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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Farmers sue to end hemp ban [ND]
#7673642 - 11/24/07 06:30 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Farmers sue to end hemp ban November 24, 2007 - washingtontimes.com
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The federal judge handling two farmers' lawsuit against the U.S. government over the right to grow industrial hemp says the matter might be better handled by Congress than the courts.
"Isn't the best remedy to amend the definition of industrial hemp [in federal law]?" Judge Dan Hovland, an appointee of President Bush, asked during a recent court hearing. "To me, it seems like the easiest solution."
North Dakota farmers Wayne Hauge and Dave Monson want Judge Hovland to bar the federal government from prosecuting them for growing industrial hemp under state regulations approved last year.
Hemp — which can be used for a variety of products, from rope to skin lotion — falls under federal anti-drug rules because it has trace amounts of the mind-altering chemical tetrahydrocannabinol that is found in its cousin, marijuana.
The Justice Department says federal law classifies hemp as a controlled substance under Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulation. The department's lawyers have asked that Judge Hovland dismiss the farmers' lawsuit, and the judge pledged to decide by the end of the month.
Hemp "is still marijuana for the purpose of federal law," Justice Department lawyer Wendy Ertmer told Judge Hovland at the hearing last week.
Joseph Sandler, an attorney for the farmers, said the federal Controlled Substances Act exempts such products as sterilized hemp seed and fiber, which is what Mr. Hauge and Mr. Monson plan to produce. He also said it is unlikely that farmers would use industrial hemp crops to secretly grow marijuana because their fields would be documented with the government and subject to search.
In February, Mr. Monson and Mr. Hauge received state licenses to grow industrial hemp, the first such licenses issued in the country. They were issued under North Dakota Agriculture Department rules approved late last year.
The licenses are worthless without DEA approval, however, and the agency has not acted on the farmers' applications. North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson hand-delivered them to the DEA in mid-February along with the farmers' nonrefundable $2,293 annual federal registration fees.
The farmers said the DEA's failure to approve their applications thwarted their plans to get a hemp crop in the ground last spring. The government said it was not reasonable for the farmers to expect a quick decision, and that the farmers should wait for a DEA decision before suing.
Judge Hovland was skeptical that the DEA will approve the farmers' application. "I think we can all sit here and agree it ain't gonna happen," he said.
Mr. Monson called the DEA's inaction on the applications "a de facto denial," saying the government can simply wait to rule until it is too late for farmers to plant a crop.
Miss Ertmer and Mr. Sandler agreed with Judge Hovland that a change in federal law might be the best method of dealing with the issue of industrial-hemp cultivation. The judge said legislation has been introduced in Congress to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana.
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar



Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 3,926
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Re: Farmers sue to end hemp ban [ND] [Re: veggie]
#7674084 - 11/24/07 10:26 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Edited by EntheogenicPeace (01/30/21 07:27 PM)
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DNKYD
Turtle!

Registered: 09/23/04
Posts: 12,326
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Re: Farmers sue to end hemp ban [ND] [Re: veggie]
#7674126 - 11/24/07 10:44 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Those who oppose the cultivation of industrial hemp in the United States are the ones who support a lifestyle controlled by petroleum products derived from unstable terrorist states. They should be thought of as terrorists and treated as such. Short drop, sudden stop, then throw their unpatriotic and terrorist bodies into the ocean.
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shroom_ninja
Stranger



Registered: 11/03/07
Posts: 150
Last seen: 8 years, 10 months
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Re: Farmers sue to end hemp ban [ND] [Re: DNKYD]
#7674625 - 11/24/07 01:45 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Kudos to the farmers for stepping up to the plate. Metaphorically speaking, however, the DEA and the U.S. court system can throw some wicked curve-balls.
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EntheogenicPeace
Scholar



Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 3,926
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Re: Farmers sue to end hemp ban [ND] [Re: shroom_ninja]
#7674998 - 11/24/07 03:37 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Edited by EntheogenicPeace (01/30/21 07:28 PM)
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a_guy_named_ai
Stranger

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 767
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
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Re: Farmers sue to end hemp ban [ND] [Re: veggie]
#7676503 - 11/25/07 12:09 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
The judge said legislation has been introduced in Congress to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana.
Does anyone know anything about this? I'm interested in perhaps getting into the industry when it happens.
Edited by jonathan_206 (11/25/07 02:54 PM)
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