NDSU BACKS HEMP LAWSUIT

North Dakota State University has filed a friend of the court motion
in support of two state farmers who want to grow industrial hemp.

"It's very, very good to have NDSU support our case," said Tim Purdon,
an attorney for farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge.

The two - who have state licenses to grow industrial hemp - want a
federal judge to declare that growing it would not violate the federal
Controlled Substances Act.

Hemp falls under federal anti-drug laws because it has trace amounts
of THC, a mind-altering chemical found in marijuana.

In the motion, NDSU says one of its researchers, Burton Johnson, in
1999 filed an application with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to
research industrial hemp.

The federal agency has never acted on that application, according to
the motion.

D.C. Coston, NDSU's vice president of agriculture, said Monday that
the university is obligated to help state farmers by investigating
industrial hemp.

"There's a very large economic opportunity for farmers in North
Dakota," he said.

Hemp can be used for products ranging from rope to clothing to body
lotion.

It's important for the public to understand hemp's legitimate uses and
opportunities, Coston said.

Purdon and Rick Johnson, an attorney for NDSU, said Purdon asked the
university to file the friend of the court motion.

Such motions are relatively unusual at the district court level,
Johnson said.

Vote Hemp, a national group, supports Monson and Hauge's
lawsuit.

Tom Murphy, a spokesman for Vote Hemp, said NDSU's motion makes it
more likely the lawsuit will succeed.