Editorial Section COMMENTARY
Illogical arguments against hemp
By Gale Glenn

At the legislative hearing on industrial hemp on July 9 in
Frankfort, we finally pierced the heart of the matter: In the eyes of the
law, there are two insurmountable problems.
According to a Drug Enforcement Agency official from Washington, D.C.,
because the nonnarcotic leaves of industrial hemp look like the leaves of
marijuana, drug dealers might “use industrial hemp to dilute legitimate
marijuana.”
Now, wouldn’t that be a pity? Imagine! Potheads spending good money for
drugs watered down with hemp. It’s enough to make the lawabiding citizens
weep and, apparently, enough to prevent research on a new cash crop for
Kentucky farmers. It was astonishing that not one of the Kentucky legislators
at the Agriculture Committee hearing questioned the oxymoronic “legitimate
marijuana.” What, pray tell, is legitimate marijuana?
But Kentucky’s commissioner of State Police topped the federal DEA by
declaring that our Kentucky law enforcement people would not be able to tell
the difference between marijuana and hemp. This is a heartbreaking
situation. Imagine having to depend on a police force that is incapable of
distinguishing a 16foottall stalk with a fuzzy, green crown of leaves
planted six inches apart from low, leafy plants each on a twofoot wide
island of dirt. How on Earth the Canadians, British and Europeans train their
law enforcement people to easily recognize the difference between hemp and
marijuana is a true marvel.
We can only assume Kentucky’s legal eagles consider their troops to be
unteachable dumb clucks. This is a real shocker. I’ve known many agriculture
and law people and they strike me as right intelligent folks. But who are we
to contradict their superiors? Still, the idea that Kentuckians are not as
bright as Canadians and Europeans is disheartening.
So, fellow Kentucky farmers, try not to dwell on the new factory being built
in Massachusetts by the largest carpet manufacturer in the United States and
where biodegradable carpet will be made using hemp imported from Canada and
Europe. Try not to dwell on hemp, the nonlabor intensive, nonherbicide,
nonpesticide cash crop. Take to heart the advice of one on Kentucky’s
Agriculture Committee and grow eggplant.
As E.A. Sholts, head of Wisconsin Agriculture Development and
Diversification and chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council,
said regarding hemp: “The United States is an island of denial in a sea of
acceptance.” Isn’t it pathetic?

NOTE: Gale Glenn, a farmer in Clark County, was a member of a state task
force on hemp. She is a former member of the North American Industrial Hemp
Council.

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