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Dear Reader,
Sometimes it is a little bizarre to think
that getting to the point where we can farm
industrial hemp in the United States requires
little more than overcoming the objections of
law enforcement and the drug policy wonks in
our government. Our opposition simply does not want
to talk about economic development and
agricultural policy.
"We try to base our positions on science and
reality," as I was quoted in the story "Governor
Vetoes Second Hemp Bill" in the Capital
Press Agriculture Weekly. We have them
beaten in those two arenas, so they wield
their authority and power to unfairly
influence the media and state and federal
legislators into believing just about any
fictional storyline that they want to tell.
Last month, California Assemblyman Chuck
DeVore (R-Irvine) was quoted
as saying "there are going to be some practical
lessons learned from North Dakota that show
this is not the boogeyman to law enforcement
that some people try to make it out to be."
The issue of hemp farming has never been a problem
for law enforcement in North Dakota. Every piece of legislation that has been put
forth in the past decade has passed overwhelmingly.
In an interesting turn of events, just before oral
arguments next week in Bismarck, North Dakota State
University (NDSU), a publicly-funded land grant
university, has taken the unprecedented step of
submitting an amicus brief in
support of the two North Dakota farmers trying to grow
hemp there. The legal case is funded entirely by Vote Hemp,
thanks to contributions from supporters like you.
Please make a
contribution
to Vote Hemp today. Your donation to our Hemp
Farmer Licensing and Legal Support Fund will
help North Dakota (and soon, we hope, other)
farmers overcome the unreasonable roadblocks
that have been placed before them.
We need and truly appreciate your support!
Best Regards,
Tom Murphy
Weekly News Update Editor
| Hemp for the Hemp-less |
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Tania Gladstone Enjoys a Hemp Pretzel. Photo by
Mario Tama/Getty Images.
By Josh Clark
The Sunday Paper
November 4, 2007
In 2000, Americans spent $11 billion on marijuana. As
many as 13 percent of Atlantans (including the metro
area — can't forget the suburban kids) smoke
pot. Those are stunning statistics. But while marijuana
usually bogarts the spotlight, lately its buzz-kill cousin
hemp is getting its moment in the sun, thanks to a
lawsuit filed by two North Dakota farmers against the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The farmers, Wayne Hauge and Dave Monson, were
granted licenses by the state to grow hemp for
industrial use. The only problem is that hemp falls
under federal guidelines for controlled substances.
So, without an exemption, each time the farmers ship
hemp across the state border, the feds — in
the form of the DEA, for example — will
confiscate or burn their crops. Also, Monson (who is a
Republican state legislator) and Hauge [could] both
face serious jail time.
Since a Congressional measure to remove hemp
from the purview of the Controlled Substances Act
(CSA) has been indefinitely stalled, the problem may
come down to a question of states' rights. Though
trafficking across state lines poses a problem, the
state could conceivably protect the farmers' crops
— after all, North Dakota already issued the
licenses to grow the hemp. The case, which will get a
hearing in federal court on Nov. 14, may set a
precedent that encourages hemp farming elsewhere.
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| Hemp — The Smart Alternative |
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By Emma-Kate Knezevic
The Epoch
Times
October 23, 2007
When taking a closer look at the numerous
uses of hemp — nature's strongest, most
durable
plant fiber — it is a surprise this
environmentally-friendly fiber isn't utilized
on a more commercial basis.
As a society that now openly embraces the
realism of environmental consequence, green
campaigns are popping up everywhere we look.
Is it possible the use of hemp could play a
part in saving our planet?
Colin Buckler of G.R.E.E.N. Hemp believes so.
Mr. Buckler became involved with the hemp
industry after seeing "how cotton growing
practices destroyed valuable rich land."
G.R.E.E.N. Hemp, which stands for Global
Revival of Environmental Economic Nations,
has been producing hemp products in Australia
since the late 1980s.
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| Hemp Debate Ignites between DEA and Academia |
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By Clarisse Douaud
NutraIngredients-USA
October 31, 2007
The battle over the right to farm hemp for
food purposes rages on in the U.S., with North
Dakota State University submitting an
amicus curaie brief in support of a lawsuit filed
by two farmers against the DEA.
North Dakota's Dave Monson and Wayne Hague
filed a lawsuit in June to end the DEA's (U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration) ban on
state-regulated commercial hemp farming in
the U.S. Commonly associated with marijuana,
hemp seed has been repeatedly banned for
production in the country.
However, with about 25 percent protein, whole
hemp seed is second only to soybean in terms
of complete protein content and is therefore
of interest to functional food manufacturers.
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Hip on Hemp |
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Kristin Davis
By Mary Sasa
Minnesota Women's
Press
November 2, 2007
Kristin Davis' green lifestyle has its roots
back in high school. She could no longer eat
the juicy pot roasts her mother had prepared.
She called the sight of chicken veins and
fatty meat "unbearable," and decided to be
vegetarian. "I'm a strict vegetarian and lazy
vegan," she laughed.
Growing up in the farmlands of Maple Grove,
she naturally transitioned into a "green" way
of living, and as a fashion designer, her
clothes prove it. Davis is hip on hemp, and
recently started working full time in her
home-based clothing business, Hemp Queen.
Davis designs all of the apparel she sells on
the Hemp Queen Web site, at
events and in a
few boutiques and co-ops.
Designs come easily for her. When she's
exercising on the treadmill, her brain is
flooded with ideas. "If I just had time to
bust out half the stuff I'm thinking," she
said. Davis wants to design more, so her next
step is finding people to help her sew.
[More...]
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