Pubdate: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 Source: Forum, The (Fargo, ND) Copyright: 2007 Forum Communications Co. Contact: http://www.in-forum.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/991 Author: Jon Knutson, The Forum Cited: Drug Enforcement Agency http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ Cited: North Dakota State University http://www.ndsu.edu/ Cited: Vote Hemp http://www.votehemp.com/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/industrial=hemp NDSU BACKS HEMP LAWSUIT North Dakota State University has filed a friend of the court motion in support of two state farmers who want to grow industrial hemp. "It's very, very good to have NDSU support our case," said Tim Purdon, an attorney for farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge. The two - who have state licenses to grow industrial hemp - want a federal judge to declare that growing it would not violate the federal Controlled Substances Act. Hemp falls under federal anti-drug laws because it has trace amounts of THC, a mind-altering chemical found in marijuana. In the motion, NDSU says one of its researchers, Burton Johnson, in 1999 filed an application with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to research industrial hemp. The federal agency has never acted on that application, according to the motion. D.C. Coston, NDSU's vice president of agriculture, said Monday that the university is obligated to help state farmers by investigating industrial hemp. "There's a very large economic opportunity for farmers in North Dakota," he said. Hemp can be used for products ranging from rope to clothing to body lotion. It's important for the public to understand hemp's legitimate uses and opportunities, Coston said. Purdon and Rick Johnson, an attorney for NDSU, said Purdon asked the university to file the friend of the court motion. Such motions are relatively unusual at the district court level, Johnson said. Vote Hemp, a national group, supports Monson and Hauge's lawsuit. Tom Murphy, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, said NDSU's motion makes it more likely the lawsuit will succeed. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake