US appeals court to hear arguments in ND hemp case

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Twin Cities

ST. PAUL, Minn.—An 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a legal dispute between federal drug authorities and two North Dakota farmers who want to grow industrial hemp.

Farmers David Monson and Wayne Hauge (HOW'-ghee) are asking the appeals panel to reconsider their lawsuit against the federal government after a U.S. District Court dismissed it.

The farmers have state permission to grow hemp, but the federal Drug Enforcement Administration treats the crop as a drug and hasn't allowed it to be cultivated.

A nonprofit group called Vote Hemp is funding the farmers' legal case. Lawyers are expected to argue before the panel in St. Paul that hemp is much different from marijuana, even though the two plants are related.

Government lawyers have argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed. They contend the crop the farmers want to cultivate is considered a controlled substance whether it is used as a drug or not.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_10962490

---

Re: Sober North Dakotans Hope to Legalize Hemp Published: July 21, 2007

Excerpt~
As Mr. Monson rolls past his wheat, barley and shimmering yellow fields of canola, he listens to Rush Limbaugh in his tractor. When he is not farming, he is the high school principal in nearby Edinburg, population 252. When he is not teaching, he is a Republican representative in Bismarck, the state capital, where his party dominates both houses of the legislature and the governor is a Republican.

“Look at me — do I look shady?” Mr. Monson, 56, asked, as he stood in work boots and a ball cap in the rocky, black dirt that spans mile after mile of North Dakota’s nearly empty northern edge. “This is not any subversive thing like trying to legalize marijuana or whatever. This is just practical agriculture. We’re desperate for something that can make us some money.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/21/us/21hemp.html



AND ... Hemp Biodiesel: When the Smoke Clears

http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=1434&q=&page=all

[juno jones]

1. K&R for hemp! n/t

[acmavm]

2. The DEA is packed full of assholes and idiots.

[ozymandius]

3. By the same token - hops should be forbidden.

Hop flowers are in the same family as hemp and marijuana. Now if this aspect were part of the discussion to decide which plants are to be banned then we'd see some serious action from the beer manufacturer's lobby.

The FDA's stupidity on this matter burns my brain.

[RadiationTherapy]

10. I have smoked hops and have made hops tea. Hops is definitely "active". nt

[awoke_in_2003]

20. Damn...

I love hops (because I love beer), and now you are saying you can smoke it? Might have to look into it

[wroberts189]

28. I heard you could splice to two plants together... eom

[hobbit709]

11. You can actually graft hops plants

onto marijuana root stock. Guess what happens. You get hops plants with THC content.

[customerserviceguy]

15. Wow, "buzz" beer!

Almost like Drew Carey used to make!

[zeemike]

4. They are bucking up against and industry

A multi billion dollar industry called drug enforcement.
Just think how many jobs would be lost if drugs were decriminalized. And not just in the DEA but drug testing labs and local law enforcement and a cut in Federal money to the state.
I hope they win, but I doubt that he will when so much money is at stake.

[lildreamer316]

6. Don't forget the cotton industry.

If industrial hemp is grown, it could potentially be used for fabrics. It sets a precedent.

[zeemike]

7. Hemp at one time was a major industry.

And not for just ropes but had many uses, and was easy to cultavate....a lot easier than Cotton and cheaper too.

[Lochloosa]

9. Hemp would replace the cotton industry.

The one it would really hurt in the pesticide industry. Hemp does not have many pest.

[harmonicon]

5. what a bunch of bullshit

I hope something is done about this in congress in the next year. For the environment, and for farmers, hemp production should be legal. This is just so fucking stupid.

[pleah]

8. K&R

[daggahead]

12. The plant that could save the world ...

and the DEA is stuck in 1937.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Except that during WW2

the Gov became unstuck by necessity, and over a million acres of hemp was grow for the war effort, the goverenment recruited the farmers to do so. Paid them to do so. Part of how we won the war, but once it was won, they reverted and became restuck.

