Pubdate: Sun, 13 Oct 2013 Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) Copyright: 2013 Associated Press Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24 Author: Kristen Wyatt, Associated Press FARMERS HARVEST HEMP REGARDLESS OF LEGALITY SPRINGFIELD, Colo. (AP) - Southeast Colorado farmer Ryan Loflin tried an illegal crop this year. He didn't hide it from neighbors, and he didn't fear law enforcement would come asking about it. Loflin is among about two dozen Colorado farmers who raised industrial hemp, marijuana's nonintoxicating cousin that can't be grown under federal drug law. It was the nation's first acknowledged crop in more than five decades. Emboldened by voters in Colorado and Washington last year giving the green light to marijuana and industrial hemp production, Loflin planted 55 acres of several varieties of hemp alongside his typical alfalfa and wheat crops. The hemp came in sparse and scraggly this month, but Loflin said but he's still turning away buyers. "Phone's been ringing off the hook," said Loflin, who plans to press the seeds into oil and sell the fibrous remainder to buyers who'll use it in building materials, fabric and rope. "People want to buy more than I can grow." But hemp's economic prospects are far from certain. Finished hemp is legal in the U.S., but growing it remains off limits under federal law. The Congressional Research Service recently noted wildly differing projections about hemp's economic potential. However, America is one of hemp's fastest growing markets, with imports largely coming from China and Canada. In 2011, the U.S. imported $11.5 million worth of hemp products, up from $1.4 million in 2000. Most of that is hemp seed and hemp oil, which finds its way into granola bars, soaps, lotions and even cooking oil. Whole Foods Market now sells hemp milk, hemp tortilla chips and hemp seeds coated in dark chocolate. Colorado won't start granting hemp-cultivation licenses until 2014, but Loflin didn't wait. His confidence got a boost in August when the U.S. Department of Justice said the federal government would generally defer to state marijuana laws as long as states keep marijuana away from children and drug cartels. The memo didn't even mention hemp as an enforcement priority for the Drug Enforcement Administration. "I figured they have more important things to worry about than, you know, rope," a smiling Loflin said as he hand-harvested 4-foot-tall plants on his Baca County land. Colorado's hemp experiment may not be unique for long. Ten states now have industrial hemp laws that conflict with federal drug policy, including one signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown last month. And it's not just the typical marijuana friendly suspects: Kentucky, North Dakota and West Virginia have industrial hemp laws on the books. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom