Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - North Dakota farmers apply again for hemp licenses

North Dakota farmers apply again for hemp licenses

Feb 01, 2008 - 09:05:09 CST

By BLAKE NICHOLSON
Associated Press Writer

Two North Dakota farmers who received the nation's first state licenses to grow industrial hemp have been granted renewals, though the question of whether they will ever get a crop in the ground will be decided largely by forces outside the state.

David Monson and Wayne Hauge had state licenses in hand last year but never got approval from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. This year, they are hoping for a favorable ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a change of heart by DEA or action by Congress. None is likely by spring planting season.

Hauge, who farms near Ray in northwestern North Dakota, said Thursday that he paid his $150 license renewal fee even though he sees no possibility of seeding industrial hemp this spring.

"We just wanted to keep the licenses going," he said.

Early last February, the North Dakota Agriculture Department granted commercial hemp farming licenses to Hauge and Monson, a state lawmaker who farms near Osnabrock in northeastern North Dakota. Hemp, a cousin to the illegal drug marijuana, can be used in products ranging from paper to lotion. Hemp proponents say that unlike marijuana, it does not produce a high.

Hauge and Monson last year suffered several setbacks to their efforts to be the first in the country to legally grow industrial hemp.

The licenses were granted under state regulations that required the farmers to get approval from the DEA. That approval never came, though the agency says it is still processing the applications.

Monson said it probably is unrealistic to think the DEA will change its position. "That's why we're in the courts," he said.

The farmers sued last year with the financial help of the nonprofit lobbying group Vote Hemp, asking U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland to bar the federal government from prosecuting them for growing hemp under state rules.

Hovland threw out the lawsuit late last year, saying the matter is best left to Congress. The farmers are now appealing to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Members of North Dakota's congressional delegation say there is little chance Congress will change the legal definition of industrial hemp to explicitly distinguish it from marijuana.

State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said that under a change in North Dakota law, this year's state hemp licenses are not subject to DEA approval. However, he said Monson and Hauge still would be opening themselves up to prosecution if they plant a crop, and he is not encouraging them to do so.

"Unless there is a change in federal law or the federal courts intervene or the DEA itself changes policy, I believe it would be risky to plant industrial hemp," Johnson said.

News > State

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Comments

Yeah Right... wrote on Feb 6, 2008 7:46 AM:

" Hemp vs. Pot = NOTHING. Growing the two near each other cross pollinates the THC plant and cancels out the THC. Take a class on horticulture ya dumbasses, this is exactly why americans are sick of government offiials for claiming so much knowledge yet they never use it. "

Mr. Bubble wrote on Feb 1, 2008 8:09 PM:

" Ed Schafer to the rescue! "

Fooled Again! wrote on Feb 1, 2008 6:01 PM:

" Here is a case of "Fool Me Once, Shame On You - Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me!" The D.E.A. is once again pulling the wool over these two N.D. farmers faces. The D.E.A. will never change their attitude about the distinction between Hemp and Marijuana until our U. S. Congress changes the laws which will ultimately force the D.E.A. to change their agenda about Hemp. "

Allen wrote on Feb 1, 2008 5:37 PM:

" Yeah it's still dumb.

You don't "fight" the system, or get it changed by doing stuff that is illegal. Regardless of the silliness of it being illegal.

Get the definition of pot and hemp separated, through congress if necessary. Then you don't need a permit to grow hemp.

It is even stupider that ND thinks it can permit something that is not allowed under federal law. DON'T WASTE MY STATE TAX DOLLARS ADMINISTERING AN ILLEGAL PROGRAM! That is what the Civil War was fought over. The ability of the federal laws to reign supreme as the law of the land. Slavery was only the poster child of that issue. The real logic behind the war was whether or not there would be federal authority over the states. "

To Allen wrote on Feb 1, 2008 11:49 AM:

" Is it "dumb" to fight for something you believe in? This is how things get changed in our country, someone has to stand up and put themselves on the line...otherwise things just stay the same.

The DEA's steadfast refusal to deal with this issue, their stubborn, hardheaded resistance to recognizing the difference between hemp (no THC) and Pot (the addictive THC containing drug) is what is dumb...they are not doing their job, and someone needs to stand up to them, which is just what these two farmers are doing! "

Home of the Sioux wrote on Feb 1, 2008 10:37 AM:

" Allen, it's not "dumb" of the farmers to put down the $150 renewal fee because if they don't, the DEA will just throw their applications away that they are supposedly "still processing." Once you start a fight like this, it is in the best interest of America to keep fighting. But I do agree with your assertion of the DEA being "dumb" on this issue as it is very clear to anyone with sensible logic that there is a clear distinction between hemp and marijuana! "

Allen wrote on Feb 1, 2008 8:42 AM:

" I wonder if dumb could ever be overused in describing either these farmers who waste their money applying for permits that will never be given, or the DEA's steadfast refusal to differentiate between hemp and pot?

"

SRahn wrote on Feb 1, 2008 8:18 AM:

" This issue is beginning to need public knowledge as to the benefits, profits and loss to individuals and the State of North Dakota. I've not yet seen anything advertised supporting the Hemp production, only the DEA, Courts and so forth have taken the initiative in "INFORMING" the public about the Bad forseen in some mysterious crystal ball that they only possess. Any State producing Hemp or it's byproducts should be able to provide an "INFORMED" and "KNOWLEDGEABLE"
assessment report that any laymen ould understand. If this is a valuable product and a verifiable need exists, I myself foresee infomercials on every available television station. If not the whole issue is moot and dead like it already is. "

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