To the editor:

The U.S. is perhaps the most ignorant industrial nation on earth prohibiting "free" American farmers from growing the God-given hemp plant (Judge Plans to Rule on Industrial Hemp Motion by End of Month, Nov. 23, 2007), while communist Chinese farmers are allowed to grow the beneficial plant.

It's time to re-introduce hemp as a component of American agriculture.

Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

[end]

A federal judge's decision to dismiss a hemp lawsuit filed against the U.S. government wasn't much of a surprise.

Judge Daniel Hovland dismissed the suit filed by North Dakota farmers Wayne Hauge and Dave Monson, who filed the suit to stop the federal government from prosecuting them for growing industrial hemp.

North Dakota approved regulations last year allowing the growth of industrial hemp, which is used to make a variety of product, including clothing, rope and lotion.

Although state law allows the growth of hemp, the federal government has not changed its stance. The Drug Enforcement Administration considers hemp to be the same as its cousin, marijuana, and therefore is illegal to grow. The federal law does not distinguish between hemp and marijuana because hemp contains trace amounts of the chemical THC, which is found in much heavier amounts in marijuana.

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BISMARCK -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit two North Dakota farmers filed against the federal government in an effort to grow and harvest industrial hemp without reprisal.

Judge Daniel Hovland stated in his 22-page judgment Wednesday that Wayne Hauge of Ray and David Monson of Osnabrock should allow Congress to settle the issue of whether industrial hemp is a legal agricultural commodity or a controlled substance.

Hovland said the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007, introduced in the House of Representatives in February by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was designed to address the current issue. Hovland referred to the act numerous times during a Nov. 14 hearing. It is yet to be debated.

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A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by two North Dakota farmers seeking to end the federal government's ban on commercial hemp farming, saying that the issue needs to be addressed by Congress.

The ruling came down Wednesday in a 22-page decision from Judge Daniel Hovland, who sits on the U.S. District Court in Bismarck, N.D.

In 1999, North Dakota became the first state to endorse industrial hemp farming. In June, farmers David Monson and Wayne Hauge sued to force the Drug Enforcement Administration to issue permits to grow hemp; the farmers had applied for permits in February,

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BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota producers who are thinking of seeding industrial hemp next spring like their Canadian neighbors could be one step closer by the end of November.

After hearing arguments on the industrial hemp lawsuit Nov. 14 in Bismarck, N.D., U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland said he will issue a ruling on the case by the end of the month.

That won't be the final answer however.

Tim Purdon, one of the attorneys for the two farmers who filed the lawsuit - North Dakota State Rep. David Monson of Osnabrock, and Wayne Hauge of Ray - said if the judge rules in their favor, there will other motions that "will be put into play."

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BISMARCK, N.D.--The federal judge handling two farmers' lawsuit against the U.S. government over the right to grow industrial hemp says the matter might be better handled by Congress than the courts.

"Isn't the best remedy to amend the definition of industrial hemp (in federal law)?" Judge Dan Hovland asked during a recent court hearing. "To me, it seems like the easiest solution."

North Dakota farmers Wayne Hauge and Dave Monson want Hovland to bar the federal government from prosecuting them for growing industrial hemp under state regulations approved last year.

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BISMARCK - Arguments by two North Dakota farmers who say they have a right to grow industrial hemp cannot change "unambiguous" federal law prohibiting commercial cultivation of the plant, Justice Department lawyers say.

Farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge also have no more standing to sue than someone who wants to use drugs recreationally, the lawyers said in their response to the farmers' request that a judge rule in their favor without a trial.

Unless the federal Drug Enforcement Administration takes action against the farmers, the government lawyers say, Monson and Hauge "are in the same position as any hypothetical plaintiff who seeks to change federal drug law so that he can grow, smoke and/or sell marijuana free from DEA oversight."

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North Dakota State University has filed a friend of the court motion in support of two state farmers who want to grow industrial hemp.

"It's very, very good to have NDSU support our case," said Tim Purdon, an attorney for farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge.

The two - who have state licenses to grow industrial hemp - want a federal judge to declare that growing it would not violate the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Hemp falls under federal anti-drug laws because it has trace amounts of THC, a mind-altering chemical found in marijuana.

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In The Hemp-Growing World, Hip, Countercultural California Is Eating North Dakota's Dust.

For the second year in a row, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have created state guidelines for farmers wishing to grow hemp. North Dakota passed a similar hemp guidelines law during the 2007 session with bipartisan support from lawmakers, Republican Gov. John Hoeven and Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson.

The law outlines a state permitting process for hemp, which is extensively regulated by the federal government because of its relation to marijuana. Hemp, a coarse fibrous plant with much lower THC levels than its intoxicating cousin, is used to make everything from soap to clothes.

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The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two North Dakota farmers who applied to the Drug Enforcement Administration for permission to grow industrial hemp.

The motion filed this week in federal court in Fargo says federal law does not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana, which can cause mood changes when smoked or eaten. It also says Dave Monson, a state legislator who farms near Osnabrock, and Wayne Hauge, a farmer from Ray in northwestern North Dakota, do not have a case because the DEA has not finished reviewing their applications and they cannot prove serious harm.

