hearst Paper Manufacturing division, however he was not alone in his efforts. There were several other paper manufacturing companies (International Paper, Kimberly Clark, St. Regis, DuPont Corporation) that were also involved in the hype to outlaw hemp. All because they knew it would cut into their profits from manufacturing paper pulp.

[NBachers]

5. Trained Breeders

Shit, we've got a whole industry who can be put to work developing characteristics that would advance hemp's desirable traits. Just turn these motherfuckers loose.

Monsanto, Cargill, and ConAgra need not apply.

Ed Rosenthal could have a legal day job and not worry about police harassment!

Pot Farmers Save America!

[ThePowerofWill]

15. They are the same plant.

They can be crossed, and hybridized with marijuana readily. Same growth, and life cycle. Only difference is hemp is lower in Thc, It's still there just in concentrations of 1% or less.

In a couple gererations of carefull selection you could turn hemp right into marijuana.

[Beerboy]

20. But there would be no economic incentive;

hemp, if once again widely cultivated, would be far more profitable than "smoke" is right now. And it would be a legitimate crop used throughout the economy, not the stuff of furtive drug deals gone bad.
The common sense and enormous economic benefit to everyone pretty much ensures that the DEA giving farmers the permission to grow what is most profitable on their own land is a dead-letter.

[truedelphi]

37. Plus it's a renewable that ensures we can save the Old Growth Forests

Andthus help not only the postcard PRETTY of our countryside, but also increase the net content of the planet's oxygen.

Right now, to bring to market grocery bags and disposable chop sticks, we cut down trees.

With hemp, we would cut down a plant that will quickly re-grow and be harvested again and again.

[fenriswolf]

23. yeah

but you can turn a poppy seed into opium and poppies are not illegal.

[High Plains]

28. Why bother?

...unless you like lots of fiber with your buds?

Seriously, no one is going to try to increase the potency of hemp when there are hundreds of stellar high-THC marijuana breeds out there.

[cannabis_flower]

31. Or....

marijuana right into hemp. If hemp was legal to grow it would become quite dicey to grow marijuana outdoors and may force growers of marijuana to do indoor growing to keep their crops from becoming pollinated and seedy.

[Beerboy]

35. Sweetleaf-into-Hemp helps no one.

I definitely like the idea of the investments I could make in hemp processing/ oil refining; though the U.S. will never do it, we can move our money to companies that can profit by it.

[Thor_MN]

38. And the opposite is also true

If you were trying to grow some marijuana in the middle of hemp fields, I'd think that the cross pollination would make your weed very tame.

Get enough hemp pollen in the air and domestic grown marijuana would get weaker.

[Californian Dreamer]

45. The so called war on drugs

Is a joke. if they were serious about getting people to stop smoking pot they would not only legalize but encourage growing hemp. Any pot plant that was even downwind of a hemp field would be ruined.

[RainDog]

50. but there is no need to do so!

marijuana is already grown for its purpose and has been hybridized to the point that it would be STUPID to mix genes with hemp.

Marijuana prices expected to fall due to overproduction.

Indoor cultivation has led to three generations of a plant w/i a year, rather than an outdoor crop cycle. These plants have been bred for THC and are, therefore, cost effective... it takes less of the same thing to achieve the same result. It takes less time to grow these crops because they are grown in controlled circumstances that avoid just the cross-breeding you talk about.

Why would, say, a cabernet maker want to mix those strains with ones that make piss grapes?

Not only that, but the hybridization has reached a level that people can choose which properties to encourage, such as munchie (for cancer patients) vs. anti-munchie (for people visiting art museums.)

...just to say that the argument you present is exactly the opposite of the current reality.

[merwin]

3. It's not the DEA that's afraid of it. It's the industries that hemp products can replace.

Which is one of the primary reasons that hemp/marijuana was made illegal in this country.

[rodeodance]

11. oh-it is double whammy as I think the 'drug' aspect of this has LOTS to do with its ban.

[allisonthegreat]

33. No sorry it is capitalist market..Look at all the materials hemp

can replace. Sorry state of affairs. This debate should have ended ten years ago.

