IT'S HIP TO be pushing hemp. And I'm not talking about selling pot.

Industrial hemp comes from the same plant as marijuana: Cannabis sativa.
But it has not been bred to produce the same mindaltering effect that's
loved or hated, depending on whether you're in tune with raggae musicians
or the Army Marching band.

Both kinds of Cannabis grow several feet tall with feathery leaves and
fibrous stalks. It boils down to how much of the active ingredient THC is
in the plant. At 0.3 percent, typical for industrial hemp, a person would
need to inhale five pounds in 15 minutes to get high, said Chris Conrad of
El Cerrito, He's known as Professor Hemp from his books on the subject.
"You'd have such a sore throat!"

You can't get high toking on a hemp fabric dress. Puffing on hemp pants
won't give you the munchies. Eating salad dressing or nondairy cheese made
from the oil of hemp seeds won't produce a psychedelic aftertaste, though
you'd be consuming essential nutrients. So what's the dope? Canada has
joined about a dozen other countries that allow farmers to grow industrial
hemp. A number of states Colorado, Virginia, Minnesota, Kentucky and
Oregon to name a few are considering legislation to allow hemp farms or
study them.

It's a trend out of the environmental movement, says Candi Penn,
secretary of the Sonoma Countybased Hemp Industries Association. In three
years, her group has grown from 50 to 186 members. (For a list, call
17078743&48). Some experts estimate worldwide sales of hemp products at
$100 million.

Hemp is prolific," says Conrad. "It produces extensively more fiber per
acre than other crops three times as much as cotton or timber and it can
be used for all the same things." It doesn't need pesticides or a lot of
water, Conrad says.

In the United States, growing hemp has a long and colorful history. George
Washington was among its early advocates. Hemp became rope for ships,
canvas for covered wagons and American flags.

In the 19th century hemp lost out to cotton and was further done in when
Southern farmers had to give up slave labor: In the 1930s, the government
shut the industry down amid a "Reefer Madness" rush to stamp out drugs.
During World War II, the government encouraged farmers to grow hemp during
a rope shortage, then later said "stop."

Hemp's renewed push comes not just from Deadheads looking for a life after
Jerry' Garcia's death. Executives of firms such as International Paper are
exploring its potential.

Major fashion designers and shoemakers now use hemp. The cost to shoppers
is often high $250 for a dress, $95 for pants due to a worldwide shortage
of hemp fabric. Saving the Earth never seems to come cheaply.

However, the first state to legalize hemp farming will be a magnet for
investment and jobs, says Conrad, author of "Hemp: Lifeline to the Future."
Of course, such a state will also likely face a fight from the federal
government.

Much like California doctors worry about Drug Enforcement Administration
threats of prosecution should they recommend pot under a new medical
marijuana law, farmers could land in similar straits.

DEA agents fear legalizing hemp crops would only make it easier for others
to grow and sell marijuana. High and lowTHC plants look alike and could
be grown next to each other

In this case, however if the hempaschic trend continues, consumer demand
and capitalism may ultimately trump the DEA. That would give Professor Hemp
and his friends the final word: Roll that in your shirt and smoke it. *
* *

Meames Bruggers covers environmental topics. You can reach him at 9438246
or P.O. Box 5088, Walnut Creek, CA 94596