N.D. HEMP: TIMES ARE A-CHANGING

OUR VIEW: The unlikely crop may earn a place as a prospective
money-maker.

A flower child's in the White House. A pro wrestler's the governor of
Minnesota.

What can North Dakota do to catch up?

Start growing hemp as a cash crop, that's what.

Party on, dude!

File that under the heading, "Who woulda thunk it?" Then "thunk" about
it long and hard. Because the fact is, the flower child's been a
reasonably good president -- judging strictly by the economy, mind
you. The new governor of Minnesota's pumped terrific energy and
excitement into St. Paul.

And the prospect of cross-country motorists in North Dakota, expecting
amber waves of grain, seeing emerald waves of Cannabis sativa instead,
isn't as absurd as it sounds. Hemp has real potential on the prairie,
and in entirely legitimate ways, lawmakers in Bismarck are arguing
("House panel backs bill for industrial hemp," Jan. 22, Page 1B).

All kidding aside, their thinking is persuasive and ought to be heeded
by the state.

Hemp's vaguely wicked air stems from its kinship with marijuana. But
the two are not the same, advocates stress. Hemp has myriad uses, has
been cultivated for millennia and holds so little hallucinogen that a
smoker would merely cough, not fly.

The variety of cannabis that's grown for marijuana, on the other hand,
is ... well, grown for marijuana. The trick for law enforcement would
be to tell the plants apart. Can that be done? Can hemp be grown and
processed into practical paper and paint, without part of the fields
being turned over to the plant's prodigal cousin?

Canada's experience says yes, and that's the evidence North Dakota
needs. Tight controls have helped Canada get a foothold in the world
hemp market. The same could happen here.

The rules would make hemp an expensive crop to grow. Also, residents
should expect that over time, other states would follow North Dakota's
example and erase any one-time advantage our lead position would hold.

But those reasons aren't enough to keep hemp banned entirely. Hemp
never will replace wheat, sunflowers, sugar beets or other North
Dakota mainstays. Instead, it would be an alternative, another blade
for the farmer's windrower. And such diversity is what the state's ag
economy needs.

The very shape of North Dakota defines the word, "square." (Well,
almost.) The state's famous for its lifestyle conservatism; wherever
the practice of wearing nose-rings originated, you can bet it wasn't
in Bismarck.

So, what the heck, then. Let's live a little. Minnesota got Jesse,
North Dakota can grow hemp. Although the thrill might be fleeting,
because it'll be just like us to take what once might have been a
rebellious act and make it into something useful, respected and true.