[Scout]

40. hemp makes very durable, comfortable clothing for one thing...

and paper. I think Wm Randolph Hearst fought to make it illegal to eliminate competition for his paper mills. Someone correct me if that's wrong.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Its time will come.

It is easily grown on marginal land, and is perfect for the bio-fuels market. With the continuing drought, water-intensive crops like corn are not sustainable for biofuels - what water is there will be needed for food crops.

At least, that's my theory.

[WePurrsevere]

22. I've heard this about hemp and

agree that it would make a lot of sense to grow it the way things are going.

IMO having it illegal is environmentally and economically foolish.

[Mythsaje]

7. I think I know PRECISELY why the DEA

is so opposed to it. You can't tell the difference between the two without going down into it. You can't tell the difference on a fly-over. Hell, I'm willing to bet that as many as 50% of the LEOs out there couldn't tell the difference without a testing kit of some kind.

It WILL make enforcement of the marijuana laws more difficult for them.

Tough shit.

[JohnyCanuck]

8. I have heard that it is very easy to see the difference (even from a flyover)

Hemp is grown tall and spindly whereas marijuana is shorter and bushier. Also due to cross pollination the hemp will contaminate any marijuana grown close to it, causing the marijuana to loose much of it's THC content and therefore its potency. It would be counterproductive for a marijuana grower, therefore, to grow pot around hemp plants - not that I am any expert on the matter (disclaimer for Agent Mike).

In addition to its obstinate refusal to differentiate between hemp and marijuana, the DEA has also expressed concerns that lawmen would be unable to tell the difference between the two and that people would hide marijuana plants in the middle of hemp fields. That's all bunk, said California cannabis and hemp cultivation expert Chris Conrad.

"First off, this is not a problem for Canadian, British, German, French, and Spanish police, so why are American cops so incompetent compared to the rest of the world, and why should we coddle them for that rather than demand they do their jobs?" he asked. "Also, the fields are registered and police will have the power to enter and inspect at will, so it would be stupid to tell the cops where you're growing, then try to hide marijuana in the field," Conrad pointed out.

The two crops are grown differently for different ends, Conrad noted. "Marijuana is grown for flowering branches, whereas hemp is grown for either stalk or seeds. The stalk crop can be harvested before it flowers, so there would never, ever be any marijuana buds produced." Also, Conrad pointed out, hemp grows straight up and the plants are spaced only a few inches apart, while marijuana plants are shorter and bushier. "Marijuana plants look very different from hemp plants and would be conspicuous from the other plants, especially in an aerial flyover where you would see the area around the marijuana being cleared out from the hemp plants. It's very easy to identify a marijuana patch in a hemp field, and if there is a marijuana plant, it hempifies (is pollinated by the hemp plants) and goes away."

The science and agriculture of hemp probably have little to do with the DEA's intransigent insistence that hemp is marijuana, said Vote Hemp's Eidinger. "This is part of the culture war," he suggested. "When Jack Herer published "The Emperor Has No Clothes" in the early 1980s, the DEA began seeing the call for industrial hemp as part of weakening the links of the criminalization of marijuana." Publication of Herer's book led to a revitalization of interest in industrial hemp, but also associated hemp with the marijuana culture, rather than staid farmers like Hauge and Monson.

http://www.drug-rehabs.org/con.php?cid=4878&state=North%20Dakota

On this page we will explore a myth from Dr. Dave's Industrial Hemp Archives, Hemp and Marijuana: Myths & Realities that law enforcement commonly uses to misdirect the media and legislators.

Myth: Industrial Hemp fields would be used to hide marijuana plants.

Reality: Industrial Hemp is grown quite differently from marijuana. Moreover, it is harvested at a different time than marijuana. Finally, cross-pollination between hemp plants and marijuana plants would significantly reduce the potency of the marijuana plant.

