Source: U.S. News & World Report
Copyright: 1999 U.S. News & World Report
Pubdate: Mon, 8 Mar 1999
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Author: Elise Ackerman

THE LATEST BUZZ ON HEMP 

U.S. Farmers Want The Ban On Cultivating The Plant Lifted

Times sure are tough for North Dakota farmers like David Monson. First
there were floods, then heavy snow, pelting rains, and disease that
devastated the crops. Last summer, Monson grimly tended his wheat, barley,
and canola fields in Osnabrock and watched neighboring farms go bust. In
the fall, his profit was a paltry $25 an acre. Meanwhile, 20 miles away,
across the border in Canada, Brian McElroy had cut back on wheat and
planted his first crop of industrial hemp. He earned $225 an acre.

Last year's Canadian hemp harvest was the first since the 1930s, when
antimarijuana movies like Reefer Madness helped ignite a backlash. One
upshot was a crackdown on hemp, marijuana's nonpsychoactive cousin, in
Canada and the United States. Now, despairing U.S. farmers are calling on
the federal government to follow Canada's lead and legalize the crop. They
tout industrial hemp, which contains only negligible amounts of the
mind-altering chemical THC, as lucrative, versatile, and environmentally
friendly. Last month, the Virginia legislature endorsed "controlled,
experimental" cultivation of the plant. Similar pro-hemp action is pending
in 11 other state legislatures, including Hawaii and Vermont.

Pushing product. Worldwide sales of hemp products are booming. According to
Hemptech, a California consulting company, global hemp sales rose from less
than $3 million in 1993 to $75 million in 1997, the latest figures
available. Sales in the United States alone reached $50 million. (Despite
the ban on cultivation, the U.S. government does permit sales of hemp
products.)

But Washington has resisted calls to legalize hemp farming. Unless the
president issues an executive order removing hemp from the Drug Enforcement
Administration's controlled-substance list, or the DEA itself takes action,
the states' efforts to scrap the ban ultimately will fail. (President
Clinton has yet to state his official position on the plant, but Hempen
Gold, a cream ale brewed from hemp seeds, was recently served on Air Force
One.)

The Office of National Drug Control Policy insists that permitting hemp
farming would send the wrong message to the public, especially to young
people. "Legalizing hemp production may mean the de facto legalization of
marijuana cultivation," the agency warns in a statement, claiming that
marijuana plants could be hidden in fields of industrial hemp.

But an unlikely hemp proponent, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, says
the agency is blowing smoke. Not only are densely planted hemp fields
unconducive to marijuana cultivation but, Woolsey maintains, "If you want
to get rid of marijuana, there's nothing better to do than plant a lot of
industrial hemp." The reason is that hemp cross-pollinates with marijuana,
lowering its potency. Woolsey, who represents the North American Industrial
Hemp Council, a lobbying group, emphasizes that he opposes legalizing
marijuana. The bottom line, he says, is that hemp is "extremely useful" in
a wide range of industrial applications.

It's also a plant with a history. In colonial America, industrial hemp was
used to manufacture sails, rope, paper, and cloth. Thomas Jefferson
cultivated hemp. Drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on
hemp-fiber paper. Modern-day hemp products include cosmetics, carpets,
salad oil, and snacks, as well as construction materials and biodegradable
auto parts. Hemp fibers are used in the trunk and door panels of the
German-manufactured 5 and 7 series BMW, and Ford is studying their
potential for use in radiator grills.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to spend money uprooting hemp.
According to DEA figures, 98 percent of the $7.3 million the government
spent on marijuana eradication programs last year went to kill ditchweed, a
type of industrial hemp that grows wild.

Frustrated North Dakota farmers want to persuade the government to stop
just saying "No" to hemp. This year, Monson, who also serves in the state
legislature, sponsored three pro-hemp bills. Their message: "We in North
Dakota believe this is a legitimate crop that can make us some money, help
the environment, and maybe save some family farms." 

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