Public Hearing on Proposed Rules Set for June 15 Bismarck, ND - May 03, 2006 - In a trail blazing move, North Dakota's Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson formally proposed rules yesterday to license farmers in his state to grow industrial hemp under existing state law. With the backdrop of farmers across Canada planting over 50,000 acres of industrial hemp in 2006 to meet expanding demand for the nutritious and versatile plant in the United Sates, the rulemaking process announced yesterday is an important step towards bringing back U.S. commercial hemp farming that was stopped nearly 50 years ago.

Commissioner Johnson will hold a public hearing on June 15 in Bismarck on the proposed rules prior to publishing final rules later this year. "These rules will implement state legislation, covering the cultivation of industrial hemp in North Dakota," Johnson said. "It is an important step in the process of enabling farmers to grow and sell this valuable crop." The proposed hemp farming rules may be viewed online by clicking here.

In February, Commissioner Johnson, along with Agriculture commissioners from three other states, met with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials in Washington, DC to explore acceptable rules on industrial hemp farming. The official meeting marked a turning point in the federal government's relations with hemp-friendly policymakers who have been routinely ignored by DEA officials. This is seemingly an about face for an agency that has threatened to prosecute anyone who tries to grow nonpsychoactive hemp in America.

While North Dakota's rules would require farmers to secure a permit from DEA before their licenses would become effective, there is precedent for this as the DEA permitted a test plot of industrial hemp in Hawaii from 1999 to 2003. North Dakota's proposed rules cover commercial hemp farming and include a number of restrictions to alleviate law enforcement concerns.

Some highlights of the proposed hemp farming rules include:

-- Farmers must consent to a criminal background check including fingerprints

--Planted hemp must contain less than three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol

-- Who the farmer sells to and how much is sold must be documented within 30 days of sale

-- The location of the hemp field must be provided using geopositioning (GPS) coordinates

"We are pleased that North Dakota is pursuing a common sense hemp policy by issuing hemp farming regulations," says Vote Hemp President Eric Steenstra. "U.S. farmers want to grow hemp legally like their counterparts in Canada, Europe and Asia. Many of hemp's uses such as in foods, animal bedding, biofuel and composites will become more viable if hemp is treated like other crops. How can a raw material that's legal to import, to sell, to eat and to use in all kinds of everyday products not be legal for farmers in America to grow? No other agricultural commodity is restricted to just importation," says Steenstra.

• Currently seven states (Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia) have passed pro-hemp farming laws.
• Sales of hemp foods in 2004/2005 grew by 50 percent over the previous 12-month period.
• U.S. retail sales of hemp products are estimated to now be $250 to $300 million per year.
• There are more than 2.5 million cars on U.S. roads that contain hemp composites.
• Hemp cultivation in Canada is expected to exceed 50,000 acres in 2006, while European farmers now grow more than 40,000 acres.

California Hemp

In the next few months, the California Senate Public Safety Committee will hear hemp farming bill AB 1147. In the next few weeks, North Dakota will become the first state to implement a hemp farming law by allowing farmers to apply for licenses to grow hemp. This is huge news, as such unprecedented state action signals the beginning of the end of industrial hemp prohibition in the U.S.

ND Industrial Hemp License Rules Submitted
May 03, 2006   Grand Forks Herald

Source: Grand Forks Herald (ND) Published: May 3, 2006

North Dakota -- Proposed changes in state law have been formally submitted that, if approved, would license North Dakota farmers to grow industrial hemp. North Dakota would be the first state in the nation to do so. But rule ratification would not legalize industrial hemp production in the state, since federal law prohibits it.

"The final decision is a federal matter," state Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said in a statement. "It is very likely that some congressional action will be necessary to bring about a major change in federal policy."

The United States is virtually the only industrialized country that bans industrial hemp cultivation. Canada, for one, has allowed it since its federal ban was lifted nine years ago, Johnson said.

Johnson has scheduled a public hearing for 10 a.m. June 15 on proposed rules for the production of industrial hemp. The hearing will be held in Lecture Room B in the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck.

"Ratification of these rules is an important step in the process of enabling farmers to grow and sell this potentially valuable crop," Johnson said. "We already have legislation in place that puts North Dakota well ahead of other states in working to legalize production of industrial hemp."

Johnson said that since 1999, the Legislature has passed several significant bills related to hemp cultivation. The proposed rules would implement the legislation.

Some highlights of the proposed hemp farming rules include:

• Producers must consent to a criminal background check, including fingerprints.

• Buyers and the amount of harvested hemp sold must be documented within 30 days of sale.

• The location of hemp fields must be provided using geopositioning instrumentation.

• Planted hemp seed must contain less than three-tenths of 1 percent tetrahydrocannabinol

Johnson said North Dakota's rules would afford the first opportunity for individuals to seek federal permits for state-sanctioned hemp production since a Hawaii law allowed a researcher to obtain permits to study industrial hemp from 1999 to 2003.

Johnson and several other state agriculture commissioners met with top officials of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) earlier this year to discuss what the states were required to do in order to allow industrial hemp production.

Industrial hemp (cannabis sativa) is widely grown around the world and is used in the manufacture of textiles, papers and rope, according to the state Agriculture Department. The seed is also used for food and feed. Oil derived from the plant is used in cosmetics, paints and medicinal compounds. The industrial form of hemp contains only trace amounts of the psychoactive drug delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana, although DEA does not currently distinguish industrial hemp apart from marijuana.

The proposed rules and regulatory analysis may be viewed at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) on the sixth floor of the State Capitol in Bismarck, or on the department's website at: http://www.agdepartment.com

Written copies are available by contacting the department at 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602, Bismarck, ND 58505-0020; or phone (800) 242-7535, or (701) 328-2231; email: ndda@state.nd.us

Any written testimony on the proposed rules must be received by NDDA by July 20, to be fully considered.

Note: State would be first to issue hemp licenses to farmers, provided feds end ban; public hearing set for June 15.

Hemp for raw materials and oil as base material for food and construction is the only solution out of the unsustainable mess we have created.

Hemp was made illegal in 1937 through a conspiracy of prominent industrials and because of the perjury, lies, racism and blasphemy of a man named Harry J. Anslinger.