NORTH DAKOTA AIMS TO CLEAR FEDERAL HURDLE FOR HEMP FARMING

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota is pushing ahead with plans to license
state farmers to grow industrial hemp even as it tries to allay law
enforcement fears about marijuana's biological cousin.

State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson and his department are
crafting hemp rules after meeting in February with Drug Enforcement
Agency officials in Washington. A public hearing on the proposed rules
is slated for June 15.

The rules would require a criminal background check on farmers who
want to grow hemp. The sale of hemp and location of the hemp fields
must be documented. And the farmer must get a permit from the DEA.

Adam Eidinger, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, the lobbying arm of the hemp
industry, said North Dakota is the first state to actually craft rules
to license hemp farmers.

"We're very supportive," Eidinger said of the state's
efforts.

Hemp contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a banned
substance, and it falls under federal anti-drug rules, said Steve
Robertson, a DEA special agent in Washington.

The state rules would be "contingent on the federal government
changing its mind," Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said. The
likelihood of that is "very small," he said.

Rogene Waite, a spokeswoman for the DEA in Washington, said federal
drug laws don't make a distinction between marijuana and hemp because
they both contain THC.

Johnson and agriculture commissioners from three other states -
Massachusetts, West Virginia and Wisconsin - met in February with DEA
officials in Washington. They discussed what would be required to
allow industrial hemp production, Johnson said, and he believes North
Dakota's proposed rules address those requirements.

"We think this is reasonable," said Johnson, a Democrat. "We've bent
over backward to make sure people won't be growing marijuana in these
fields."

State Rep. Dave Monson, a Republican and state House assistant
majority leader, said he was pleased Johnson was able to wangle a
meeting with DEA to discuss hemp rules. He called it a "huge step."

Donna Gilson, a spokeswoman for Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Rod
Nilsestuen, said last week that Nilsestuen went to the meeting with
DEA officials as a favor to Johnson during a national meeting of
agriculture secretaries in Washington.

"There is no initiative in Wisconsin to follow North Dakota's lead,"
Gilson said. "It is not one of the secretary's priorities. As long as
the DEA keeps it at the criminal level, he doesn't foresee much is
going to change in Wisconsin."

Industrial hemp would be an alternative cash crop for North Dakota
farmers because it's used to make food, clothing, cosmetics, paper,
rope and other products. Large-scale cultivation of industrial hemp is
legal in Canada.

Supporters claim that despite its family links to marijuana, hemp is
safe because it contains only trace amounts of the mind-altering chemical.

A number of states have already passed laws aimed at allowing hemp
farming, including Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota and
West Virginia. California's Assembly recently approved a bill
permitting hemp farming, which is awaiting work by state senators.

Farmer Doug Goehring, of Menoken, a Republican who is challenging
Johnson's bid for re-election in November, said he also supports hemp
production in North Dakota.

"I think it has some potential in North Dakota as another alternative
crop," Goehring said. Hemp already grows wild in the state, he said.

Goehring said the U.S. Navy buys hemp from other countries for such
things as mooring lines for ships. "We're not even allowed to provide
it to our own government, which is a little disappointing," he said.

Goehring, who grows wheat, soybeans and corn, said he likely would add
hemp to his rotation, if allowed. "It can grow in some pretty raunchy
soil, in some pretty tough conditions," Goehring said.