Pubdate: Mon, 14 Oct 2002
Source: Daily Hampshire Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2002 Daily Hampshire Gazette
Contact:  http://www.gazettenet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/106
Author: Elizabeth Pariseau

HEMP FARMING ISSUE ON BALLOT

Monday, October 14, 2002 -- Voters in the 2nd Franklin state representative 
district will consider a non-binding ballot question on Nov. 5 asking 
whether they would support the farming of industrial hemp, which advocates 
say would benefit both the economy and the environment.

The effort to get the question on the ballot was led by Jason Burk, a 
University of Massachusetts plant and soil sciences major and a resident of 
Orange.

Burk, 26, says the growing of industrial hemp is a separate issue from the 
decriminalization of marijuana because the industrial form of cannabis 
contains 1 percent or less THC, the chemical that makes marijuana a 
mind-altering drug.

Burk said advocacy for industrial hemp has interested him for years. "It's 
hard to sit back when I see something as blatantly obvious as this," Burk 
said. "It's just a plant. It's not psychoactive. How can it be illegal? 
It's like outlawing powdered sugar because it looks like cocaine."

The language of the question, which residents of Athol, Erving, Gill, 
Greenfield, Orange and Warwick will vote on Nov. 5, will emphasize 
industrial hemp's low THC: "Shall the state representative from this 
district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would allow 
licensed farmers in Massachusetts to grow cannabis hemp (a crop containing 
1 percent or less THC, the active ingredient in marijuana) for legitimate 
agricultural and industrial purposes?"

Burk said he thought the question would poll well. "Most of the people in 
this district are farmers," he said. "They're educated about this."

He also predicted that the legalization of the crop would benefit the local 
economy in rural Franklin County. "It'd save a lot of local farms," he said.

Christopher Donelan, a former narcotics detective in Orange who is running 
unopposed for the 2nd Franklin District seat in the state House of 
Representatives, said he had not had time to thoroughly research the issue, 
but that he remains skeptical.

"I haven't had the opportunity to see what (the question) looks like and to 
see the young man who proposed" it," Donelan said. "But I spent 15 years in 
law enforcement, seeing the effects drugs have on people, so I'm skeptical."

When asked if a low percentage of THC on the plant would change his mind, 
Donelan said, "I certainly would want to take a look at that."

According to a Web site hosted by the North American Industrial Hemp 
Council, most countries that grow hemp do so for industrial purposes 
because it is environmentally friendly and has widespread uses.

Paper, rope and fabric for clothing can be made from the plant, according 
to the site. Oil from the seeds can be used to make cosmetics, paint, and a 
form of diesel fuel. Hemp products are also currently imported from other 
countries into the United States.

"That's what doesn't make any sense," Burk said. "Even mature stock is 
legal to import."

The crop has been effectively banned in the United States since the passage 
of the Marijuana Taxation Act of 1937, according to the Hemp Council web 
site. Though the ban was lifted for a short time during World War II to 
boost rope supplies, it was restored during the 1950s, and has remained in 
place ever since.

Breaking that taboo would have tremendous benefits, according to Burk. "We 
can make strong building materials without toxic chemicals. We can make 
fine fabrics without the pesticides and herbicides we use on cotton crops. 
We can make finer quality paper without having to cut down all the forests 
on the planet.

"It's time for a little Hemp 101," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens