By Alex Felsinger •
March 31, 2009
When a new coal preparation plant decided to begin construction without first securing a permit, Plains Justice with the Dakota Resource Council and local residents jumped at the opportunity to file a complaint against the company.
With the complaint challenging the plant’s construction, Great Northern Power Development withdrew its application for a new coal mine that was to work in conjunction with the plant. But the victory is bigger than one plant — it has repercussions for coal mining across North Dakota.
By Sasha Friedman •
December 18, 2008
Editor’s Note: Sasha is one of the newest additions to the Gas 2.0 writing team. Welcome Sasha!
North Dakota’s fund for helping ethanol producers hedge against fluctuating corn prices is about to run out, and the producers are getting worried.
The fund, paid for in part by farm vehicle registrations, was drained by high corn prices earlier this year, according to the Bismark Tribune. Ethanol facilities operate on very slim margins, amplifying the effect of market turbulence. The goal of the fund, run by the North Dakota Commerce Department, was to create a safety net — $1.6 million per year to be exact — for existing ethanol production facilities and to draw new facilities in as well. Now the fund only has $2.4 million left.
By Melissa Elliott •
December 18, 2008
The Animal Legal Defense Fund has released a new report showing that while animal welfare laws have made great progress in recent years, five states lag far behind.
By Max Lindberg •
May 30, 2008
State Joins North Dakota in Seeking Permission from Feds to Grow Hemp
The Hemp for Vermont Bill was allowed to become law by Governor Jim Hughes on May 29th, without his signature. The bill overwhelmingly passed both the House and Senate several months ago, setting the stage for Vermont’s entrance into the industrial hemp arena.The non-profit advocacy organization Vote Hemp made the announcement, saying the new law regulates growth of industrial hemp by Vermont farmers. The interest in Vermont is for using hemp in food products and bedding for some of the state’s 140,000 cows.
By Max Lindberg •
May 2, 2008
It points up the urgency of Congressman Ron Paul’s latest legislation to decriminalize medical marijuana.
The latest case in point comes from Seattle, where a man was denied a liver transplant, after a University of Washington Medical Center committee denied him a place on the liver transplant list.
His crime? Using medical marijuana, even though it is authorized under Washington state law.
The victim, 56 year old Timothy Garon was authorized by his doctor [...]
By Max Lindberg •
May 1, 2008
Earlier, I had written a story on Rep. Ron Paul’s new legislation that would make medical marijuana legal in states that wish to offer it to patients who are suffering extreme pain. As it stands, six states have legalized the use of marijuana for that reason, but the feds still believe people are using the law as a means to legally receive marijuana, without having an issue with pain.
As a result, federal [...]
By Max Lindberg •
April 28, 2008
Texas Congressman Ron Paul today released a statement urging public support for a House Bill advocating the government stay out of the medical marijuana business and allow state sanctioned clinics the freedom to dispense pot without fear of being raided.
Paul has introduced the “Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act”, H.R. 5842, which would bar the Federal Government from intervening in doctor/patient relationships that violate no state law. This, by the way, is the second legislation co-sponsored by Congressman Paul dealing with the cannabis plant. More on that later.
As a physician, Paul states his position that doctors and patients should make health care decisions, not politicians or federal agents. His legislation would call off the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “dogs” that regularly hassle state-sanctioned clinics and their patients.
By Max Lindberg •
February 19, 2008
Two North Dakota farmers, State Representative David Monson and Wayne Hauge, have taken their fight to legalize hemp farming to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The pair, licensed by the state to grow industrial hemp, filed a federal lawsuit last year, asking that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s ban on industrial hemp farming in North Dakota be lifted. The court dismissed the suit in late November, saying industrial hemp and marijuana [...]
By Max Lindberg •
October 30, 2007
I love David and Goliath stories, and the recent news from North Dakota is just that: two farmers and a publicly funded land grant university sticking it to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). As you know from an earlier article on Green Options , and my subsequent podcast Greening the Golden Years Podcast: Hemp, The North Dakota Story, two North Dakota farmers, State Rep. Dave Monson and Wayne
[...]
By Max Lindberg •
October 18, 2007
Today’s podcast is a follow-up of my earlier article, Opinion: California Governor Nixes Industrial Hemp While North Dakota Moves On. I felt it necessary to further investigate the North Dakota story and help bring you up to date on other activity around the country.
Twenty-eight states have introduced hemp legislation and fifteen have passed legislation; seven, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, West Virginia and North Dakota have removed
[...]
By Max Lindberg •
October 16, 2007
Well, California’s "Fearless Fosdick" Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has again stifled any hope of bringing the industrial hemp industry to California and the United States. Unlike his more forward-thinking and courageous counterpart in North Dakota, Schwarzenegger bowed to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and useless fears that industrial hemp will get you high, and vetoed Assembly Bill 684 which would have allowed a four-county, five-year pilot program of industrial hemp
[...]
