N. DAKOTA ISSUES HEMP-GROWING LICENSES

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.