POTHEADS RAID COLLEGE'S EXPERIMENTAL HEMP PLOT

KEMPTVILLE -- Attracted by the tell-tale serrated leaves, pot pilferers
have been raiding an experimental patch at the Kemptville College of
Agricultural Technology only to find the plants don't pack a punch.

It's a research plot investigating industrial hemp, cannabis' kissing but
platonic cousin. Hemp contains so little of THC, the active ingredient in
marijuana which provides the "high," there's no perceptible impact on
anyone who mistakenly smokes it.

After police were called and campus security boosted, several hemp patch
raiders were chased off, said researcher Wendy Asbil, adding it now appears
that "unsolicited visits" have stopped.

"There's not much left there now," Asbil said. "Most of the foliage is gone."

NEGLIGIBLE THC

The raiders either didn't see or didn't believe posted signs describing the
plants as hemp, noting the negligible THC content and warning that they've
been treated with chemicals.

What turned potheads onto the hemp plot? That's a bit of a puzzle, said
Asbil, noting the one-acre site is on college grounds, out of sight from
most passersby.

"You'd think they'd figure out we can't grow marijuana in a public place."

It all might be funny except for the fact the thieves were ruining the
research, Asbil said.

Removal of some plants could skew results designed to assist farmers in
growing hemp for its fibre and seed, which are used to make everything from
clothes to cooking oil.