The argument that you can't tell the the different varieties or cultivars of Cannabis apart is a straw man that law enforcement and their lobbyists expect hemp farming supporters to try and knock down. The simple truth is that all you need to tell the difference is GPS coordinates of the farmer's hemp fields and certified oilseed-type or fiber-type varieties grown as you would an agricultural oilseed crop or a fiber crop.

* Industrial hemp is an agricultural crop.
* Industrial hemp is varieties of Cannabis that are low in THC and high in CBD.
* Oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis are also known as industrial hemp.
* You can not get drugs from oilseed or fiber varieties of Cannabis.
* Oilseed, fiber, and drug varieties of Cannabis are grown at different densities.
* Drug varieties of Cannabis can not be grown with oilseed or fiber varieties without being easily spotted.

Let's go into more detail.

SNIP


Industrial hemp plants have long and strong stalks, have few branches, have been bred for maximum production of fiber and/or seed, and grow up to 16 feet in height. They are planted in high densities of 100 to 300 plants per square yard. On the other hand, drug varieties of Cannabis are shorter, are not allowed to go to seed, and have been bred to maximize branching and thus leaves and flowers. They are planted much less densely to promote bushiness. The drug and non-drug varieties are harvested at different times, and planting densities would look very different from the air.

Continued here: http://www.votehemp.com/different_varieties.html

[LiberalFighter]

9. All the more reason to grow hemp and introduce it in South America

[Beerboy]

14. Introduce it to South America?

I'm pretty sure it's already there.

[LiberalFighter]

44. Didn't they say the cross pollination results in MJ losing it's full effect?

[High Plains]

29. Hey, I wrote that story! And they didn't credit me. Shame on them.

Here's the original link from the Drug War Chronicle:

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/491/north_dakota_farmers_sue_DEA_hemp_ban

[MadHound]

26. No self respecting dope grower would put his plants in the middle of a hemp field

Quickest way to turn kind bud to ditch weed. Actually, one would think that the DEA would support hemp legalization, very little dope could be grown outdoors anymore.

[High Plains]

27. Are our cops so stupid they can't tell the difference?

Sorry, rhetorical question.

But seriously, they manage to grow it in Europe, Canada, China without the cops freaking out. Why not here?

[electricmonk]

47. To answer your question anyway

Yes they are. Hell they can't tell the difference between pot and tomato plants.

http://www.theagitator.com/archives/027667.php

[rodeodance]

10. hemp cloths last much longer than cotten clothes. cotton growers will

put up a fight

[rodeodance]

12. says here that the WH has asked to toss out the suit.

....The law is the law and it treats all varieties of Cannabis sativa L. the same, Bush administration lawyers argue in asking U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland to throw out the case. The DEA says a review of the farmers' applications is underway.

To clear up the popular confusion about the properties of what is sometimes called industrial hemp, the crop's prospective purveyors explain that hemp and smokable marijuana share a genus and a species but are about as similar as rope and dope.

The active ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as THC. While hemp typically contains 0.3 percent THC, the leaves and flowers coveted by pot smokers have 5 percent or more, sometimes up to 30 percent.

"You could smoke a joint the size of a telephone pole," Hague said of hemp, "and it's not going to provide you with a high."

[rodeodance]

13. "In Canada and Europe, where industrial hemp is grown, no one is trying to smoke it and the sky is n

Bronner's company spends about $100,000 a year importing 10,000 pounds of hemp oil and 10,000 pounds of seeds from Canada. To do so, he first had to win a federal court battle with the Justice Department, which tried to ban the imports. One of his arguments was the prevalence and popularity of the crop elsewhere.



Outside the United States, hemp is grown and sold regularly. Because of its relationship to marijuana, however, federal approval is needed here. (Hempline Inc.)

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ah ha=here is the problem! ol socialist Europe raises it!!

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"In Canada and Europe, where industrial hemp is grown, no one is trying to smoke it and the sky is not falling," said Bronner, president of the Hemp Industries Association, a trade group. Likening hemp seeds to marijuana, he said, is like equating poppy seeds with opium.