[awoke_in_2003]

22. It comes down to rope...

for years, the Navy used hemp for rope. They tried to substitute nylon, and that fell on its ass, as nylon breaks down under UV rays. The Navy will always be a big customer of hemp producers, because all other alternatives suck. And while the term "smoking rope" is popular, hemp contains only miniscule amounts of THC.

[muriel_volestrangler]

34. Meh - their use of true hemp is minor

because it tends to rot. Note that manila, aka 'manila hemp', is a different plant. From a Navy manual:

Manila

Manila is a strong fiber that comes from the leaf stems of the stalk of the abaca plant, which belongs to the banana family. The fibers vary in length from 1.2 to 4.5 meters in the natural state. The quality of the fiber and its length give manila rope relatively high elasticity, strength, and resistance to wear and deterioration. In many instances, the manufacturer treats the rope with chemicals to make it more mildew resistant, which increases the quality of the rope. Manila rope is generally the standard item of issue because of its quality and relative strength.

Sisal

Sisal rope is made from two tropical plants that yield a strong, valuable fiber. These plants, sisalana and henequen, produce fibers 0.6 to 1.2 meters long with sisalana producing the stronger fibers of the two plants. Because of the greater strength of sisalana, these fibers are used to make the rope known as sisal. Sisal rope is about 80 percent as strong as high-quality manila rope and can be easily obtained. It withstands exposure to seawater very well and is often used for this reason.

Hemp

Hemp is a tall plant that provides useful fibers for making rope and cloth. Cultivated in many parts of the world, hemp was used extensively before the introduction of manila. Its principal use now is in fittings, such as ratline, marline and spun yarn. Since hemp absorbs tar much better than the hard fibers, these fittings are invariably tarred to make them water resistant. Tarred hemp has about 80 percent of the strength of untarred hemp. Of these tarred fittings, marline is the standard item of issue.

http://www.tpub.com/content/engine/14081/css/14081_367.htm

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. If it could 'save the world', why is it not widely grown in countries where it's legal?

The USA is the only major country with a blanket ban on it; but countries like France grow a little, but somehow failed to be 'saved'.

I don't think it's a wonder plant. It's a useful crop, that's all.

[daggahead]

30. That's a good question ...

Which countries IS hemp legal in?

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

Wow, I just realized how poorly-worded that question was.

Give me 40 lashes for crappy grammar!:spank:

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. Most:

Industrial hemp production has remained legal throughout most of the world. The world hemp fibre market continues to be dominated by many of the low cost producers. China, South Korea, and the Former Soviet Union produce about 70% of the world supply. China alone produces about three fourths of the world supply of hemp fibre. Until the early 2000’s, there has been a steady decline of world acreage.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/hemp/bko02s00.html

And a paper from 1997 from the University of Kentucky:

Many have argued the merits of hemp fiber
and oil -- superior fiber length and strength,
excellent oil quality for both industrial and feed
uses, and a myriad of other applications.
Importantly, processing remains relatively
expensive as compared to other alternatives and
processing technology remains antiquated.
However, new innovative fiber separation
techniques are being tested, particularly in
western Europe.

Despite these claims, world production has
steadily fallen, dramatically since the early
1980s, and is dominated by many low-cost
producers. Hemp fiber production is only
one-fourth the volume of the early 1960s (India,
China and the Former Soviet Union produce
about 70% of world supply) and hempseed
production has fallen by half during this time
period (China alone produces 70% of world
supply). Although the hemp industry is
subsidized in the European Union, production
there remains negligible. Similarly, world hemp
fiber exports have fallen from more than $14 mil
in the early 1960s to currently less than $5 mil.
...
Further, many of the multinationals
purportedly interested in hemp production
(Weyerhauser, Masonite, International Paper
and Inland Container Corporation) are not
confined to the US for investment opportunities.
Industrial hemp production has remained legal
throughout most of the world and the private
sector has been free to invest in production
research and processing facilities.
Multinationals have the capacity to invest in
production and processing facilities all around
the world. Non-existent US industrial hemp
production does not impede their investment
elsewhere. It is notable that foreign investment
in hemp processing facilities in India, China and
the FSU has been small. It is logical to assume
that these decisions were based on prudent
business sense.

