THIELENS SAY IT'S HIGH TIME TO CONSIDER HEMP

PICTURE: PETER THIELEN wears and shows off aloha shirts made of hemp at
Island Hemp and Cotton in Kapaa. George Lurie photo.

LIHU`E -- What's all the fuss over industrial hemp?

It won't get you high.

But .

And Thielen's mother Cynthia, who happens to be a state representative
from Windward O`ahu's 49th district, agrees and will introduce a bill in
the Legislature on Wednesday calling for state approval of
privately-funded research into the viability of cultivating industrial hemp
in Hawai`i.

This past week, Rep. Thielen also appeared before the Kaua`i County Council
to urge members to stay out of the hemp fray -- at least for the time
being.

Thielen's son Peter, admittedly, has a vested interest in getting a
Hawai`i hemp research project off the ground -- he is the owner of Island
Hemp Wear, a local company that manufactures and wholesales a growing line
of hemp clothing.

``Hemp is not a miracle cure for our economy,'' Peter Thielen says. ``But
it would certainly solve some of our problems. Hemp can produce food,
clothing, shelter, even fuel and electricity -- all from a plant grown
without pesticides. Hemp could help replace some of our lost agricultural
jobs and create new jobs and opportunities for the people of Kaua`i.''

Part of the problem up to now for those pushing hemp as an ideal
agricultural crop in Hawai`i has been getting permission for the test
project from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, which still classifies
all Cannabis sativa varieties as ``marijuana'' -- an illegal drug.

While it has been possible to get agency approval to grow hemp in the U.S.,
to date mainly for medical-marijuana uses, the DEA stipulates that any
test-hemp field be secured by fence, razor wire, dogs, guards and lights
- -- requirements that to most potential growers are cost-prohibitive.

Another big stumbling block in the effort to legalize cultivation of
industrial hemp has been a lingering perception by the general public that
hemp and mind-altering marijuana are one and the same.

In actuality, industrial hemp does not have enough THC content to produce
even a mild high. And its cultivation would drive any nearby ``pakalolo''
growers away, since industrial hemp would cross-pollinate its more potent
cousin, forcing it to ``go to seed'' and virtually killing all of its
THC-producing potential.

Rep. Thielen's bill, which would allow -- with DEA approval --
privately-funded hemp research in Hawai`i, is one of a packet of new bills
scheduled for first reading when the Legislature convenes Jan. 21.

``Once the DEA issues a research permit,'' says Rep. Thielen, ``then this
bill will make industrial hemp research test plots legal under state
law.''

The research test plots, Thielen says, ``would be 100 percent privately
funded by a publicly traded company and carried out on private
agricultural land.

``At this point,'' Thielen adds, ``I'm not at liberty to say where the
project would be and what companies are involved.''

Thielen says her bill ``will have good support from legislators, who
recognize that industrial hemp is non-hallucinogenic and is an
agricultural crop that could hold great promise for Hawai`i.

``I can't see any valid reason for not passing the bill,'' Thielen says.
``There are more than 25,000 uses for this plant -- none of them drug
related.''

Thielen's bill notes that some 80,000 acres of agricultural land were
taken out of pineapple and sugarcane production between 1984 and 1994.
``There's a lot of vacant sugar land on Kaua`i right now,'' she says.
``Hemp would be perfect for that land.''

Her son Peter agrees. ``This is a big issue for Kaua`i and all of
Hawai`i,'' he says. ``But it's not a drug issue. This is an industrial
crop, a very viable option for all of the empty sugarcane land on
Kaua`i.''

Peter Thielen's Kekaha-based company, Island Hemp Wear, is two and a half
years old.

``The first six months of business were the toughest,'' Thielen says. ``We
shipped maybe six dozen garments. But by the end of the first year, we
were shipping $50,000 to $60,000 of goods. Last year, we saw about 600
percent growth in sales growth. This year, we're projecting business will
double again.''

Surprisingly, Thielen says, most of his sales are on the Mainland. ``We
actually sell more aloha shirts in California than we do in Hawai`i.''

Thielen, who just turned 40, imports the hemp for his clothing from China
and manufactures it on O`ahu. ``If the county wanted me to help bring
jobs here, and if they were to offer some assistance, I'd be happy to set
up the manufacturing operations right here on Kaua`i.

``We could grow the plant here, process it into the paper or fabric we
need, make up the garments here and then have a high-end product to sell
nationally and internationally. We could not only provide for ourselves
but also become a place where the big container ships leave with stuff
rather than just drop it off.

``We are one of about four states in the nation really pressing this
issue,'' says Peter Thielen. ``Kentucky is another one. So many other
industrialized nations around the world have changed their laws regarding
cultivation of industrial hemp. Within two to three years, I think the
U.S. will allow it as well.''

Calling attention to the swiftly changing attitudes towards industrial
hemp, Rep. Thielen's proposed legislation contains this language: ``The
State of Hawai`i needs to act now to allow the planting of research plots
with industrial hemp so that Hawai`i -- and not its (Mainland)
competitors -- will be in the position to establish important business
ties with the manufacturers of hemp-based fiber, building materials, pulp,
paper, oil, paints, sealants, fuel and food, and with the buyers and
sellers of industrial hemp seeds.''

``If the State acts now,'' the bill concludes, ``thousands of acres of
former sugarcane and pineapple lands may once again be covered in waving,
vibrant masses of greenery, and this generation will have upheld its
responsibility to be stewards of the land and natural resources of the
State for future generations.''