Hauge is joined by Monson, a Republican state legislator who helped pass a law in 1999 that would permit hemp cultivation and establish limits to ease the federal government's worries. They have the backing of Vote Hemp, an advocacy organization, and state Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, who personally delivered paperwork to the DEA in February on the farmers' behalf.

[fascisthunter]

16. Our Constitution Was Made of Hemp

It is such a useful material, much stronger than others we already use.

Imagine that: the Constitution is illegal because of the material it's made of.

Silly

[troubleinwinter]

17. Some Hemp Facts

1) Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.

2) Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.

3) Hemp Seed is far more nutritious than even soybean, contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is 35% dietary fiber. Hemp seed is not psychoactive and cannot be used as a drug. See TestPledge.com

4) The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers which are among the Earth's longest natural soft fibers and are also rich in cellulose; the cellulose and hemi-cellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp stalk is not psychoactive. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.

5) According to the Department of Energy, hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. The hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of biofuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

6) Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. Almost half of the agricultural chemicals used on US crops are applied to cotton.

7) Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp's low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and it's creamy color lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical byproducts.

8) Hemp fiber paper resists decomposition, and does not yellow with age when an acid-free process is used. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. It can also be recycled more times.

9) Hemp fiberboard produced by Washington State University was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard.

10) Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products. Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil, to name just a very few examples.

[shanti]

36. and hemp ice cream is yummy!

:D

[troubleinwinter]

41. I have a hemp jacket. It is so soft and nice. It's about 5 yrs old and like new.

[shanti]

46. yes, i've had several items of hemp clothing

love 'em!

[stubtoe]

18. A true "grass"roots revolution! All it takes is one person to start change.

Hemp is the crop of the new century.

[Javaman]

19. "I don't know why the DEA is so afraid of this."

Because it will kill king cotton.

[LynzM]

21. Bingo.

Stronger, lasts longer, better material. Go figure.

[Sam Ervin jret]

24. THEY ARE AFRAID BECAUSE HEMP ANSWERS MANY "TERROR-ABLE" PROBLEMS

They don't want answers they want more TERROR

HEMP - better than corn in the use of alternative fuel

Hemp - was in the mind of Ford when making the car, strong fibers envisioned to replace steel(now plastic)etc...

Hemp - better than cotton, less pesticide use, better production etc..

Hemp - the Declaration of Independence was Written on it

[Fly by night]

25. The best way to disrupt psychoactive marijuana production would be to allow hemp to be grown.

The tons of pollen produced by the hemp would fertilize any medical-grade cannabis plants growing within miles of the hemp field, causing them to produce seeds instead of more THC and to stop growing larger and producing bigger buds. The resultant seeds would also produce inferior marijuana when they are planted.

You'd think those numb-nuts in the DEA would know that by now. I wonder what they're smoking that causes them to be so uninformed.

[High Plains]

30. I'll be in Bismarck Wednesday to cover the hearing...

You can read all about Friday in the Drug War Chronicle, www.stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle

[Lone_Star_Dem]

32. Thanks for the heads up.

Be sure to keep us updated.

[williesgirl]

34. k&r

[Scout]

39. good, this would be a smart move, i hope it happens n/t

[gorbal]

42. Link to info and stuff you can do

http://www.industrialhemp.net/activism.html

[humbled_opinion]

43. Medicinal Marijuana is already approved by the FDA. n/t

[cannabis_flower]

48. No it isn't

Synthetic THC under the brand name of Marinol is approved by the FDA. It is not the same thing although they want you to think it is just as good. Many medical marijuana users have tried Marinol and not had acceptable results.

[eppur_se_muova]

49. To clarify: it is identical to natural THC, but MM contains other cannabinoids.

THC, a single pure compound, is one of several physiologically active compounds in cannabis. Marinol contains only this one compound, but the others may be important. See the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dronabinol

[dysfunctional press]

51. industrial hemp production would decimate outdoor pot growing.

cross-pollination would reduce the potency of the high-grade marijuana.

conservative pundits always try to claim that hemp fields would be the perfect place to hide a marijuana growing operation- when in reality, it would be the WORST.