LIFTING OF HEMP BAN SOUGHT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hemp is not dope.

It will not get people stoned unless smoked in massive quantities and its
strong fibers can be used in 25,000 ways, from construction material to
paper to clothing. It also just might make a few farmers feel a financial
high.

But right now, the federal government bans cultivation of industrial hemp
and considers it a controlled substance, no different from its
hallucinogenic cousin marijuana. Several groups, including the North
American Industrial Hemp Council and the Resource Conservation Alliance,
want to change that.

They are preparing to petition the Drug Enforcement Administration to drop
hemp from the controlled substance list. They also want the Agriculture
Department to set up a system of certifying hemp seeds and licensing farmers.

``There certainly is a demand for it,'' said Ned Daly, director of the
Resource Conservation Alliance. ``It's a very easy crop to grow. It truly
is a weed.''

Hemp has a long history in the United States. George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson grew it; the Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp
paper. During World War II, the federal government mounted a ``Hemp for
Victory'' growing campaign for many military uses, including ropes.

Some agricultural economists say farmers today could gross up to $500 an
acre for hemp. Canada legalized it earlier this month after a 60-year ban,
in part because of the income potential for farmers, and several U.S.
states are promoting hemp research.

Hemp and marijuana are both varieties of the cannabis sativa plant. But
hemp typically contains only a tiny fraction of the active ingredient, THC,
that makes pot smokers high.

Still, the DEA and President Clinton's drug control policy director, Barry
McCaffrey, say hemp's legalization could hinder efforts to stamp out
marijuana.

``A serious law enforcement concern is that a potential byproduct of
legalizing hemp production would be de facto legalization of marijuana
cultivation,'' McCaffrey's office said in a statement. ``The seedlings are
the same and in many instances the mature plants look the same.''

Supporters of ending the ban say that is just blowing smoke. They say hemp
plants are far taller than marijuana, are grown much closer together and
typically are not allowed to flower. The flowering produces the buds most
sought after by marijuana growers.

``The dope argument lacks any merit,'' said Hawaii state Rep. Cynthia
Thielen, a Republican who says farmers in her state want hemp as an
alternative to sugar and pineapples. ``You can tell the difference. You're
licensing farmers so you know where the crop is. If someone's growing that
isn't licensed, bust them.''

The Agriculture Department, however, questions how profitable hemp might
actually be: it is labor intensive and cheaper alternatives already exist
for many of its uses. For instance, hemp linen costs $15 a square yard,
compared with only $7.50 for flax linen.

``Hemp production in the United States has not demonstrated economic value
potential as a cash crop,'' the McCaffrey statement said.

But proponents are undeterred, noting that Canadian farmers plan to plant
5,000 acres of hemp this spring and farmers in England and Germany have
turned solid profits from it for years.

Some of the more unusual uses for hemp include reinforcement in concrete,
as a replacement for fiberglass in cars, in shoes and even as a cosmetic oil.

Beyond the economic arguments, proponents say hemp is good for field
rotations that help sustain soil and reduce harmful insects.

``While the rest of the world is jumping on the hemp bandwagon, American
agriculture is being held hostage to obsolete thinking,'' said Jeffrey
Gain, a hemp proponent who was former chief of the National Corn Growers
Association. ``It's a legitimate crop with enormous economic and
environmental potential.''