4 May 2006 @ 00:40, by Raymond Powers
State's first hemp farming rules aimed at clearing federal hurdle
By James MacPherson, Associated Press
Grand Forks Herald - Grand Forks, ND
May 3, 2006
BISMARCK, N.D. - State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson is
proposing rules that he hopes will make North Dakota the first state
to allow commercial hemp cultivation and quell law enforcement fears
about the biological cousin of marijuana.
Johnson acknowledges it's an uphill battle.
The rules would require a criminal background check on farmers who
want to grow hemp. The sale of hemp and location of the hemp fields
must be documented. And the farmer must get a permit from the Drug
Enforcement Administration.
Hemp contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannobinol, or THC, a banned
substance, and it falls under federal anti-drug rules, said Steve
Robertson, a DEA special agent in Washington.
The DEA does not have the authority to change existing federal law,
Robertson said.
"It's very simple for us: The law is there and we enforce the law,"
he said Wednesday. "We are law enforcement, not lawmakers."
The state rules would be "contingent on the federal government
changing its mind," Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said. The
likelihood of that is "very small," he said.
Johnson and other proponents say hemp is safe because it contains
only trace amounts of the mind-altering chemical. Industrial hemp
would be an alternative cash crop for North Dakota farmers because
it's used to make food, clothing, cosmetics, paper, rope and other
products, they say.
Johnson said his department crafted the state's industrial hemp rules
after he and agriculture commissioners from three other states met in
February with DEA officials in Washington. They discussed what would
be required to allow industrial hemp production, Johnson said, and he
believes North Dakota's proposed rules address those requirements.
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"We think this is reasonable," Johnson said. "We've bent over
backward to make sure people won't be growing marijuana in these
fields."
A public hearing on the proposed rules is slated for June 15 in Bismarck.
Farmer Doug Goehring of Menoken, a Republican who is challenging
Johnson's bid for re-election in November, said he also supports hemp
production in North Dakota.
"I think it has some potential in North Dakota as another alternative
crop," Goehring said. Hemp already grows wild in the state, he said.
Hemp was produced in North Dakota and several other states during
World War II, with encouragement from the federal Agriculture
Department, Johnson said.
Goehring said the U.S. Navy buys hemp from other countries for such
things as mooring lines for ships. "We're not even allowed to provide
it to our own government, which is a little disappointing," he said.
Goehring, who grows wheat, soybeans and corn, said he likely would
add hemp to his rotation, if allowed.
"I do have a couple of spots where I probably would," he said.
"It can grow in some pretty raunchy soil, in some pretty tough
conditions," Goehring said.
State Rep. Dave Monson, R-Osnabrock, the state House assistant
majority leader, said he was pleased Johnson was able to wangle a
meeting with DEA to discuss hemp rules. He called it a "huge step."
Johnson, a Democrat, said hemp is not a bipartisan issue. "There has
never been any political debate in North Dakota about it," he said.
Adam Eidinger, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, the lobbying arm of the
hemp industry, said seven states, including North Dakota, have passed
pro-hemp farming laws. He said North Dakota is the first state to
actually craft rules to license hemp farmers.
"We're very supportive," Eidinger said of the state's efforts.
Hemp production is legal in Canada, where it's expected to be planted
on about 50,000 acres this year, Eidinger said.
Monson was the primary sponsor of North Dakota's first bill to
authorize research on industrial hemp, which was approved by the 1997
Legislature. It directed North Dakota State University's agricultural
experiment station to do research on industrial hemp as an
alternative crop.
Burton Johnson, an agronomist and professor at NDSU, said the $55,000
that NDSU received from the state has not yet been used. He said NDSU
is awaiting permission from DEA.
The money would be used for a security system, including fencing and
an alarm system, around the 2-acre test plot, he said.
The security system likely is overkill because hemp does not contain
enough of the substance that gets pot smokers high, Roger Johnson
said. It is needed to satisfy the DEA, he said.
"It doesn't have any recreational value," Burton Johnson said of
hemp. "But it looks just like marijuana."
Rogene Waite, a spokeswoman for the DEA in Washington, said NDSU's
request for hemp research is under review.
She said federal drug laws don't make a distinction between marijuana
and hemp because they both contain THC, a controlled substance.
Essentially, she said, "the university is requesting to grow marijuana."
Copyright © 2006 Knight Ridder
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