N.D. Supreme Court Justice Mary Maring Leads Drive To Curb Substance Abuse A plan to set up juvenile drug courts in Grand Forks and Fargo is nearly complete. State Supreme Court Justice Mary Maring has organized a group of judges, attorneys, juvenile court officers and addiction counselors who, she said, will create an intense, community-based program designed to curb teen substance abuse in the Red River Valley's two largest cities. The program is designed for teens 14 to 17 years old who have committed nonviolent crimes and show signs of substance abuse, Maring said. The teens will appear weekly before a judge, undergo intense drug screening and work with mentors to complete community service hours. [continues 519 words]
BISMARCK, N.D. - A planned industrial hemp cooperative in North Dakota is causing a stir among farmers, and government officials concerned that the co-op is promising something it can't legally deliver. Dustin Mathern, who formed the Fargo-based HempCo earlier this month with Janet Miller, another Fargo resident, said details of the co-op are still being worked out but that they include establishing processing plants. Raising hemp, a cousin of marijuana, is illegal. Mathern said he's working with the Drug Enforcement Administration to find a way to legally grow the crop. DEA officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment Tuesday. [continues 417 words]
Instead of waiting for crime to happen, several area law enforcement agencies this weekend took the law to the people. North Dakota Highway Patrol deputies, along with officers from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Walsh County Sheriff's office and U.S. Border Patrol spent Friday and Saturday monitoring travelers for criminal activity on Interstate 29 about 20 miles north of Grand Forks. Capt. Mark Nelson of the patrol said the focus of the project was to identify, apprehend and remove people who are using North Dakota roadways to break the law. Three drug-sniffing dogs aided officers in the interdiction activities. [continues 104 words]
(Bismarck) The senate has approved a conference committee report that would reclassify seed from industrial hemp as an oil seed, removing it from the noxious weed list. A similar measure, which removes the hemp plant from the list of noxious weeds was signed into law by governor Schafer last week. [end]
Falling prices make option more attractive BISMARCK, N.D. -- Dennis Carlson sold his first wheat, grown on a field borrowed from his parents, in 1975, when he was 14. He earned $4.51 a bushel and resolved to follow his father, grandfather and great-grandfather into farming. Nearly 24 years later, spring wheat is selling for $2.91 a bushel, and Carlson worries whether he can afford to plant next month. "We're going to get a low price," he said. "And if we get a bumper crop, it's going to get lower." [continues 542 words]
BISMARCK, N.D. - Dennis Carlson sold his first wheat, grown on a field borrowed from his parents, in 1975, when he was 14 years old. He earned $4.51 a bushel and resolved to follow his father, grandfather and great-grandfather into farming. Nearly 24 years later, spring wheat is selling for $2.91 a bushel, and Carlson worries whether he can afford to plant next month. "We're going to get a low price," he said. "And if we get a bumper crop, it's going to get lower." [continues 742 words]
OUR VIEW: The unlikely crop may earn a place as a prospective money-maker. A flower child's in the White House. A pro wrestler's the governor of Minnesota. What can North Dakota do to catch up? Start growing hemp as a cash crop, that's what. Party on, dude! File that under the heading, "Who woulda thunk it?" Then "thunk" about it long and hard. Because the fact is, the flower child's been a reasonably good president -- judging strictly by the economy, mind you. The new governor of Minnesota's pumped terrific energy and excitement into St. Paul. [continues 379 words]
BISMARCK -- Noxious weed, illicit drug or viable crop? The great hemp debate began again Thursday at the North Dakota Legislature when the House Agriculture Committee unanimously recommended that a bill removing industrial hemp from the state's list of noxious weed seeds be passed. House Bill 1265 would eliminate hemp from the list of "prohibited noxious weed seeds" in the North Dakota Century Code. The elimination could be a step toward the legalization of hemp crops in North Dakota, something some legislators would like to see. [continues 413 words]
A North Dakota State University study says industrial hemp has potential as an alternative crop in the state and recommends that the crop be grown for experimental production and processing. The study, led by David Kraenzel of the NDSU agriculture economics department, was presented to the Legislative Interim Commerce and Agriculture Committee Thursday afternoon at the Capitol. "There's real potential for this as a rotation crop with North Dakota crops," Kraenzel told the committee via telephone. NDSU did the study at the request of the state Legislature. The objective was to assess the economic feasibility and desirability of industrial hemp production in North Dakota. [continues 455 words]
A North Dakota State University study says industrial hemp has potential as an alternative crop in the state and recommends that the crop be grown for experimental production and processing. The study, led by David Kraenzel of the NDSU agriculture economics department, was presented to the Legislative Interim Commerce and Agriculture Committee Thursday afternoon at the Capitol. "There's real potential for this as a rotation crop with North Dakota crops," Kraenzel told the committee via telephone. NDSU did the study at the request of the state Legislature. The objective was to assess the economic feasibility and desirability of industrial hemp production in North Dakota. [continues 454 words]
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Canada's decision to let farmers grow industrial hemp after a 60-year ban could provide just the political pressure needed to persuade American regulators to lift their ban as well, hemp advocates say. A North Dakota lawmaker who wrote legislation to study hemp's potential as a cash crop says he doesn't expect the federal government to change its mind overnight. ``But I think if it turns out that hemp is a viable crop that our farmers could make some money with, certainly there would be a big push down here to be allowed to grow it as well,'' added state Rep. Dave Monson of Osnabrock. [continues 433 words]
The court administrator for the South Central Judicial District was charged with two drug crimes on Wednesday, both stemming from his Nov. 21 drunken driving arrest. The new charges against Douglas H. Johnson, 34, are possession of less than a half ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both of which are misdemeanors. Johnson declined to comment on the charges. The drug charges had been anticipated since the night of Johnson's arrest, when the marijuana and pipe were found in an eyeglasses case Johnson had had in his pocket. [continues 364 words]
Inside North Dakota
