HEMP OUT OF FASHION AT SPRING VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

Necklaces made out of hemp twine are no longer welcome at Spring Valley
High School.

Administrators at the Richland 2 school banned the necklaces this fall,
saying "sources" tie it to the marijuana drug culture.

Hemp is made from the stalk of the cannabis plant. Marijuana is made from
the plant's leaves and flowers.

The hemp ban is part of Spring Valley's school's dress code. That code also
bars students from wearing short-shorts or bag-and-sag jeans, and T-shirts
with designs suggestive of drug, tobacco and alcohol use, violence or sex.

The hemp necklace ban has raised the ire of some Spring Valley students.
They say hemp articles are part of a harmless trend, a sign of creative
self-expression, not drug use or endorsement.

"I make my own (hemp necklaces and jewelry)," said Jennifer Treisch, a
15-year-old Spring Valley sophomore, who added she doesn't do drugs. "I
like the look of natural things, and I see hemp as a strong and natural fiber.

"The rule is really ... pointless. I just feel the administration is
focusing more on enforcing rules than on our education."

Steve Bates, executive director of the state American Civil Liberties
Union, agrees. "It's silly. You could smoke it (hemp) all day long and not
get high."

While other Midlands schools ban offensive clothing, no other district
surveyed Monday knew of a similar ban of hemp products. A Richland 2
spokesman said the hemp issue hasn't arisen at Richland Northeast or Ridge
View, the district's two other high schools.

Some see the ban as another indication of ever-tightening public school
discipline.

Various schools encourage uniforms, ban book bags and enforce
zero-tolerance policies for weapons, violence and substance abuse. Most
recently, a Dutch Fork High School student was expelled for bringing a
Swiss Army knife on a JROTC field trip.

"The authoritarian nature of schools is becoming ridiculous," said the
ACLU's Bates. "There seems to be a phenomenon that if we can control every
aspect of students' lives their grades will go up."

`Related to drug activities.' Hemp does not contain the level of the
mind-altering chemical tetrahydrocannibol (THC) found in the marijuana
plant's leaves and buds.

Federal law does not allow hemp to be grown in the United States. But it is
not against the law to use hemp in industrial products, such as hemp
clothing, paper products, soap, rope and fuel. Manufacturers and retailers
of those products rely on hemp imported from other countries.

Hemp has been the subject of controversy across the country, pitting
farmers who want to grow it as a cash crop against law-enforcement
agencies. They argue the push to legalize hemp is really just a smoke
screen to legalize marijuana.

"Even though we know there are other legitimate uses for hemp, we don't
think it is appropriate for school," said Genny White, Spring Valley's
assistant principal.

So far, the hemp ban applies only to necklaces. Students continue to wear
hemp rings, belts and hemp tennis shoes, made by Adidas. Students also use
lip balm made from hemp oil.

White said the school has not banned other hemp products, in part, because
officials can't identify a hemp-fiber shirt, for example.

"The necklace is just pretty obvious," she said. "We don't go looking for
it, but if it's right in front of you, we deal with it."

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said wearing hemp necklaces is not a
criminal offense. However, school resource officers, deputies placed in
many middle and high schools, are charged with assisting schools in
enforcing dress codes.

"It probably gives the impression that it is somehow related to drug
activities or the drug culture," Lott said of the hemp necklace ban.

That leaders feel that way offends Treisch.

"I feel violated," she said. "I'm being stereotyped as a drug user since I
wear hemp necklaces. I'm not a drug user."

Student Emily Prytherch said the ban is raising an issue many students
hadn't even thought about.

"Everybody wears it, even those people who have never seen drugs," said
Prytherch, also a 15-year-old sophomore.

"They ask, 'What's wrong with it?' If they (the administration) left it
alone, there wouldn't be any problem. They're causing problems by trying to
ban it."

`Really kind of refreshing?' White said two students appealed the ban to
Spring Valley's administrators, presenting well-thought-out arguments. No
other complaints have been heard.

Treisch, one of the students who appealed, said she believes she took a
risk, taking a stand against the policy. But, she said, young people need
to speak up.

"People these days just don't want to stand up for their rights," said
Treisch. "It seems they (adults) think we're just kids who are ... just
going to conform to their rules.

"Well, hemp is an issue I really feel strongly about."

Don McCallister, owner of Loose Lucy's in Five Points, said hemp products
have proven popular at his store.

Hemp twine, the most popular product, costs about $5 for an 80-yard roll,
McCallister said. A finished hemp necklace with beads already on it is less
than $10.

"It's fairly fashionable," McCallister said. "It really does seem to be the
hobby and crafts-making aspects of hemp that make it popular.

"It's really kind of refreshing to see kids wanting to be creative rather
than wanting to just play video games or watch TV."

Copyright 1998 The State.

Checked-by: Richard Lake