WOODY HARRELSON HEMP CASE RETURNED TO LEE DISTRICT COURT

Frankfort - Actor Woody Harrelson's efforts to legalize hemp hit a snag
yesterday.

The three-member state Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Harrelson's
case should be sent back to Lee District Court, which previously found that
the state law outlawing marijuana is too broad. The actor was cited in Lee
County in June 1996 for marijuana possession after he planted four hemp seeds.

"The appellate ruling is kind of a win for us," said Harrelson's attorney,
Charles E. Beal II of Lexington. "We don't know yet if we will appeal this
to the Kentucky Supreme Court to try to get some ruling more quickly on the
state law." If the case is not appealed to Kentucky's highest court, it
would go back to Lee District Court, and the case would start anew. The
high court could review the state's marijuana law and decide on its
constitutionality.

Lee County Attorney Tom Jones said yesterday that the plans to ask the
Supreme Court to review the appellate court ruling. "I'm very disappointed
that the appeals court did not rule on the state law," he said.

Hemp proponents claim the plant has a wondrous future in medicine, fiber,
fuel and food, but opponents contend it's difficult to differentiate from
marijuana.

Harrelson argues that the state law outlawing marijuana possession is
unconstitutional because it makes no distinction between the plant that
contains THC, which gives marijuana smokers their high, and its industrial
cousin, which contains minute amounts of the drug. Lee District Court found
in January 1997 that the state law was too broad. But it also left
unanswered a question about whether the seeds planted by Harrelson were
capable of germination or producing plants that produced marijuana.

Jones appealed the district court ruling, which was upheld by Lee Circuit
Court.

The Court of Appeals said there is no provision for the prosecution to
appeal an adverse ruling by a district judge.

"We appreciate that this case involves issues of significant interest to
the parties and to the public at large," Judge William Knopf said. "It is
not this court's intention to cause undue delay in the adjudication of this
case upon its merits."

Checked-by: Richard Lake