DRUG-FREE HEMP IS FOCUS OF U STUDY

A new University study on hemp and marijuana could pave the way for a
drug-free industrial hemp plant.

The study identifies the genetic markers that differentiate hemp from
marijuana and could have broader implications for the growing of
industrial hemp and criminal cases involving marijuana
distribution.

The technique, developed by University researchers George Weiblen and
Shannon Datwyler, has immediate applications in Europe and Canada,
where it is illegal to grow marijuana but legal to grow hemp, Weiblen
said.

In the United States, both marijuana and hemp are illegal to grow, but
the research is useful in forensic science, and DNA fingerprints from
the plants could be used to link marijuana growers to distributors, he
said.

Weiblen said he became interested in the research after former Gov.
Jesse Ventura formed a task force to assess the viability of hemp as
an alternative crop for Minnesota farmers.

"A lot of things have changed since that task force made its
recommendation," Weiblen said. "In the current climate, the
applications of this technology for the Drug Enforcement
Administration seem more promising than the applications for the
development of a drug-free industrial hemp plant."

The research, published in the March issue of the Journal of Forensic
Science, used three hemp populations and one marijuana population.

"This is a limited and preliminary sample, but what we have shown is
that there is much genetic variation within the species Cannabis,"
Weiblen said. "That information is useful for separating drug and
nondrug plants."

The researchers used DNA fingerprinting to identify differences in
cultivars, or domesticated plant lines. Hemp and marijuana both belong
to the species Cannabis sativa, but differ in levels of the
psychoactive drug tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.

Weiblen said the research is important because it is the first to
unequivocally demonstrate the genetic difference between hemp and
marijuana. Previous methods were able to show chemical differences
between the plants, but the new research uses genetic markers.

The researchers used a technique called amplified fragment length
polymorphism, which generates about 100 more genetic markers per unit
effort than other research techniques.

"At this time we have a long way to go before we see a current change
in policy, but this kind of work is a step in that direction," he
said. "Clearly there is a problem separating marijuana from hemp."

Weiblen said more research will be necessary to create a drug-free and
recognizably distinct cannabis plant that can't be confused with marijuana.

"It could be accomplished through traditional breeding or genetic
engineering," he said.

Ulrike Tschirner, an associate professor in the department of
bio-based products, studies hemp and flax fiber as paper alternatives.
Tschirner said paper companies are looking for alternative fibers as
wood becomes more expensive and difficult to get. Hemp offers a very
strong fiber that is longer than fibers in straw or corn.

"Hemp is a crop like a lot of other crops; the oil has value, and the
fiber is very strong, but it can be used for a lot of different
things," she said. "Papermaking fiber is just one of them."

By law, hemp products in the United States are imported. Bruce Benson,
owner of Know Name Records in Dinkytown, which sells hemp products,
said most of his items come from Europe. Benson said hemp is an
"amazingly tough fiber," and that clothing made from it lasts "forever."

Benson said he thought it was unlikely that industrial hemp would be
grown in the United States.

"Good luck in this country," he said.

Vote Hemp, an organization that lobbies for the legalization of
industrial hemp in the United States, is working with some U.S. states
that want to grow the plant.

Eric Steenstra, Vote Hemp president, said the market for hemp products
is expanding. Canadian farmers grew 25,000 acres of the plant in 2005,
with a large percentage of goods being exported to the United States,
he said.

"It doesn't make any sense that American farmers wouldn't be allowed
to compete in the market," he said.

Steenstra said the group was encouraged by the new
research.

"It's further evidence of the distinction between hemp and marijuana,"
he said. "We continue to be frustrated with the fact that the federal
government refuses to recognize the distinction."