HEMP ISN'T HEROIN

Thanks for reporting the facts about industrial hemp (Society, Feb.
18). Hemp is no more a drug than hazelnuts are, yet the U.S. government
doesn't seem to grasp this fact. A clean, renewable source of fuel and
fiber, hemp belongs under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture,
not the Drug Enforcement Administration. It's ironic that this government
meddling is occurring during the Bush Administration, which touts itself as
probusiness and anti-Big Government.

Jeff Robertson, Green Environmental Coalition

Yellow Springs, Ohio

If a government agency in any other country tried to pull off this stunt
(treating hemp as a controlled substance), it would be laughed out of town.

Kenneth Linn

Dunedin, Fla.

Thank goodness the DEA is protecting children from getting high on frozen
waffles that contain hemp. I'm sure it has research that shows eating such
waffles leads to using harder drugs -
such as caffeine.

Michael Murphy

Half Moon Bay, Calif.