Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jan 2000
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Author: Gene Johnson, Associated Press

PLAN TO LEGALIZE HEMP GETS MIXED REVIEWS AT COMMITTEE HEARING

CONCORD (AP) State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Taylor says
legalizing hemp would be a blessing for New Hampshire farmers who have
been hurt by a dwindling demand for hay.

''If they can do it in Canada, then goddamn it let's figure a way to
do it here,'' Taylor said Thursday.

Taylor testified in favor of a bill to let farmers apply for federal
permits to grow hemp, a close relative of marijuana. The bill was
approved by the House this month and now is being considered by the
Finance Committee.

Police and safety officials oppose the bill. They say legalizing hemp
would make it tougher to enforce marijuana laws and could encourage
drug use among teens.

Taylor acknowledged their concerns, but said lawmakers should find a
way to assuage them.

''There appear to be some significant opportunities here,'' Taylor
said. ''But in some way or fashion, these law enforcement people have
got to be made happy.''

Hemp has about 0.3 percent THC, the chemical in marijuana that gives a
high. Marijuana available on the street contains about 15 percent to
20 percent THC, officials say.

Growing hemp is legal in Canada, Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota,
and several other states are considering hemp legislation. The plant
is used in a wide range of products, from clothing to building
materials to skin lotions.

In Canada, hemp farmers clear the equivalent of about $200 in U.S.
currency per acre, making it extremely profitable, said John Howell, a
part-time Tamworth resident who heads a company called Planet Hemp. He
said about 90 percent of the hemp processed in Canada finds its way to
the United States.

''The market is here, so we want to locate the raw material here,''
Howell said.

Taylor said about 350 New Hampshire farmers have expressed an interest
in growing hemp.

Supporters also circulated a letter to the Finance Committee from
Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, a chain of stores that sells
skin-care products.

''Our faith in industrial hemp as the crop of the future means that we
will support the farmers who grow it, in New Hampshire and elsewhere.
In 1999, The Body Shop bought $108,553 worth of hempseed oil. We
anticipate this figure will almost double in the coming year,'' the
letter reads.

Mark Lathrop, a Chesterfield farmer, said Roddick promised to buy his
entire crop of hempseed if the bill passes.

''I'm not even putting my seed in the ground yet, and my harvest has
been sold,'' Lathrop said. ''I'd be able to pay my mortgage. There's a
concept.''

But state Assistant Safety Commissioner John Stephen said any possible
financial benefits would not be worth it.

''Legalizing hemp would create a perception of marijuana legalization
in this state, and that perception would, we feel, lead to an increase
in marijuana use among teens,'' Stephen said.

Stephen said it would also cost the state financially by opening the
door for people caught with marijuana to use the ''It's only hemp''
defense. Prosecutors would then have to test the substance to prove it
is marijuana.

And to do that, the state would have to buy a new $55,000 machine that
could distinguish between marijuana and hemp, and possibly hire
someone to run it, Stephen said.

Berlin Police Lt. Peter Morency questioned the notion that hemp is the
plant of the future. He said worldwide production has dropped 25
percent in the last 30 years.

Committee member Robert Boyce, R-Alton, said the issue isn't about
money at all. He said supporters just want to make it easier to grow
pot.

''This is not a bill about an agricultural product. It's a bill about
marijuana,'' Boyce said.