SOME SAY HEMP PRODUCTS SEND WRONG MESSAGE

[Photo: model in head-to-toe hemp + paper: CAPTION: "Some say hemp is a
versatile crop. Others call it an evil weed. Whatever it is called, it's in
more places than you think. Everything that this model is wearing and
holding is made from industrial hemp: the hat, shirt, jacket, skirt, socks,
shoes and journal .... even the purse, teddy bear and keychain."]

Nestled among the lotions, oils and soaps on a shelf at the Body Shop on the
Kansas City's Country Club Plaza is a 2-foot display that's hard to miss: An
illustration of a familiar-looking leaf, Cannabis sativa L., otherwise known
as hemp.

Reactions from customers have been mixed -- including one woman who began
crying after she rubbed a smidgen of the hemp lotion on her hands. "She just
freaked out," clerk Micah Schuler said. "She was rushing around saying, 'I
need water! Where can I wash my hands?' She said her company did drug
testing and she didn't want to be fired."

That customer had nothing to worry about, said manager Peggy McEwen, who
explained that the hemp products have negligible amounts of Delta-9
Tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. In
May, the British-based company began selling products made from hemp.

"I was concerned too, when I first heard we would be carrying this line,"
McEwen said. "But I, was misinformed. I'm a parent. And as a parent you
certainly don't want to promote drugs."

The controversy over hemp seems to be growing as fast as wild ditch weed on
back-country roads. As hemp appears in everything from BMW brake pads to
clothing to veggie-burgers and beer, consumers face mounting contradictory
information.

What hemp is -- a versatile cash crop or an evil weed -- depends on whom you
ask.

Is it marijuana? All marijuana is hemp, but not all hemp is marijuana, said
Paul Mahlberg, a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington and a
molecular biologist who has studied Cannabis for 30 years.

"Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant genus, just like sweet corn,
field corn and popcorn come from the same plant genus," he said. "But the
strain of industrial hemp" -- used in consumer products -- "has a much lower
concentration of THC."

Low THC means that the plant has high concentrations of cannabidiol, which
is antagonistic to the mind-altering properties of THC. In other words,
smoking a hemp plant with low THC would produce a strong headache -- and
that's all. But it is impossible to verify THC levels without a chemical
analysis, Mahlberg added.

Industrial hemp is cultivated to encourage a woody stalk, so it is densely
planted and often grows to 16 feet. The plants are harvested within 100
days. Marijuana is cropped to promote a bushy plant with bigger leaves. It
is harvested after 190 days.

Hemp advocates insist marijuana is a distant cousin to industrial varieties.
But the Drug Enforcement Administration just says no. "Hemp is marijuana,
period," said Shirley A. Armstead, a special agent and public information
officer in the St. Louis DEA office. "Ditch weed[sic,dpw] is marijuana. We
do not distinguish between the two. Our Cannabis eradication program is
about eliminating marijuana."

Industrial hemp advocates distance themselves from recreational marijuana
users. In fact, any hemp organization that even hints of supporting
recreational use is denied entry to the North American Industrial Hemp
Council, a group lobbying to change current DEA restrictions on growing
industrial hemp.

Twenty-five countries, including Canada, England, France, Germany and China,
currently produce industrial hemp. Both the North American Free Trade
'Agreement and "the General Accord on Tariffs and Trade recognize hemp as an
agricultural crop. All members of the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations
permit hemp cultivation -except the United States.

"In the United States we are living on an island of denial, surrounded by a
sea of acceptance," said Erwin Sholtz, chairman of the North American
Industrial Hemp Council. "The rest of the world says yes to growing
industrial hemp, But we stick our heads in the sand and say no, The federal
government has to say it's marijuana because the minute that it's proved
otherwise, their ditch weed eradication program goes out the window... right
along with their money,"

To Leawood, Kansas policeman Mike Pelger, it's more complicated than that.
When Pelger, who is also a DARE (drug abuse resistance) officer, sees
third-graders wearing hemp jewelry, he sees a society sending the wrong
message to children.

Pelger said he has arrested students for marijuana use who often were
wearing hemp products. Using a hemp product is a step away from advocating
marijuana's recreational use, he said.

"There are organizations on the Internet that are promoting hemp where you
can click on their next site and learn how to roll a joint," he said.
"Companies advertise hemp products by playing up the drug aspect with lots
of visuals. That makes it a real attention grabber. There are plenty of
people who buy this stuff because they think it's cute.

"This controversy is hard for adults, it's even more confusing to kids," he
said. "Hemp products make it very difficult when you're teaching about the
dangers of drug use."

Some advertisers do play up the drug aspect. At the Body Shop, the Hemp
Handprotector package says it "softens your hands without short-term memory
loss." Hemp 3 in 1 Oil is promoted as "the best moisturizer in the world and
we promise you won't get the munchies." Hemp Soap: "No buzz, great sudz."

The Mill Creek Brewery in Westport sells a beer called 420 Hemp Ale. Kira
Pinsky, a clerk at Gomer's Fine Wine & Spirits in Kansas City, Mo., said
that she has noticed many young people buying hemp beer there as well.

"There does seem to be a young clientele that is finding out about marijuana
and doesn't understand how hemp is different," she said. "For example, the
420 beer is named after the code for police officers doing a drug bust. Now
a lot of kids say that '420' is the best time to smoke dope, whether 4:20
a.m. or p.m."

In a letter to President Clinton last July, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy warned that it had two major concerns with the legalization
of hemp cultivation: It would send the wrong message to youths, and it "may
mean the de facto legalization of marijuana cultivator."

"...Supporters of the hemp legislation effort claim hemp cultivation could
be profitable to U.S. farmers. However, the profitability of industrial hemp
is highly uncertain and probably unlikely," the agency wrote. "Hemp is a
novelty product with limited sustainable value even in a novelty market."

A $23,000, 18-month economic study by the University of Kentucky's Center
for Business and Economic Research came to a different conclusion, said one
of its authors, researcher Steve Allen.

The study, released July 3, focused on the economic impact that growing hemp
would have on Kentucky farmers. It concluded that at current market prices,
a hemp crop would be second only to tobacco. "We estimated yields
conservatively but if the technology advances, it would grow into a huge
market," Allen said.

John Roulac agrees. Roulac is the author of the books "Hemp Horizons" and
"Industrial Hemp" and the founder of Hemp Tech, a California consulting firm
that tracks the usage of hemp products around the world.

"Hemp is the Rip Van Winkle of fabric, the aloe vera of the 21st century,"
he said. "There are over 25,000 documented uses for it."

Hemp is much more than a novelty product, Roulac added. "How do we know that
it'll be a major crop? We don't. But who ever thought that organic farming,
even 10 years ago, would become the $3 billion to $5 billion industry it is
today?"

And hemp is versatile in more than just farming, Roulac said. ~ "The most
exciting usage for hemp products is using it in composite plastics, to
replace fiberglass," he said. "It's lighter and it's a renewable resource.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW and the Ford: plants in Great Britain are utilizing hemp
in their air bags and brake lining. These companies have a mandate to make
cars by the year 2000 that can be recycled.

"Retail sales of hemp worldwide was $75 million in 1997. It's expected to
rise to $250 million: in 1999. We believe that the hemp industry has the
potential! to be a billion-dollar industry in 25 years. It's definitely
coming down the tracks."

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett