Pubdate: 31, March 1999 Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Copyright: 1999 Star Tribune Feedback: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/userguide/letform.html Website: http://www.startribune.com/ Forum: http://talk.startribune.com/cgi-bin/WebX.cgi Author: Conrad deFiebre HOUSE PANEL DUMPS HEMP BILL AFTER HEARING CRIME CONCERNS After hearing from Minnesota's top federal narcotics official that there's no difference between marijuana and its fiber-crop cousin, a House committee Tuesday voted down a bill to allow the University of Minnesota to conduct research into industrial hemp. "As far as our laws are concerned, hemp, marijuana, whatever you want to call it, it's the same plant," said Tim McCormick, head of the Minneapolis office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. "An illegal drug under a different name is still an illegal drug." He said any move to promote hemp production could compromise efforts to stem increasing marijuana use by young people. Even hemp raised for paper, rope, clothing, and other fiber products may contain enough of marijuana's active ingredient, THC, to produce a high, he said. A broader bill to license Minnesota farmers to grow demonstration plots of hemp overwhelmingly passed the Senate earlier this month. But Rep. Rich Stanek, a Minneapolis police captain and leading opponent of legalizing hemp, said senators didn't hear from McCormick before voting. Stanek, R-Maple Grove, heads the House Crime Prevention Committee, which voted 10 to 7 against the hemp bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Dehler, R-St. Joseph. Dehler said university research could lead to THC-free hemp and a much-needed new rotation crop for Minnesota farmers. Dehler said he was disappointed over the panel's action and might try to amend the hemp issue to another bill. - --- MAP posted-by: Rich O'Grady