Pubdate: Sat, 08 Sep 2001
Source: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)
Copyright: 2001 Columbia Daily Tribune
Contact:  http://www.showmenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/91
Author:  Steve Friedman, Tribune Staff

NORML TOUTS HEMP BIODIESEL

Fuel Latest Strategy In Legalization Fight.

It looks like refined pond algae. The bright green liquid that emits a 
nutty smell resembles a brightly colored sports drink more than a fuel 
additive.

Enter the next highly touted use for industrial hemp: biodiesel. Supporters 
are bringing their message to Columbia this weekend about the benefits of 
burning hemp-based fuel in diesel engines.

With her tan 1984 Volkswagen Quantum nearby, Terri Zeman yesterday 
afternoon triumphantly held up a plastic container with liquid hemp inside. 
Zeman, secretary of the St. Louis region's chapter for the National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, gave a rapid-fire 
presentation about the environmentally friendly qualities of hemp biodiesel.

"We're closer than we have ever been in changing laws because more people 
are finding out the practical qualities hemp has," she said.

Hemp use for products such as clothes, ship sails and ropes has a history 
dating back more than 2,500 years. Hemp was also a well-used textile 
product in the formative years of the United States, but it fell out of 
favor as a raw material when the nation banned marijuana production in the 
1930s.

It's legal to own products made from industrial hemp in the United States, 
but it's not legal to grow the crop. Zeman's hemp oil, for example, was 
processed in a plant in Ohio from seeds grown in Canada.

Industrial hemp legalization has largely met with opposition at the federal 
and state levels in recent years, even though the plant is a 
non-hallucinogenic cousin to marijuana.

In the final weeks of his administration, President Bill Clinton maintained 
the federal government's ban on the cultivation of industrial hemp. Only 
one state, Hawaii, allows a test plot for hemp production, but it hasn't 
permitted full-scale production. Hemp bills before Missouri lawmakers in 
recent years have drawn intense opposition from the state's largest law 
enforcement agency, the Missouri Highway Patrol. The patrol opposes 
legalization mainly because marijuana and industrial hemp plants look 
nearly identical.

"We believe the few people actually growing hemp for legitimate purposes 
would be over-saddled by people growing marijuana," said Capt. Chris Ricks, 
patrol spokesman. "Our position still is that the problems created by 
legalizing hemp far outweigh the economics it would create. We believe that 
hemp is not a viable product."

If industrial hemp were legal, hemp-based biodiesel could get support from 
the biodiesel industry, said Jenna Higgins, spokeswoman for the National 
Biodiesel Board in Jefferson City. But the organization is not depending on 
hemp to be a large-scale contributor to biodiesel production.

"We're glad this group is out there creating awareness, but hemp-based 
biodiesel now is really just a novelty, while biodiesel itself isn't a 
novelty," Higgins said.

Biodiesel production nationwide has increased from 5 million to 20 million 
gallons within the past fiscal year. About 90 percent of the biodiesel in 
the United States is made from soybeans; the other 10 percent comes from 
recycled restaurant grease.

Biodiesel's clean-burning properties have attracted 100 major bus fleets 
nationwide, including Bi-State in St. Louis, Higgins said. A 1998 federal 
study found biodiesel reduces carbon-dioxide emissions by 78 percent 
compared to standard petroleum diesel.

Hemp supporters plan to display two hemp biodiesel cars outside The Blue 
Note tonight during a benefit concert sponsored by the University of 
Missouri-Columbia's chapter of NORML and the Missouri Cannabis Coalition.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager