North Dakota preparing to grow industrial hemp

[Judi Lynn]

12-05-2006: news-state

North Dakota preparing to grow industrial hemp
By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press Writer

David Monson plans on being one of the first in line to apply for a license to grow industrial hemp legally in North Dakota.

Monson is a state representative from Osnabrock and a farmer who watches his Canadian neighbors grow the crop just 25 miles north of his farm. Hemp production has been legal in Canada since 1998, after 60 years of prohibition.

Monson said it's time for North Dakota to cash in on the crop.

"We know it will grow here," Monson said.

North Dakota farmers may start applying for state licenses to grow industrial hemp on Jan. 1, but no seed may be sown until federal drug agents approve, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson says.

"We'll see where it goes," said Johnson, who, like Monson, has been pushing industrial hemp as a crop in North Dakota for more than a decade. "Hopefully, North Dakota will be the first state where producers can grow hemp for legitimate uses."
(snip/...)

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/12/05/news/state/125002.txt

[donsu]

1. US oil barons will pitch a fit - will try to disappear Monson

wishing him well, growing hemp is a sane thing to do

[TlalocW]

2. Not only them

But he'll have to be on the lookout from attacks from the logging industry too.

TlalocW

[htuttle]

3. If they are waiting for approval from federal drug agents, it will never happen

They've already said they aren't going to allow the production of industrial hemp in the US.

[AndyTiedye]

4. We NEED Industrial Hemp! It Could be the Only Way Through Peak Oil

There is no other crop like it.

[Parche]

5. hemp

What is industrial hemp used for???????????????

[donsu]

6. every thing - you'd be amazed - read up on it

nt

[Hippo_Tron]

7. North Dakota is pretty damn progressive, I can't understand why it is a red state

[Judi Lynn]

8. North Dakota Farmers May Grow Hemp Soon

North Dakota Farmers May Grow Hemp Soon

Dec 5, 2006 12:03 PM CST
North Dakota is high on hemp.

Beginning January first, farmers may start applying for state licenses to grow industrial hemp.

But there's a catch, and it's a really big one. The federal government makes no distinction between hemp and marijuana.

Legally, growing hemp is the same as growing pot. State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson says they hope to persuade the feds to allow hemp as a crop.

He says hemp can be used in everything from rope to cosmetics. State officials note growing hemp is legal just a few miles to the north, in Canada.
(snip/)

http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=5769606&nav=ZolHbyvj

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

North Dakota's hemp-growing rules take step forward, though federal drug agents must sign off
By Dale Wetzel
ASSOCIATED PRESS

12:31 a.m. November 16, 2006

BISMARCK, N.D. – State rules for growing industrial hemp are close to taking effect, although federal drug agents will have the final say on whether farmers may cultivate it, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said.
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued a letter Wednesday saying the proposed rules comply with state law. A legislative committee that reviews North Dakota agency regulations still must go over them before they take effect, Johnson said.

Industrial hemp is a relative of marijuana, but does not have the hallucinogenic chemical that provides a “high” when the leaf is smoked. It is used to produce an assortment of goods, including paper, rope, clothing and cosmetics.

Industrial hemp cultivation is legal in Canada and other countries, but it is banned in the United States, a situation that Johnson and North Dakota lawmakers have been working to reverse. Johnson and other state agriculture officials met with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials last February in Washington, D.C., to discuss the issue.

North Dakota farmers who want to grow industrial hemp must undergo a criminal background check, provide their fingerprints, and let law enforcement officials know the exact location of their fields, the proposed Agriculture Department regulations say.
(snip/...)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20061116-0031-farmscene-hemprules.html

[B Calm]

9. federal drug agents will never give the ok on whether farmers may cultivate it,