Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jun 2002
Source: Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan (SD)
Copyright: 2000 Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan
Contact:  http://www.yankton.net
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1046
Author: Bernard McGhee, AP Staff Writer

SOUTH DAKOTA VOTERS TO DECIDE ON INDUSTRIAL HEMP

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota -- South Dakota voters will be able to decide 
whether to legalize hemp in November's election.

More than 13,000 signatures calling for the South Dakota Industrial Hemp 
Act to go on the ballot were turned in to the Secretary of State's office, 
state Election Supervisor Chris Nelson said Tuesday.

If passed, the proposal would draw a legal distinction between hemp and 
marijuana, paving the way for the legal development of hemp in the state. 
Under the proposal, hemp would be a legal crop if it contains no more than 
1 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the substance in marijuana that makes 
people high.

It will remove any South Dakota barrier from the production of industrial 
hemp," said Bob Newland of the South Dakota Industrial Hemp Council, which 
sponsored the proposal.

Industrial hemp is a form of the Cannabis sativa plant, which is also known 
as marijuana. But unlike marijuana, hemp cannot be smoked to get high. 
Instead, it can be used to make products such as rope, paper, cloth, soap 
and animal feed.

Under current law, the federal government is able to unjustly tell states 
what they can and cannot plant, Newland said.

Newland is also running for state attorney general as a member of the 
Libertarian Party. He said his first act, if elected, would be to file suit 
against the federal government on the issue, claiming state sovereignty.

Newland said that 85 percent of South Dakota voters support the 
legalization of industrial hemp, according to a statewide poll commissioned 
by the South Dakota Industrial Hemp Council.

"Could some voters could interpret the initiative as a vote to legalize 
marijuana?"

"There's always the 15 percent ignorance factor," Newland answered.

The Industrial Hemp Act has also been endorsed by the South Dakota Farmers 
Union.

Members of the Farmers Union see hemp as a useful alternative for farmers 
who have suffering financially because of drought and low prices, said 
Chuck Groth, communications director for the Farmers Union.

And support of the hemp act does not mean the Farmers Union supports the 
legalization of marijuana, Groth said.

Anyone who would assume that our support means we're one step away from 
(supporting marijuana legalization) would be badly mistaken," Groth said.

Farmers who would grow hemp would have no problem telling the authorities 
and allowing them to inspect their crop, Groth said.
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