FARM AID -- THE DEA SHOULD GET OUT OF REGULATING HEMP AGRICULTURE.

INDUSTRIAL HEMP IS one of the longest and strongest natural fibers in the
plant kingdom. It is also one of the most versatile plants, with
approximately 25,000 uses - ranging from paper to textiles to cosmetics.
Once deemed an indispensable commodity in the global market, it was replaced
by a multitude of synthetic fibers by the mid-1900s, when it fell out of
favor in the United States because of its relation to marijuana. But, while
industrial hemp does belong to the same species as marijuana, it is a
different variety with a very low THC content. Smoking hemp will definitely
not give you a high, though it will give you a headache.

In recent years industrial hemp has experienced a renaissance. Farmers
throughout the world are growing hemp in countries, such as France, that
have never banned its cultivation, and in countries, such as Canada, that
strictly regulate hemp production to guard against even the most remote
possibility of illicit marijuana production. The United States, on the other
hand, lags far behind. Due to bureaucratic red tape and overzealousness on
the part of the Drug Enforcement Agency, industrial hemp cannot be
commercially grown in the United States

While American farmers are forbidden from commercially growing this crop,
American manufacturers are allowed to import hemp from China and other
nations and to manufacture hemp products.

To address this injustice, a coalition of conservation organizations,
farmers, and businesses petitioned the United States Drug Enforcement Agency
and the United States Department of Agriculture, asking the agencies to
allow the commercial production of hemp in the United States. The second
anniversary of the submission of this petition was on March 23. Deplorably,
the second anniversary passed with no action by the DEA or the USDA on the
petition.

If the DEA and the USDA had promptly acted on the petition, American farmers
could already be producing a commercially viable crop. According to the
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, in 1999, hemp yields averaged 800 pounds
(17 to 22 bushels of grain), grossing $308 to $410 per acre. These figures
compare favorably to the $103 to $137 gross made on canola and wheat crops
per acre.

The DEA and the USDA have decided to impede the development of an industrial
hemp industry in the United States. While the U.S. Controlled Substance Act
allows the import of sterilized hemp seed, oil, grain, and other
derivatives, the DEA blocked a shipment of sterilized industrial hemp seeds
at the Canada-U.S. border in 1999. For example, U.S. Customs requested that
Kenex Ltd., the exporter, recall all of its previous shipments of industrial
hemp, totaling 17 trailer loads worth of oil, horse bedding, granola bars,
and animal feed, or face a minimum $500,000 fine. This seizure was
apparently in response to a newly instituted DEA policy that treats products
containing THC (no matter how small the amount) as an equivalent to the
controlled drug marijuana. After the involvement of the Canadian consulate
in Washington, D.C., and media scrutiny, the recall has been rescinded and
shipments resumed

However, border seizures of various industrial hemp products continue,
making some U.S. companies wary of manufacturing hemp products. The DEA also
actively opposes and lobbies against state efforts to encourage the
commercial production of industrial hemp. According to Agro-Tech
Communications, 16 states introduced pro-industrial hemp legislation in
1999, with nine states actually passing legislation calling for research,
study, or production of industrial hemp.

Hawaii has been the most proactive, passing hemp legislation and obtaining a
DEA permit to grow an industrial hemp test crop. To satisfy the DEA's strict
standards Hawaii has erected a chain-link fence topped with razor wire and a
24-hour infrared security system around its hemp plots - measures which
would make commercial production impractical.

These actions on the part of the United States government are ensuring that
while Canadian farmers prosper from industrial hemp, American farmers are
unlikely to see its benefits anytime soon.

Industrial hemp is not a drug. The DEA's intrusion into the realm of
agriculture is preventing American farmers from growing a crop that has the
potential to help address the global depletion of forest resources, the
harmful effects of petrochemicals, the excessive use of pesticides for fiber
crops, and the economic depression of farming communities.

Concerned citizens should let their members or Congress about this wonder
crop.

On the Web:

North American Industrial Hemp Council: http://www.naihc.org

Full text of the Industrial Hemp Petition:
http://www.essential.org/rca/indhemp.html

Institute for Local Self-Reliance: http://www.ilsr.org