| For Immediate Release
Monday, June 5, 2006
CONTACT:
Adam Eidinger 202-744-2671
adam@votehemp.com
Public Hearing on Hemp Farming
in North Dakota
to Feature Largest Hemp Seed Contractor in
North America
State Expected to License Farmers
to Grow Hemp by 2007
BISMARCK, ND —
The first in the nation to do so, North Dakota's Agriculture
Commissioner Roger Johnson will hold a public hearing
on Thursday, June 15 about rules
expected to be finalized later this year that would
license farmers in his state to grow industrial hemp
under current state
law. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in the North
Dakota Heritage Center, Lecture Room B, located at 612
East Boulevard Avenue in Bismarck. Members of the media
are invited to attend this historic stride towards bringing
back hemp farming in the United States after 50 years
of prohibition. The proposed hemp farming rules may
be viewed online
here.
At the hearing a spectrum of agricultural
interests, including contractors, farmers, market experts
and a certified agrologist, will testify about their
personal experiences growing industrial hemp in Canada
which expects to plant an estimated 40,000 acres this
year.
WHO:
WHAT: Public hearing
on proposed North Dakota Hemp Farming Rules
WHEN: Thursday, June
15, 2006 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: North Dakota Heritage
Center, Lecture Room B, 612 East Boulevard Ave., Bismarck,
ND
In February, Commissioner Johnson, along
with agriculture commissioners from three other states,
met with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials
in Washington, DC to explore acceptable rules on industrial
hemp farming. The official meeting marked a turning
point in the federal government’s relations with
hemp-friendly policymakers who have been routinely ignored
by DEA officials. This is seemingly an about face for
an agency that has threatened to prosecute anyone who
tries to grow non-psychoactive hemp in America.
While North Dakota's proposed rules would
require farmers to secure a permit from the DEA before
their licenses would become effective, there is precedent
for this as the DEA permitted a test plot of industrial
hemp in Hawaii from
1999 to 2003. North Dakota's proposed rules cover commercial
hemp farming and include a number of restrictions to
alleviate law enforcement concerns.
Some highlights of the proposed hemp farming
rules include:
-
Farmers must consent to a criminal
background check
-
To whom and how much the farmer
sells must be documented within 30 days of sale
-
The location of the hemp field(s)
must be provided using geopositioning (GPS) coordinates
-
Planted hemp seed must contain less
than three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC)
Currently seven states
(Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota
and West Virginia) have passed pro-hemp farming laws.
Sales of hemp foods in 2004/2005 grew by 50% over the
previous 12-month period. U.S. retail sales of hemp
products are estimated to now be $250 to $300 million
per year. There are more than 2.5 million cars on U.S.
roads that contain hemp composites. European farmers
now grow more than 40,000 acres of hemp.
More information about industrial hemp
legislation and the crop's many uses may be found at
www.VoteHemp.com
and www.HempIndustries.org.
END
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