BILL'S AUTHORS ARE TRYING TO ROPE IN SUPPORT FOR HEMP

AB 1147 is not the biggest bill of this legislative session, but it
is one of the most intriguing -- and most fun.

Start with its purpose: to legalize the growing of hemp, a cousin of
marijuana -- both members of the notorious cannabis family.

Then proceed to the bill's joint authors, a pun that's unavoidable.

One is a liberal San Francisco Democrat, Assemblyman Mark Leno; the
other a conservative Irvine Republican, Chuck DeVore.

If nothing else, this bill shows it is possible for two legislators
of diametrically opposite ideologies to acknowledge some common
ground and work together to change public policy.

Both agree that hemp -- advocates call it industrial hemp -- is
taking off worldwide as a plant used for fiber (in car door panels,
for example), food (energy bars, granola, smoothies) and body care
(shampoos, soaps).

And they think it's illogical that the federal government allows the
importation of foreign hemp for American manufacturing into legally
sold products, but bans the growing of hemp by American farmers. So
they're trying to force the issue.

Their bill would sanction the growing of hemp in California for sale
within the state, but forbid interstate commerce of "viable" seeds --
those that can germinate -- in an effort to keep the feds from nosing
around. No doubt federal courts ultimately would sort it all out.

The bill also would define hemp, under California law, as a safe
crop, not a drug.

Hemp contains only a trace of the dope THC, three-tenths of 1%.
Marijuana has from 3% to 15%.

"There's no more THC in hemp than the poppy seed on your bagel has
opium," asserts Leno. "Beyond that, industrial hemp is marijuana's
natural eradicator." Cross-pollination with hemp takes the kick out
of pot, experts report.

"Not only will you not get a high" by smoking hemp, says Patrick
Goggins of San Francisco, counsel for the Hemp Industries Assn.,
"you'll get a headache and need a Tylenol."

But hemp is a nutritious food, its boosters claim: The seed oil
replaces unhealthy fats with beneficial fatty acids that help fight
high cholesterol and rheumatoid arthritis. Fish also contain fatty
acids, advocates continue, but are becoming increasingly scarce and
polluted with mercury.

Hemp has a long and distinguished history, at least until it was
unfairly maligned by drug warriors during the last century. Rope,
sails and paper have been made from hemp all through civilization.
The Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper. George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew it.

In the 1800s, hemp was America's third-largest agricultural product.
But it was labor-intensive and became less economical because of the
cotton gin and the abolition of slavery. Still, hemp was grown in
California until the Depression, when the feds cracked down on
marijuana and mistakenly booked its innocent cousin in the bust.

During World War II, Washington begged farmers to resume growing the
crop, promoting a "Hemp for Victory" campaign. But in 1970,
cultivation was banned under the Controlled Substances Act. Any hemp
needed for making products had to be imported.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, soon after President Bush took
office, tried to outlaw the sale of all hemp foods. But it got
slapped down in 2004 by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The
DEA had no jurisdiction over hemp, the court ruled. But the jurists
didn't say whether farmers could cultivate the plant. And that's
where we stand today. The Bush administration didn't appeal.

California entrepreneurs, equipped with new technology, are eager to
expand the hemp industry and grow the crop in the Central and Imperial valleys.

"The potential is enormous," says David Bronner, whose grandfather
founded Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in Escondido. His company, the
largest manufacturer of natural soaps in the country, now imports its
hemp from Canada. He figures it could save 20% by buying locally.

John Roulac of Ojai, founder of Nutiva, says he'd like to build a
processing plant in Bakersfield to handle locally grown hemp. Either
there, or he plans to build it in North Dakota.

Each month, Roulac says, he trucks three loads of Canadian-produced
hemp products to a warehouse in Santa Paula. "Our sales are growing
120% a year," he says. "I have no problem selling. I have a supply issue."

The Leno-DeVore bill has passed the Assembly. Its next hurdle will be
the Senate Appropriations Committee.

You'd think that such a business-friendly, job-creation proposal
would be overwhelmingly supported by Republicans. Hardly. Only two
GOP lawmakers favor it: DeVore and the independent-minded Sen. Tom
McClintock of Thousand Oaks. The rest are skittish about being tagged
as soft on drugs.

"Some have told me," DeVore says, "that 'This is not a smart thing to
do, Chuck. You're exposing yourself to future hit pieces' " in a
Republican primary.

"My rejoinder is this is the right thing. Who are we in government to
tell farmers what they can and cannot grow if a drug is not involved?
It's crazy."

One major opponent is the 7,000-member California Narcotic Officers'
Assn. It says officers would have trouble distinguishing between
marijuana and hemp. Pot is a short plant. And although hemp grown for
fiber is bamboo-tall, when it's cultivated just for seed, the plant
looks more like marijuana.

"If the Canadian Mounties can understand the difference, don't you
think American law enforcement could?" responds Roulac. "It's an
insult to the intelligence of American officers."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't taken a position. But why wouldn't
he sign such a bill? It offers an economic boost. Hemp benefits the
environment, using relatively little water. And he always has
promoted nutritional supplements.

"No matter what any of the politicians do," Roulac asserts, "the
marketplace is saying 'yes' for hemp. Eventually, economics will
trump politics."

Besides intriguing and fun, AB 1147 is sensible. Not allowing farmers
to grow marijuana's harmless cousin is akin to reefer madness.