HEMP LEGALIZATION ATTEMPT

Woody Harrelson's attempt to have Kentucky courts recognize a legal
distinction between marijuana and industrial hemp is going to have to start
all over again.

The Court of Appeals on Friday sent Harrelson's case back to Lee County
District Court, where he was first cited for marijuana possession after he
planted four hemp seeds in June 1996. Before his trial began, Harrelson
argued that the statute outlawing marijuana possession was unconstitutional
because it made no distinction between marijuana plants and their
industrial cousin, which contains minute amounts of the drug THC.

The district judge agreed that the statute was too broad, but left
unanswered a question about whether the seeds planted by Harrelson were
capable of producing marijuana plants.

The appeals court said prosecutors appealed the judge's decision
prematurely and it's up to the district court to decide whether the seeds
were illegal.

From Mercury News wire services