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The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has told North Dakota officials it is "unrealistic" for them to expect the DEA to approve industrial hemp production by Sunday.

State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson sums up the DEA response in two words: permission denied.

Farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge in February were issued the nation's first licenses to grow industrial hemp, a cousin of marijuana that falls under federal anti-drug rules even though it does not produce a high. The state licenses are worthless without DEA permission.

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Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson is asking the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to make a decision on industrial hemp licenses for two North Dakota farmers by April 1. The DEA says it won't be rushed.

"To issue any decision after this year's planting season is to decide against the applicants, since these applications are for the calendar year 2007," Johnson said in a letter this week to DEA Administrator Karen Tandy.

Farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge last month were issued the nation's first licenses to grow industrial hemp, a cousin of marijuana that falls under federal anti-drug rules even though it does not produce a high. The state licenses are worthless without DEA permission.

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North Dakota legislators are urging Congress to make it easier for farmers around the country to grow hemp. But the state's congressional delegation won't be rushing to help.

Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, all Democrats, are staying out of the congressional debate over industrial hemp. At issue is whether it should be treated in the same way as marijuana or whether commercial hemp production should be allowed.

The North Dakota House passed two resolutions on the issue this week, urging Congress and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to allow farmers to grow the crop. The state last week issued the nation's first licenses to two farmers seeking to grow industrial hemp.

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North Dakota state Rep. David Monson's phone has been ringing off the hook lately, and he says his computer is swamped with e-mails.

It is the middle of the busy legislative session, but it's Monson's role in a national issue that is attracting so much attention. He's closer than anyone else in the region to actually growing a commercial industrial hemp crop.

Monson has completed all of the necessary paperwork for his state-issued license.

"I filled in fingerprinting, and it was kind of fun doing the GPS positioning for the field," he says. "I've never done that before, so it was kind of interesting."

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The first two North Dakota farmers to be licensed to grow industrial hemp have different plans for their future crops, assuming the federal government allows them to be cultivated.

Dave Monson, of Osnabrock, in northeastern North Dakota, and Wayne Hauge, of Ray, in the northwestern corner of the state, on Tuesday received the first two licenses issued under new state rules for growing the crop.

Hemp can be used to make numerous products, from food to clothing, and Monson said he has received calls from potential buyers as far away as Taiwan. Monson, who also is a state lawmaker, wants to sell both hemp seed and fiber.

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North Dakota issued the nation's first licenses to grow industrial hemp to two farmers Tuesday who still must meet federal requirements before they can plant the crop.

The farmers must get approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which treats hemp much the way it does marijuana and has not allowed commercial hemp production but has said it will consider applications to grow it.

Hemp is a cousin of marijuana that contains trace amounts of the chemical that causes a marijuana high, though hemp does not produce the same effects. The sturdy, fibrous plant is used to make products such as paper and rope.

Six other states -- Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana and West Virginia -- have authorized industrial hemp farming, according to Vote Hemp, an industrial hemp advocacy organization.

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BISMARCK, N.D. - Industrial hemp could easily become a leading alternative cash crop of the future in North Dakota, after all it has been growing wild for decades in the state - so proficiently, in fact, that it has even been classified as a noxious weed.

But producers and ag officials are rediscovering the crop's agricultural value and have been working hard to allow hemp to be grown here.

And beginning Jan. 1, North Dakota farmers may be able to get in on the value-added ag side of the crop as the state will be the first in the nation to issue licenses to farmers to grow industrial hemp next spring.

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North Dakota farmers interested in growing industrial hemp have cleared one hurdle, but there remains a huge obstacle in front of them: The Drug Enforcement Agency.

Farmers may apply for state licenses to grow industrial hemp under rules that take effect next year. But applying for and receiving a state license is no guarantee that a farmer can plant any hemp seed. Federal drug agents must give their approval to the state's plan before anything can happen.

Hemp, a biological cousin of marijuana, contains trace amounts of tetahydrocannabinol, or THC, a banned substance. Because of that, hemp and marijuana fall under the same federal regulations.

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BISMARCK, N.D.-- North Dakota farmers may start applying for state licenses to grow industrial hemp next year but no seed may be sown until federal drug agents approve, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson says.

"We'll see where it goes," said Johnson, who has been pushing industrial hemp as a crop in North Dakota for more than a decade. "Hopefully, North Dakota will be the first state where producers can grow hemp for legitimate uses."

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency remains a major hurdle for would-be growers of marijuana's biological cousin.

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BISMARCK, N.D. -- State rules for growing industrial hemp are close to taking effect, although federal drug agents will have the final say on whether farmers may cultivate it, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued a letter Wednesday saying the proposed rules comply with state law. A legislative committee that reviews North Dakota agency regulations still must go over them before they take effect, Johnson said.

Industrial hemp is a relative of marijuana, but does not have the hallucinogenic chemical that provides a "high" when the leaf is smoked. It is used to produce an assortment of goods, including paper, rope, clothing and cosmetics.

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