Source: LEXINGTON HERALDLEADER;Lexington, Kentucky Pubdate: July 18, 1997 Contact: Editorial Section COMMENTARY Illogical arguments against hemp By Gale Glenn At the legislative hearing on industrial hemp on July 9 in Frankfort, we finally pierced the heart of the matter: In the eyes of the law, there are two insurmountable problems. According to a Drug Enforcement Agency official from Washington, D.C., because the nonnarcotic leaves of industrial hemp look like the leaves of marijuana, drug dealers might “use industrial hemp to dilute legitimate marijuana.” Now, wouldn’t that be a pity? Imagine! Potheads spending good money for drugs watered down with hemp. It’s enough to make the lawabiding citizens weep and, apparently, enough to prevent research on a new cash crop for Kentucky farmers. It was astonishing that not one of the Kentucky legislators at the Agriculture Committee hearing questioned the oxymoronic “legitimate marijuana.” What, pray tell, is legitimate marijuana? But Kentucky’s commissioner of State Police topped the federal DEA by declaring that our Kentucky law enforcement people would not be able to tell the difference between marijuana and hemp. This is a heartbreaking situation. Imagine having to depend on a police force that is incapable of distinguishing a 16foottall stalk with a fuzzy, green crown of leaves planted six inches apart from low, leafy plants each on a twofoot wide island of dirt. How on Earth the Canadians, British and Europeans train their law enforcement people to easily recognize the difference between hemp and marijuana is a true marvel. We can only assume Kentucky’s legal eagles consider their troops to be unteachable dumb clucks. This is a real shocker. I’ve known many agriculture and law people and they strike me as right intelligent folks. But who are we to contradict their superiors? Still, the idea that Kentuckians are not as bright as Canadians and Europeans is disheartening. So, fellow Kentucky farmers, try not to dwell on the new factory being built in Massachusetts by the largest carpet manufacturer in the United States and where biodegradable carpet will be made using hemp imported from Canada and Europe. Try not to dwell on hemp, the nonlabor intensive, nonherbicide, nonpesticide cash crop. Take to heart the advice of one on Kentucky’s Agriculture Committee and grow eggplant. As E.A. Sholts, head of Wisconsin Agriculture Development and Diversification and chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council, said regarding hemp: “The United States is an island of denial in a sea of acceptance.” Isn’t it pathetic? NOTE: Gale Glenn, a farmer in Clark County, was a member of a state task force on hemp. She is a former member of the North American Industrial Hemp Council. (END)