PROPOSAL AIMS TO MAKE HEMP A LEGAL CROP

New Mexico's next big cash crop?

Advocates of a bill (HB582) endorsed by a House committee Tuesday say it
should be hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant but without pot's
psychoactive qualities.

They say the weed can be made into paper, food, fuel, fiber, construction
materials, bird seed, cattle feed, cosmetics and automotive parts - and
might yield $10 million a year for farmers in New Mexico.

But their cultivation crusade could be stymied by an amendment tacked on to
the bill by the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee before it
voted 5-3 to pass the measure on Tuesday.

The amendment stipulates that licenses to grow hemp in New Mexico would be
granted only in accordance with federal laws and regulations.

"I certainly don't want to support legislation that puts us at odds with the
(U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) and federal government," said Rep.
Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, who proposed the amendment.

Federal law considers hemp the same as marijuana, an illegal drug.

Yet Mike Weber, legislative director for the Delta-9 Coalition - an advocacy
group for legalizing marijuana - said "very few people could survive"
inhaling the amount of hemp smoke it would take to get a person stoned.

A dozen people spoke in favor of legalizing hemp Tuesday. When nobody rose
to speak in opposition, the hemp fans broke into applause, and one man with
long hair and a full beard chanted "grow hemp, grow hemp."

Some legislators appeared reluctant to support the measure because of the
makeup of its supporters - a large contingent of pro-marijuana types, with
little representation from agricultural interests.

"I have some concerns that we don't have any farmers here," said Rep. Andy
Nu=F1ez, D-Hatch, who is a farmer.

Advocates, however, assured the committee that farmers would quickly embrace
the new crop once their eyes were opened to its possibilities.

"I'd just like to say, we're ready to go," said Richard Storey, a Navajo
Lake resident and representative of the New Mexico Industrial Hemp Growers
Association.

Rep. Ray Begaye, D-Shiprock, said the Navajo Nation Council has passed a
resolution supporting hemp production, and the Navajo Nation's Shiprock
Chapter is interested in starting a cultivation project.

North Dakota passed a law in 1999 to legalize hemp, but the matter remains
tied up in lawsuits against the federal government. Hemp is also legal in 31
countries.