Hemp should not require federal approval, North Dakota farmers argue in court tomorrow

Hemp is a cash crop in many countries, and some farmers in North Dakota want to get a piece of the action. In the U.S., hemp (in Hempline Inc. photo) is considered marijuana and thus requires federal approval to be grown legally. The farmers want that hurdle removed.

"On Wednesday, (Wayne) Hauge and David C. Monson, a fellow aspiring hemp farmer, will ask a federal judge in Bismarck to force the Drug Enforcement Administration to yield to a state law that would license them to become hemp growers," writes Peter Slevin of The Washington Post's Midwest Bureau in Chicago. "The law is the law and it treats all varieties of Cannabis sativa L. the same, Bush administration lawyers argue in asking U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland to throw out the case. The DEA says a review of the farmers' applications is underway."

Hauge and Monson argue that since hemp contains just traces of the active ingredient in marijuana, it should not be considered a drug. Monson, a Republican state legislator, helped pass a 1999 law that would that "would permit hemp cultivation and establish limits to ease the federal government's worries."(Read more)

On Election Day last week, Denver and tiny Hailey, Idaho, passed measures to go easy on marijuana possession, reports Time. In Denver, 57 percent of voters approved "lowest law enforcement priority" for the crime, reports Rita Healy. A similar measure made its way onto the ballot in Hailey, which has about 8,500 residents and is located 12 miles from the Sun Valley ski area, thanks to Ryan Davidson of Boise. "I spent maybe 20 bucks," Davidson told Healy. "I got the signatures on the petitions on my own dime. I spread the word through e-mail and phone calls and posting on blogs, I printed some fliers off my computer, photocopied them at Kinko's and put them under car windshield wipers on Monday." Three of the four pro-pot measures in Hailey passed: legalizing medicinal marijuana, decriminalizing marijuana and decriminalizing industrial hemp. Outright legalization failed. (Read more)