EX-CIA CHIEF'S BACKING OF HEMP RAISES EYEBROWS AMONG OFFICIALS

WASHINGTON - James Woolsey, the former CIA director, wants to make one
thing clear: He isn't fighting for the right to get stoned.

Lately, some friends have wondered. Woolsey, now a Washington
corporate lawyer, recently got his first lobbying client, the North
American Industrial Hemp Council, a group angling to legalize hemp.

The multipurpose fiber comes from the same plant family as marijuana.
But hemp lacks enough of the psychoactive substance that gets pot
smokers high. What it has, say farmers, environmentalists and
agribusiness interests, is the potential to become a
billion-dollar-a-year crop, producing paper, clothing, lotions and
even car dashboards. Several countries have produced profitable hemp
harvests for years.

"Before I explain, I get smiles from friends," Woolsey said in a
recent interview. "This isn't about trying to legalize marijuana, though."

But Woolsey and the council, a group of about 100 agribusinesses,
farmers and scientists, are in for a battle. The White House and the
Drug Enforcement Administration are against domestic hemp farming,
arguing that hemp plants look so similar to marijuana that allowing
farmers to grow them would complicate drug-fighting efforts. And they
dismiss talk about hemp's potential as a substitute for oil, cotton
and paper as part of a campaign to bring the country closer to
decriminalizing pot.

"Only chemical analysis allows you to tell the difference between a
pot plant and hemp plant," said Bob Weiner, a spokesman for the
administration's Office of National Drug Control Policy. "You can't
tell the difference from a helicopter, and that makes it a nightmare
for eradication."

For states, the administration's opinion effectively blocks hemp
planting. Last month, North Dakota became the first state to
decriminalize hemp farming. But the measure is purely symbolic until
the DEA changes its position.

Hemp's drug rap could be hard for even Woolsey to beat. Not even Vice
President Al Gore, who fancies himself a forward-thinking
environmentalist, will endorse it. And the weed is avidly embraced by
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the
country's foremost pot lobby.

NORML acknowledges that anyone smoking hemp will get a headache, not a
high; in fact, the pollen from hemp reduces the potency of marijuana,
rendering it worthless to drug dealers. Nonetheless, NORML leaders are
delighted to have an establishment figure such as Woolsey in hemp's
corner.

"As Americans grow more accustomed to seeing hemp growing as an
independent crop, it's going to be a little harder for the government
to pull this 'reefer madness' approach," said Keith Stroup, NORML's
executive director.

To Woolsey, a partner at Shea & Gardner, the hemp battle is about
developing hemp oil as a substitute for petroleum, which could enhance
the country's energy security by making it less dependent on foreign
suppliers.

NORML is welcome to join his side, he said, though its presence on his
team borders on absurd: "Hemp is nature's own marijuana eradication
system."

Agriculture experts hail hemp's short growing cycle - about 120 days -
and the versatility of its fibers. Environmental groups say hemp is
good news for forests because it's a new source of paper and building
materials.

Woolsey must convince Congress and key administration officials that
reasonable precautions could build a booming domestic hemp
industry.