North Dakota State University has been waiting nearly a decade for federal permission to grow industrial hemp, but university officials say it could cost them more than $50,000 to install 10-foot-high fences and meet other requirements.

NDSU officials are not rushing to decide on a proposal from the Drug Enforcement Administration that would seem to pave the way for hemp research in North Dakota.

The proposed "memorandum of agreement" was delivered by DEA officials last month to Burton Johnson, an associate professor in NDSU's plant sciences department.

"We're going to take a look at it. There's a significant cost that would be involved in compliance with it," said Rick Johnson, a special assistant attorney general who represents the university. "We haven't put an exact dollar figure on that (but) we're pretty sure it would probably be over $50,000.

"We'll try to get a handle on (costs)," Johnson said. "Then, of course, we've got to sit down and discuss where that money would come from."

Rick Johnson said he plans to meet with Burton Johnson; Ken Grafton, NDSU's dean of agriculture; and D.C. Coston, NDSU's vice president for agriculture and university extension.

The seven-page document from the DEA calls for various security measures, including a 10-foot-high, 10-gauge-wire mesh fence around the plants, and an alarm system. It says that under the conditions specified, "the application for (permission to grow hemp) will be granted."

Burton Johnson said NDSU wants more information.

"I think it's more like it's opening a window a little bit, rather than a door" for hemp research, Johnson said. "When you 'open the door' that implies you're in. I don't know that that's necessarily the case here."

NDSU has been required by state lawmakers to study industrial hemp as an alternative crop. Officials have been trying for eight years to get DEA permission. Hemp, which can be used in numerous products from rope to lotion, is considered a controlled substance under a federal law that does not distinguish it from its cousin, the illegal drug marijuana.

Rick Johnson and other officials believe the new DEA proposal was prompted by a lawsuit against the agency filed by two North Dakota farmers who want to grow industrial hemp under state regulations approved last year.

Even though a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last week, it focused attention on NDSU's effort get federal permission for hemp research. Johnson filed a brief with the court supporting the farmers, and the matter came up during a court hearing on the lawsuit.

Before that happened, DEA officials "hadn't shown up (on campus) for eight years," Johnson said.

DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney has declined comment on the proposal other than to say the ability of an institution to ensure security is a big factor when the DEA considers whether to allow it to produce a controlled substance.

The DEA has issued such licenses in the past, including one to the University of Mississippi to grow bulk marijuana for research, according to the Justice Department.

U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland, who presided over the farmers' lawsuit against the government, questioned Justice Department attorney Wendy Ertmer during a Nov. 14 court hearing about the length of time it was taking the DEA to give NDSU an answer.

Ertmer told the judge she could not discuss details of NDSU's case because it was pending. But she said the fact that the DEA has issued such licenses in the past shows, "This administrative process is not futile."

Rick Johnson had said in court documents that NDSU was being required to spend money on security measures without any assurance that DEA would ever approve the hemp research project. He said the language in the new memorandum appears to provide better assurance than the DEA has offered in the past.

David Bronner, president of the Hemp Industries Association, said in a statement that he was pleased with the DEA proposal given to NDSU because it might finally allow research.

The nonprofit lobbying group Vote Hemp also was happy with the DEA proposal.

"This could be a really good thing for us," spokesman Adam Eidinger said.

NDSU is taking a go-slow approach. Even if it gets federal permission for hemp research, a crop could not be planted until spring, Burton Johnson said.

"I don't think we're going to jeopardize being able to do something in May by taking our time now," he said.