N.D. farmers

are being used

Osceola, Ark.

North Dakota's congressional contingent wisely declined to lobby for hemp, no doubt realizing that North Dakota farmers are being used as a front to legalize the ultimate "cover crop," hemp.

To paraphrase Canadian hemp researcher David Marcus: "In order to overcome government reluctance to legalize industrial hemp, it is necessary to present the image of conservative, 'solid citizen' support." What group is perceived as more "solid" than America's farmers, especially North Dakota farmers?

Cover is needed because, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the legalize marijuana (hemp) movement "has largely been spurred by … Jack Herer (marijuana advocate), whose 1985 book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," has been instrumental in reviving interest in hemp and has helped create the grass-roots movement for marijuana reform," that is, legalization.

The 1985 launched legalization movement predated farmer involvement, according to key hemp legalization strategist, Chris Conrad. By 1994, as part of the pro-drug strategy to legalize hemp, farmers had been drawn into the hemp movement. Conrad is quoted in High Times as saying that he and his (marijuana legalization activist) network "linked voters, ecologists, farmers, businesses, doctors and average citizens into an alliance that knows hemp is here for good … pot smokers need to come out of the closet to win their equal rights."

This inclusion of "average citizens, groups and organizations" lines up with Marcus' statement that "… Strong support from business and farm groups is indispensable; support from pro-marijuana interests and what are perceived of as fringe groups is generally counterproductive."

The statements of French hemp expert and research scientist Hayo M. G. van der Werf are being ignored in the push to "sell" hemp as a crop to farmers. Van der Werf said: "(M)any claims (about hemp) are made … many of these claims are inaccurate; some of the overestimation of hemp's benefits may be due to the emotional commitment many individuals have in making this a viable crop."

Neither the case that hemp production provides solid economic benefits, nor that hemp cultivation will not detrimentally affect the enforcement of marijuana legislation has been made.

Would-be hemp farmers are being used.

(McDougal is chair of the hemp committee of Drug Watch International and notes her past positions in the Minnesota Farm Bureau. - Editor)

No reason for

raising hemp

By JOHN COLEMAN

Clifton, Va.

In rejecting the demand for hemp legislation, the North Dakota congressional delegation has recognized the obvious charade by the pro-marijuana legalizers, and this, more than anything else, is a great sign that our nation's legislators finally are becoming aware that they have been swindled in the past by drug proponents masquerading as compassionate advocates for the needs of the sick and dying or, as in this instance, ailing North Dakota farmers.

The fact is that farmers are not ailing but getting wealthy from the weak dollar that makes their exports that much cheaper for foreign markets. Hemp is available and abundant throughout the world and can be purchased elsewhere for a fraction of what it would cost to produce in the United States.

In Europe, hemp farmers receive annual cash subsidies from the European Union, suggesting that European hemp production is unable to compete with cheaper synthetic fibers and imported hemp. Why create a similar welfare state for farmers in the U.S. when cash crops like corn, wheat and soybeans are in high demand around the world and sales of these commodities can benefit our economy and our farmers?

Lastly, the observation that producing hemp will undermine the enforcement of our marijuana laws, which is, of course, why the pro-drug groups support hemp in the first place, is as good a reason as any to keep this genie in the bottle. For those who would dispute this, ask yourself this question: If hemp resembled corn, soybeans or wheat, would we be having this discussion?

(Coleman signs himself as president of Drug Watch International. - Editor)