JUDGE PLANS TO RULE ON INDUSTRIAL HEMP MOTION BY END OF MONTH

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota producers who are thinking of seeding
industrial hemp next spring like their Canadian neighbors could be
one step closer by the end of November.

After hearing arguments on the industrial hemp lawsuit Nov. 14 in
Bismarck, N.D., U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland said he will issue a
ruling on the case by the end of the month.

That won't be the final answer however.

Tim Purdon, one of the attorneys for the two farmers who filed the
lawsuit - North Dakota State Rep. David Monson of Osnabrock, and
Wayne Hauge of Ray - said if the judge rules in their favor, there
will other motions that "will be put into play."

The current case the judge will rule on is the DEA's motion to
dismiss the producers' lawsuit.

Adam Eidinger, communication director for VoteHemp (a single-issue
group that wants U.S. farmers to be able to grow industrial hemp),
said the court "asked all the right questions" for a ruling that
could go in favor of the two producers.

"I felt good about how it went," Eidinger said. "We were thankful the
court gave us as much time as he did. That wouldn't happen in
Washington, D.C."

During arguments, Hovland said he doubted the two North Dakota
farmers would ever receive a license from the DEA to grow hemp,
citing the status of an application to the DEA by North Dakota State
University to cultivate hemp seeds to find varieties that suit the
Northern Plains as required by the ND State Legislature. NDSU has
been waiting eight years for the DEA license but has never gotten one.

DEA attorney Wendy Ertmer countered that there had been two cases of
the DEA granting university licenses for marijuana research - one to
Hawaii and one to Mississippi. She didn't, however, know the
specifics of either case.

Ertmer added that there "could be any number of reasons" why the
application was taking so long. However, she was not able to state
those reasons, saying the only time frame requirement for the DEA to
respond to any application is the initial 60 days.

Hovland said, "Why doesn't the DEA deny the application so we can
move on from here? In my view, I don't see any realistic prospect
that the DEA will issue (a license to the farmers)."

Attorney Joe Sandler, who argued the case in court for the two North
Dakota producers, said what makes this case different than any other
case where farmers wanted to grow hemp was the state license.

"North Dakota is the first and only state with a regulatory system in
place for cultivating industrial hemp," Sandler said.

The state has not only issued the producers a license to grow it, but
has passed laws ordering the state ag department and the attorney
general to regulate it, he said.

The only part of the hemp plant that would leave the farmer's field
would be the seed, stalk, or oil - parts which are used to make
consumer products.

Eidinger later said that there are no flowers on the industrial hemp
plant, anyway, as there are with a marijuana plant because it is
pollinated. The growing season is different so the hemp will produce
seeds, not flowers.

Industrial hemp in North Dakota would have to have less than .3 of 1
percent THC (rendering it non-psychoactive).

"That's the lowest amount of any country growing industrial hemp in
the world today," Sandler told the court.

The judge asked if there would be "enforcement nightmares" from
regulating industrial hemp.

Sandler said it was unclear why the DEA was concerned about
industrial hemp growing in North Dakota since none of the parts
containing THC would ever leave the farmer's field.

The judge asked Ertmer if she knew about a House bill introduced in
Congress that would redefine marijuana to exclude industrial hemp.
That bill would essentially remove hemp from the controlled
substances regulation.

Ertmer said she had no idea of the status of the bill, stating that
since hemp contains a small amount of THC, it is a controlled substance.

Sandler told the court there had been no hearings on the House bill,
and added changing a law of this kind in Congress would likely take a
long time.

Eidinger later said the reason the bill is languishing in the House
is because Congress is waiting to see what happens to the case in North Dakota.

Ertmer told the court during arguments that the two producers
shouldn't be able to move forward on a lawsuit until after they had
grown hemp and were criminally prosecuted by the DEA.

"They have to open themselves to a crime to challenge the DEA?" the
judge countered.

At a later interview, producers Monson and Hauge talked about the
many commercial endeavors possible for industrial hemp. Monson said
his neighbors to the north in Canada who grow hemp are still reaping
a $200 to $300 profit per acre over traditional crops.

Two years ago, Monson spoke at a winter conference in Winnepeg, where
he found out that Canada was willing to sell U.S. farmers its hemp seed.

They don't see the U.S. as competition because of the amount of
possibilities for hemp - such as rope and clothing. Currently, the
U.S. can import hemp products, but can't grow it.

"If we could grow it, right now there's a number of businesses that
could use it. We could supply a niche market," Monson said.

Monson added he had some good crops on his farm this year, but knows
hemp would produce better because it grows tall and crowds out weeds.
Diseases are not really a problem with hemp, either.

Monson said he suffers almost every year from scab in wheat.

"Wheat that should have had yields of 60 to 80 bushels this year were
down to 40 to 45 bushels," he said. "We had some very good crops but
we're not getting the yields because we're too wet."

Fortunately this year, the scab was early enough that it didn't
affect the sampling, Monson said. He said he didn't get a discount
for his wheat at the elevator, mainly because wheat is in short
supply throughout the world.

Monson said industrial hemp would also be good as a biomass crop for
ethanol plants. "We need more biofuel with the price of fuel," he added.

With hemp not an option right now, Monson said he introduced a bill
this year in the state House that would "advance switchgrass as a
biofuel." Other states are using corn stover, but North Dakota would
be an ideal state to grow switchgrass in, he added.