Natural Environment Blog

Two North Dakota farmers fighting for hemp legalization will continue their fight in the federal appeals court on Wednesday. 

The farmers, who renewed their annual hemp licences almost a year ago, are still not legally allowed to grow hemp because of the federal law.

The lawsuit, which has been funded by Vote Hemp, has cost approximately $100,000 since it began in June last year. 

State Law Says “Yes”, Federal Law Says “No”

Although the state of North Dakota, recognizing the difference between hemp and marijuana, has allowed the farmers to grow industrial hemp, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has a different view.

“The level of THC in the plant doesn’t matter. If there’s any THC in the plant, it’s illegal,” DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney says, referring to the farmers’ argument that industrial hemp contains extremely low levels of THC, and therefore shouldn’t be classified as a drug.

“To get those pieces of stalk that are legal, you have to grow a marijuana plant.”

Case Initially Dismissed

The case was initially dismissed by U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck, N.D in November last year.    

The farmers’ lawyer, Tim Purdon says that they appealed that ruling, hoping for a new ruling that hemp “is not subject to regulation by the DEA and that our farmers aren’t going to be charged with a crime.”

He also says that the district judge should not have dismissed the case without hearing evidence about the differences between hemp and marijuana, adds Washington lawyer Joe Sandler, who will argue the farmers’ case before the appeals court.

To learn more about this case, and to view all court documents, view the North Dakota Case section of the Vote Hemp website.

A bill has finally passed through the senate in Vermont that would allow hemp to be grown in the state.

The bill has been hanging around in one form or another for many years now. And the current version has taken three years to get it to it’s current state.

Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee commented:

My concern with the bill is that it basically requires the federal government to agree with it, and the federal government is not going to agree with it, I don’t want our farmers having drug busters coming in from the feds and making an example. That’s been my concern about this all along. I understand the support for it, but we are still part of the United States. We’re sworn to uphold the Constitution.

After receiving over 150 letters and calls urging him to support the bill, Sen. Sears said he decided to move the bill through his committee after making an amendment to satisfy the above concern. This amendment requires the federal government to change the definition of marijuana. By doing so, there would be a clear distinction between hemp and marijuana.

Source: BenningtonBanner.com

A new bill supporting industrial hemp production in Minnesota has been introduced to House committees.

The bill, authorized by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, has already been given the thumbs up by the House Public Safety and Civil Justice. They voted 7-6 in favor of keeping the bill moving.

Unfortunately, Bob Bushman of the Minneasota Peace/Police Officers Association, isn’t so keen on the idea. He thinks that, legalizing industrial hemp will open the doors to all sorts of drugs being legalized. He’s also concerned that the laboratories that test drugs that have been seized by police, will become over-burdened.

Personally, I doubt that it will open the doors to the legalization of drugs. I mean, what the bill intends to do is make a clear distinction in the law between industrial hemp and drugs. And that’s all that is needed. The reason the law needs to have a clear distinction is because there is a clear distinction between industrial hemp and drugs.

Furthermore, unless drugs share the enormous benefits to the environment that industrial hemp does, it’s unlikely that we’ll see those being legalized any time soon.

As far as the burden on the drug labs goes, I don’t think the burden will be that great. Anyone with a trained eye can tell the difference between industrial hemp and marijuana.