DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HEMP, MARIJUANA MUST BE UNDERSTOOD

Tony Kellar, Yankton

Iwrote a letter to the editor (Press & Dakotan, July 19) to which William
Collen recently rebutted. He was writing to correct my assertion that we
can safely plant nonintoxicating hemp without fear of it being used for
illicit purposes.

This gentleman contends that hemp and marijuana are in fact the same, and
could be surreptitiously hidden next to each other for illegal production
of drugs. This is apparently based on his thorough research of one word
(hemp) in Webster's dictionary. This is the caveat: Assumptions, myths and
poor research lead to wrong answers, which lead to uninformed voting.

Maybe an example would help to disabuse us of incorrect conclusions.
Looking up "cedar" in the dictionary will tell you that it is a form of
evergreen tree. But not all trees are cedars, or even evergreens. Cedars
are a particular and separate kind of tree.

Though hemp and marijuana look similar and are of the same family, genus
and species, they are not of the same subspecies. That is where the
critical difference is. You cannot get high from smoking hemp, as it
contains negligible amounts of THC (tetra-hydro-canna-binol). THC is the
substance which pot smokers seek for their high. Illicit marijuana contains
very, very high amounts of THC. You could smoke a bale of hemp and never
get a buzz on.

For sake of discussion, let's call the illegal, intoxicating plant "pot,"
and let's then call the nonintoxicating plant "hemp." Plants fertilize
other plants by a component they produce called pollen; this can be done
any number of ways including bees, birds and wind spread pollen. If the
pollen from hemp fertilizes a pot plant (the genetic code transmitted by
the hemp is dominant), it signs for hemp characteristics, not pot
characteristics (which are recessive). Thus, no THC.

It has taken pot growers decades of controlled indoor genetic refinement
and cross-breeding of certain plants to come up with high THC pot, but
Mother Nature is very fickle and will instantly correct the changes if
given the chance. Even one pinhead of the hemp pollen will negate the THC
in a pot plant, which will then pollinate and spread the hemp genetics like
a virus to any other pot plant around.

Thus, it is a pot grower's nightmare to have even one hemp plant show up
anywhere in the vicinity. One hemp plant could instantly "de-THC" his
entire crop, from all of its pollen. It becomes obvious that to try to hide
pot amongst hemp is an exercise in futility. It's like trying to hide a fox
amongst the hens.

This type of misunderstanding is exactly what will keep us from realizing
the benefits of this plant. This plant cannot be used for illicit pleasure,
nor can it serve to hide illegal growing operations.

This plant can relieve only the pains suffered by farmers without a
lucrative, easy to grow crop, a nation hobbling under the monetary whims of
the petroleum industry, and a world looking for an environmentally
friendly, clean fuel to burn.

I urge voters to research this important topic farther than a dictionary.
Look for articles and read books. Realize what this crop holds for us, tell
others who misunderstand the topic, and most importantly, go to the polls
well informed.

A wonderful Website for more information can be found at www.erraticimpact. com.