First Hemp Licenses Issued
Part one of Associated Press writer Blake Nicholson's two-part series on North Dakota's hemp efforts.

Licensees Have Different Plans
Part two of Associated Press writer Blake Nicholson's two-part series on North Dakota's hemp efforts.

SEED MONEY: Entrepreneur Says Hemp Deserves Another Look
Phil Landesberg of the Central Penn Business Journal takes a look at Hempzels and businessman (and HIA Director) Shawn Patrick House.

Are Hemp and Lime Carbon Neutral?
More information about industrial hemp as a building material in the UK.

Hemp Decision Expected Soon
Story and video from KXMB-TV in Bismarck, ND.

Hemp Firm to Continue Planning Battle
The UK's largest hemp processing firm, Essex-based Hemcore Ltd., continues to look for a site for its new processing plant.

China: Shanxi Invents Knitting Technology of Pure Hemp
Shanxi Greenland Textiles Co. Ltd. continues to push hemp knitting technology to new levels.

By McClatchy Newspapers
The Billings Gazette
February 11, 2007

BISMARCK, ND Ñ North Dakota state Rep. David Monson's phone has been ringing off the hook lately, and he says his computer is swamped with e-mails.

It is the middle of the busy legislative session, but it's Monson's role in a national issue that is attracting so much attention. He's closer than anyone else in the region to actually growing a commercial industrial hemp crop.

Monson has completed all of the necessary paperwork for his state-issued license. "I filled in fingerprinting [sic], and it was kind of fun doing the GPS positioning for the field," he says. "I've never done that before, so it was kind of interesting."

By Carolyn Tyler
KGO-TV ABC Channel 7
February 19, 2007

Two California lawmakers have launched a new campaign to legalize hemp. It's a challenge to federal drug laws from two men on opposite sides of the political spectrum. But they have a common goal Ñ to help the state's struggling farmers. Charles Meyer is a third generation California farmer. His land is in the Central Valley town of Stratford, where he grows the highest quality cotton and wheat. He would like to cultivate another crop.

Charles Meyer, California farmer: "I looked for the crop that had versatility. Hemp is one of the most versatile we can grow."

Hemp comes from the same plant as marijuana. Both are Cannabis sativa, but hemp has only trace amounts of THC, the stuff that gets you high.

Assemblyman Mark Leno (D - San Francisco): "A good analogy would be industrial hemp has about as much THC content as the poppy seeds on your bagel have opium."

By Karen Miltner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
February 20, 2007

Every now and then we run across a food product that summons the reaction: "I didn't know you could eat that."

Hello, hemp.

In the natural foods aisles, hemp is making headway in breads, oil, nut butters, granola, nutritional shakes and protein powders. The tiny white-shelled [sic] seeds Ñ which can also be used in cooking Ñ have been hailed by Supermarket Guru newsletter editor Phil Lempert as "one of the hottest food trends of 2007."

Nutritionists hail hemp as a high protein source (its makeup is about 33 percent) and a solid booster of vitamin E and trace minerals. But hemp's most impressive nutritional note is its essential fatty acids profile, which includes omega-3s and omega-6s in an optimal ratio. (Studies link an overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids and a shortfall of omega-3 fatty acids as a trigger to a multitude of health woes, including heart disease).

By Mary Clare Jalonick, AP
Bismarck Tribune
February 15, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC Ñ North Dakota legislators are urging Congress to make it easier for farmers around the country to grow hemp. But the state's congressional delegation won't be rushing to help.

Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, all Democrats, are staying out of the congressional debate over industrial hemp. At issue is whether it should be treated in the same way as marijuana or whether commercial hemp production should be allowed.

The North Dakota House passed two resolutions on the issue this week, urging Congress and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to allow farmers to grow the crop. The state last week issued the nation's first licenses to two farmers seeking to grow industrial hemp.

By Jordan Smith
The Austin Chronicle
February 9, 2007

It's been more than a month since North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson penned a request to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, asking that the agency waive individual federal registration for qualified farmers in his state who gain approval to farm industrial hemp, and state officials have yet to hear a peep out of DEA Administrator Karen Tandy Ñ apparently, Tandy hasn't even found the time to acknowledge Johnson's correspondence.

Still, the cold shoulder from the feds hasn't fazed the North Dakotans, who are used to long, cold winters. With or without Tandy and the federal narcos, North Dakota has continued moving forward with its plans to license individual state farmers to cultivate industrial cannabis Ñ the non-narcotic cousin of marijuana that is easy to grow, and actually rejuvenates the soil Ñ and on Feb. 6 issued the nation's first-ever hemp farming licenses to two farmers there, at least one of whom is ready to push Tandy and her pals into federal court in order to win the right to cultivate the environmentally-friendly crop. Indeed, with the results of a criminal background check in hand, the state this week licensed its first farmers Ñ fourth generation North Dakotan Dave Monson, who also serves as a Republican state representative and Assistant House Majority Leader, and farmer Wayne Hauge.