Pubdate: Thu, 16 Nov 2006
Source: Forum. The  (ND)
Copyright: 2006 Forum Communications Co.
Contact:  http://www.in-forum.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/991
Author: Dale Wetzel, Associated Press Writer

HEMP-GROWING RULES TAKE STEP FORWARD

State rules for growing industrial hemp are close to taking effect, 
although federal drug agents will have the final say on whether 
farmers may cultivate it, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued a letter Wednesday saying the 
proposed rules comply with state law. A legislative committee that 
reviews North Dakota agency regulations still must go over them 
before they take effect, Johnson said.

Industrial hemp is a relative of marijuana, but does not have the 
hallucinogenic chemical that provides a "high" when the leaf is 
smoked. It is used to produce an assortment of goods, including 
paper, rope, clothing and cosmetics.

Industrial hemp cultivation is legal in Canada and other countries, 
but it is banned in the United States, a situation that Johnson and 
North Dakota lawmakers have been working to reverse. Johnson and 
other state agriculture officials met with U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration officials last February in Washington, D.C., to 
discuss the issue.

North Dakota farmers who want to grow industrial hemp must undergo a 
criminal background check, provide their fingerprints, and let law 
enforcement officials know the exact location of their fields, the 
proposed Agriculture Department regulations say.

Farmers must document the amounts of harvested hemp they sell, and to 
whom, and show that their hemp seeds have less than three-tenths of 1 
percent of the hallucinogenic chemical THC.

Even if the state conditions are met, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration must agree to allow hemp to be grown before any state 
license is issued, Johnson said.

Hemp has a number of benefits for producers, Johnson said. It grows 
rapidly, generates a great deal of usable fiber, and does not require 
much, if any, pesticide, he said.

"I think from an agronomic standpoint, it will be very attractive ... 
assuming that there's a decent market for it," Johnson said. "The 
reason it will take a while to develop is because it's been illegal 
in this country for a long time."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Elaine