If industrial hemp production was permitted
in the US, it is reasonable to assume that
production would be relatively low in early
years (the EU experience bears this out).
Commodity prices can be more volatile in thin
(low volume) markets, creating more market
risk than US farmers might be willing to bear.
Contract production would alleviate some of
that risk. Any price, thus profit projections, for
industrial hemp production must take into
account the effect of changes in both production
and demand on world price.

http://www.industrialhemp.net/pdf/abs_hemp.pdf

[Vinca]

13. Not allowing hemp production is ignorant.

There's a store that sells hemp clothing in town. If I wanted to smoke hemp, I'd buy a shirt.

[awoke_in_2003]

23. Yeah..

but it wouldn't get you far, as hemp does not have much THC in it. Hemps poses the biggest threat to the cotton industry.

[comtec]

25. Um... IIRC industrial hemp - clothing, will KILL you if smoked

just like any other material.

[Vinca]

35. I guess I really do need to use the sarcasm smilie. nt

[comtec]

36. sorry... pet peeve of mine. . . I Want hemp fabrics to become totally legal

and that means legal to grow the plants.
And that means not even joking about being able to smoke them!
I know, I'm sorry, but it's a fine line, and the haters on the right jump over it all the time.
They will only hear hemp... pot ... mmm smokable.... and nothing more.
we have to be sure that it's clear it's NOT usable at all for recreational purposes aside from
paper, clothing, oil, bio-fuel, super oxygen maker, super heat absorber (as a plant), very low maintenance, high yield.

=\ sorry to have snapped...

[Lint Head]

14. The Fed's argument is ridicules .

If it is not a drug then it is by definition not a controlled substance. The concept of the law is controlling 'nothing'.
Why is tax payers money being used to control 'nothing'? :dem:

[amyrose2712]

17. K & R . What a ridiculous waste of money.(the drug war )nt

[pjt7]

19. We can't mess around anymore, with a crop

that is as usefull as Hemp. Just 10 miles North in Canada they are enjoying a very sucessfull business.

Make this legal & let's grow our economy.

[14thColony]

21. I wonder...

if hemp is still seen as a commercial threat by the same corporation(s) that got it outlawed in 1937. Allegedly hemp paper was a threat to DuPont's chemical woodpulp paper business and hemp fiber needed to be eliminated to create a market for DuPont's new Nylon synthetic fiber.

If this stands then they need to start a grassroots "Ban Demon Hops" campaign.

[Holly_Hobby]

24. Hmmmm....

"The farmers have state permission to grow hemp, but the federal Drug Enforcement Administration treats the crop as a drug and hasn't allowed it to be cultivated."

So do States have rights or not? Autonomy or not?

The DEA is interfering in the pot initiative in Hawaii in the same manner:

http://donttasemeblog.com/2008/11/hawaiian-police-dea-intend-to.html

"The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency won't change its approach in the light of the initiative.

"In a nutshell, we're going to continue to enforce the drug laws, which includes marijuana," said Tony Williams, DEA assistant special agent in charge, speaking from Honolulu. He said the focus will remain on those who cultivate marijuana and distribute narcotics.""

[Lautremont]

26. George Washington grew hemp.

And when he came home after a long day in the fields, Martha would have a big fat bowl waiting for him. That's what I understand from watching Dazed & Confused, anyway.

[wroberts189]

27. "We’re desperate for something that can make us some money.”

welcome to the club


Vote Dem next time.

[brentspeak]

29. I didn't see anything in the article which indicated that haven't voted Democratic

[High Plains]

31. There is no excuse for banning domestic hemp production.

It doesn't get anybody high, it looks different from marijuana, it's a wonderful crop. Hemp is a victim of the DEA's culture war.

US cops claim they are too stupid to be able to tell the difference; that's their main argument. Funny, cops in Europe, China, Canada seem to be able to deal with this.

[DU GrovelBot]

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