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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 to smoke pot to relieve abdominal pain, ease nausea and help him eat. Garon was suffering from hepatitis C, which he says he contracted as a teenager by sharing needles with what he called “speed freaks”.

He died one week after being denied a place on the transplant list.

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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 agents have raided clinics and arrested physicians and patients.  Rep. Paul says his new legislation will stop the harassment of innocent people.

I thought you’d like to hear the Congressman talk about the legislation, in his own words.

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Image: www.goodwillhinton.com

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.

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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 are the same, a contention the DEA will not consider changing.

According to a release from Vote Hemp, the appeal asks the court to rule in favor of the farmers, allowing the State of North Dakota to regulate the growth of industrial hemp under it’s existing laws.

Hemp farming in America has been banned by the DEA for 50 years, even though, according to the release,

“Scientific evidence shows that industrial hemp, which includes the oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis that would be grown pursuant to North Dakota law, is genetically distinct from the drug varieties of Cannabis, and has absolutely no use as a recreational drug”.

A copy of the appeal is available in a PDF file at the Vote Hemp website.

Several other states, most notably California, passed legislation to allow cultivation of industrial hemp, but have been unable to get past the DEA’s stubborn refusal to change it’s stance on the subject.

California legislators approved a bill, as we stated, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the legislation, repeating almost word for word the DEA’s position on the subject without leaving open a door to confront the DEA as the North Dakota farmers have done.

Way to go, Arnold.

Now comes North Dakota State University, with a current student body of around 12,000, filing an amicus brief in support of the two farmers. And NDSU has its own bone to pick with the DEA: an almost unbelievable snub of the small school.

In 1999, according to a news release from Vote Hemp, the university applied for permission to grow non-drug industrial hemp to create varieties best suited for the North Dakota climate and soil conditions. The DEA, according to the release, has chosen to ignore completely the 8 year old request. How’s that for big brother arrogance?

The DEA still holds that industrial hemp, almost completely bereft of the hallucinogenic compound that produces a "high," can be used as a drug. I read somewhere that smoking industrial hemp would produce nothing more than a bad headache.

According to the news release,

Gold can hypothetically and has in some instances been extracted from seawater, but the minimal concentration makes it technically and economically inefficient and commercially non-viable to do so. There are trace opiates in poppy seeds consumed on bagels, that could also be hypothetically be concentrated; but just as with industrial hemp is not a practical source of drugs for the illicit market

So what’s the big deal, DEA?

The farmers’ case will be heard in federal court on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, in Bismark, North Dakota. A press conference will follow, and I’ll have an article and hopefully an interview that same day.

In any case, let’s hear it loud and clear for the "Davids" of this world who aren’t afraid to stand up and cry "foul." It’s time someone put the DEA’s feet to the fire. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California could have set up the same scenario by signing a bill that passed through the state legislature, asking for approval to grow industrial hemp in four California counties. Arnold obviously didn’t have the stomach for a possible showdown with the DEA, and vetoed the publicly supported legislation. Strange, too, because Schwarzenegger has been a big proponent of environmentalism, but, on the other hand had the temerity to tell a columnist that "marijuana is not a drug, it’s a leaf."

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 barriers to its production or research. Of those five, only North Dakota has set into motion a state regulatory system administered by the state’s agriculture department. It placed into law strict guidelines concerning the cultivation and harvesting of hemp seed and oil, and a licensing process that makes it completely legal under not only North Dakota Law, but federal law as well, to grow industrial hemp and harvest the sterilized seeds and oil for sale in the marketplace.

But no matter what they’ve done, it’s still a catch-22 situation. The farmer’s intent doesn’t matter in the eyes of the DEA, plant one stalk of industrial hemp and the DEA can charge you with growing and possessing a controlled substance, fine you, and possibly take away your property.

Two North Dakota farmers, State Representative David Monson and Wayne Hauge have done something no one else has apparently done in the country, sue the DEA, asking it to make a distincting between industrial hemp and marihuana.

I spoke with the attorney who filed the suit in Federal Court in Bismark, North Dakota, Tim Purdon, a member of the Vogel Law Firm in that city. He explains the lawsuit.

Other sites of interest:

H.B. 1009 in PDF

Vote Hemp

Washingtonwatch

In his veto message to the Assembly, he again stated, as he did before, that "Under federal law, all cannabis plants, regardless of variety or THC content, are simply considered to be ‘marijuana,’ which is a federally regulated controlled substance." He said signing of the bill "would give legitimate growers a false sense of security and a belief that production of ‘industrial hemp’ is somehow a legal activity under federal law." To me, that’s an insult to the intelligence and integrity of the agricultural community in California. He also suggested that enacting such a law could strain law enforcement resources and cause "significant problems" with drug enforcement in the state.

In all fairness, he’s right: that’s the law as written, back in 1938. I’ll refer you to my story on hemp and marijuana of May 10th, "Green Myth Busting; Hemp is Marijuana."

So let’s move forward. Mr Schwarzenegger doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to the feds and force the issue, as has the state of North Dakota. That state’s government set a strict set of rules concerning the growth of industrial hemp, and licensed farmer Wayne Hauge to plant and harvest hemp seed. The DEA stonewalled the application long enough so that Mr. Hauge was unable to plant a crop this year. As a result, Mr Hauge and State Representative David Monson filed suit against the DEA, asking for a declaratory judgement separating industrial hemp from marijuana as long as the industrial variety contains less than .3% THC, the psychoactive agent in marijuana. The DEA has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying DEA policies can only be reviewed by a federal appeals court, and reiterated that federal law does not distinguish between industrial hemp and its cousin, marijuana. That action is still languishing in the courts.

Governor Schwarzenegger has loudly proclaimed his support of environmental issues over the years, but iced this one with a whimper. I’ve said it before: there’s a lot more to this hemp issue than just the fear of increasing marijuana production in the US. There must be some incredibly powerful lobbies intimidating Congress enough to not even touch the issue, when production of industrial hemp can bring so much to the American lifestyle. I refuse to believe it’s that simple, besides, there seems to be enough pot to go around right now, it’s coming across our borders by the ton and I suspect there’s still plenty of "home grown" cannabis to fill in for the few busts law enforcement makes during a year.  But, let’s give the devil his due: the Governor has just signed into law several bills aimed at cleaning up the state’s environment.

That law needs to be changed, the North Dakota lawsuit against the DEA should go forward, and the federal government should listen to its citizens, something I fear has been lacking for several years now. Be sure to read the story at the Environmental News Network website, and roam the links to learn more about hemp.

As for Arnold, I’ve never liked his movies.