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.

Rural Vermont’s Director Amy Shollenberger is quoted as saying,

“The Hemp for Vermont bill is another step toward legalizing this important crop for farmers. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn’t allow this crop to be grown. Looking at the Canadian experience, hemp provides a good return for the farmer. It’s a high-yield crop and a great crop to mix in with corn.”

Shollenberger went on to say:

“The Vermont law is significant for two reasons. First, no other state until now has followed North Dakota’s lead by creating real-world regulations for farmers to grow industrial hemp. Second, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont is Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, as well as a member of the Committee on Agriculture – relevant committees that could consider legislation. We also have a friend at the USDA in new Secretary Ed Schaffer who signed North Dakota’s hemp bill as Governor. I plan to visit Washington, DC and try to figure out what Congress and the Administration intend to do.”

Vermont is not a large producer of corn, growing an average of 90,000 acres of corn each year. Hemp, according to the article, would provide an excellent rotation crop.

The next step is to convince the federal government to leave farmers in Vermont alone and allow the production of industrial hemp.

Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp, says:

“Vermont’s federal delegation can now take this law to the U.S. Congress and call for a fix to this problem of farmers missing out on a very useful and profitable crop. North Dakota farmers who want to grow hemp per state law are currently appealing their lawsuit in the federal courts. The real question is whether these hemp-friendly state congressional delegations feel compelled to act.”

A resolution is currently sitting in a congressional committee, awaiting action this year. HR 1009, the “Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007.” Should it die in committee, a similar measure would have to be introduced once again in the new session of Congress when it convenes next year.

If the court rules in favor of North Dakota farmers, can Vermont be far behind? And what about California, whose governor vetoed a bill that would have allowed farmers in four counties to grow industrial hemp?

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.

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.

He cited the plight of K.K. Forss, a resident of Minnesota, who suffers pain from a ruptured disc in his neck. Forss is unable to work or attend church due to the debilitating pain. $18,000 a year was paid by Medicare each year on various medications that were useless.

Then, Forss took a chance and tried marijuana, illegal in his state, and found it helped him regain 38 pounds he had lost, calmed muscle spasms and helped him sleep. If he could continue using cannabis for his pain, Forss believes, according to Rep. Paul, that he’d be able to work occasionally and attend some church services.

The Congressman cites a study by Scientists at the University of Calfornia at Davis that says cannabis demonstrates significant relief of neuropathic pain. Twelve states have passed legislation allowing marijuana, under certain conditions, according to Paul, but those clinics, physicians and patients are still under fire from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In summary,. the Congressman says,

“The bottom line is that K.K. Forss should be treated as a free American. Mr. Forss is one of many who would like to use marijuana medicinally because it helps him. Politicians and bureaucrats have no right to interfere”.

INDUSTRIAL HEMP

Congressman Paul is also co-sponsor of H.R. 1009, calling for the legalization of industrial hemp as an agricultural product. Hopefully, these two bills will begin to chip away at the DEA and it’s stranglehold on the issue of industrial hemp and medical marijuana.

Two North Dakota farmers have taken their case to a U.S. Court of Appeals Court in an effort to force the DEA into a “hands off” position when it comes to industrial hemp cultivation. In case you haven’t heard, industrial hemp is a lousy smoke, resulting in a bad headache and no high.

Of course, this action will not lead to legalizing recreational marijuana, but it will sort out the differences, allow the cultivation of an amazingly diverse agricultural product and promise medical relief for those who would benefit from marijuana.

But right now, the Feds have been striking out at state-sanctioned marijuana clinics, stating in most part that it’s just another way to dispense illegal drugs.

Hats off to Congressman Paul, and North Dakota State Representative David Monson and Wayne Hauge, both farmers, who are trying desperately to put the DEA’s feet to the fire.

Vote Hemp

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.

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."