HEMP FARMERS STILL AWAIT GO-AHEAD FROM OTTAWA

Some application errors have delayed the process

MONCTON - Poor paperwork is spoiling the province's inaugural attempt to
grow hemp.

Enterprising farmers from across the province eagerly sent in applications
to grow the sister plant of marijuana in early April.

Now, more than two months later, most of the farmers are still waiting for
the go-ahead from Ottawa - thanks to hundreds of error-filled applications,
says a Health Canada spokesperson.

"Probably a majority of applications had to be returned because things were
wrong," says spokesperson Bonnie Fox-McIntyre.

"There was information missing. It's taken several weeks to sort out. In
some cases, we're still waiting for more information from farmers."

Last March, Ottawa caved to pressure from agricultural groups and hemp
sellers to change the law which made industrial hemp production illegal.

Hemp is a strain of cannabis that, unlike its cousin marijuana, does not
contain large amounts of the chemical THC, the ingredient that gets users
"high."

While hemp doesn't have the same high-inducing qualities as marijuana, it
until recently shared the same stigma as being an illegal, dangerous plant.

Hemp's bad reputation is not shared by countries outside of North America.
In countries like China, Russia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain and
France, hemp is a source of more than 25,000 products, including paper,
building materials, textiles, rope, soap, cosmetics, food additives and paint.

The change of regulations that allows the growing of hemp was considered a
victory by many as an acknowledgement of the fibre's potential as a cash
crop for Canada's farmers.

Some believe this could be the beginning of a brand new industry for
Atlantic Canada, if farmers and governments act quickly enough.

Now, however, it seems valuable planting time is being lost to bureaucratic
red tape.

Chuck Schom is a St. Stephen-area would-be hemp grower. He's working with
several other New Brunswick farmers to grow test plots of hemp.

This spring has been perfect for planting, but so far the farmers' planting
machinery isn't moving.

"I've got 10 farmers and a partner out there saying, 'Hey let's get some
action here,' and I can't get any action," Mr. Schom said. "So it's
frustrating, yes."

Hemp, unlike most other crops, is regulated by Health Canada because of the
crop's ties with marijuana. Hemp does contain some THC, but not enough to
get a user high.

That said, prospective hemp farmers must submit to ultra-rigorous testing
and background checks before receiving their licences.

Ms. Fox-McIntyre says some farmers have forgotten to attach their criminal
background check with their licence application. Others failed to give the
coordinates of their farm fields, which is information that is needed for
proper surveying.

Ms. Fox McIntyre says farmers with muddled applications were notified and
had their applications returned.

The farmers were then asked to redo and then resubmit their applications
for further scrutiny. The end result is that an application process that
should take no longer than a week or two has taken months and may take even
longer.

Making matter worse for some farmers is that Ottawa is processing
applications on a first-come, first-served basis. That means farmers down
on the list who have made mistakes on their applications may have had to
wait weeks before the application errors were even discovered.

Ms. Fox-McIntyre said her department is taking the situation very
seriously. However, she said no one is really to blame for the application
foul-ups. She chalks the whole experience up to rookie errors on both sides.

"We don't have a master plan. This is the first year - there's no precedent
to tell you how long it takes. I don't think the fault lies in any one
place because this is the first year."

Mr. Schom agreed that this year's delay is largely "teething pains."

However, he's still concerned about getting the licences issued quickly so
farmers here can salvage what's left of the growing season.

"It's teething pains, but it doesn't make it any easier," Mr. Schom said.

"It's frustrating and there's more than a little concern on my part because
I know the clock is ticking."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski