Marijuana.com

Plainsman1963

Bingham bill stirs the pot in debate over hemp
07-05-06 | News-Record.Com | Jason Hardin

When it comes to hemp, Stan Bingham is a true believer.

"Each day I learn more about it, I get more excited about it," the Denton Republican and state senator says of marijuana's close cousin, which he touts as, among other things, an alternative fuel source (and a way to "kick OPEC in the ass.")

The only problem? "Everybody thinks I'm a hippie," he said.

Actually, there's one other little problem.

It's illegal to grow hemp.

Law enforcement types aren't thrilled because although hemp doesn't get you high, it's difficult to distinguish visually from the stuff that made Cheech and Chong famous.

Still, that isn't stopping Bingham, who has a bill in the legislature to study hemp's industrial uses.

Just get him going, and he starts rattling off all the potential uses for the plant, which was cultivated by Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and grown during World War II when textiles were scarce.

There's auto parts, food (it's rich in Omega 3 fat, the good kind, Bingham says), building materials, a concrete reinforcement and as an alternative fuel.

That's how Bingham got involved in the first place. Alternative fuels have long been an interest.

"I'm running my car on soybean oil now," he said.

The conditions here are conducive to growing hemp -- as the area's marijuana busts also suggest -- and Bingham believes hemp would be potentially lucrative for area farmers.

The barrier is that hemp has for decades been illegal to grow in the United States because of its similarity to marijuana plants.

It would take a federal change to make it legal, but a number of states have taken steps to push for that. Bingham said the study is a step toward adding North Carolina to that list.

But while Bingham sees a wonder plant, others see mean green.

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice, who counts Bingham as a friend, doesn't see the issue quite the same way.

He said legalizing hemp would be "letting the genie out" and would be, at a minimum, a hassle for law enforcement officers. Drug dogs can't tell the difference, and it would force officers to test fields to tell whether they are legal.

"That's one more thing for us to be running around doing," Grice said
Also, he said, a grower could mix legal and illegal plants together in a field, figuring it would be too much trouble to test them all.

Advocates, though, say that's unlikely in practice because the plants would cross-pollinate and dilute the potency of the marijuana.

Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes doesn't think legal hemp is such a bad idea. It would involve extra testing, but officers commonly test, say, powders to see whether they are cocaine or something more innocent, he said.

"I don't want to stand in the way of something that could be a lucrative crop," Barnes said. "I don't have a problem with it."

There is a market for hemp, although it might not exactly be leafy gold.

Randall Fortenbery, a professor in agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin, said hemp might not be a bonanza like tobacco once was, but that it could be solidly profitable.

"It'd be like growing corn or soybeans or anything else," he said. "It's not like this by itself is going to save the family farm."

Bingham's quest to legalize hemp might be a long one.

He jokes about being called a hippie and concedes that some legislators might not see things his way.

He noted that his co-sponsor on the bill is noted liberal state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird of the Chapel Hill area.

"She said, 'Stan, you'll get run out of the country where you live, and I'll be a hero in Chapel Hill,' " he said.

More seriously, Bingham said he knows some might try to paint him as soft on crime because of his stance on the plant.

In fact, many hemp advocates are also proponents of legalizing marijuana, leading to a kind of blurring together of the two issues.

Bingham, who is not in favor of legalizing marijuana, said he is not worried about the politics of the issue.

Hemp is just too worthwhile to back down because of potential name-calling, Bingham said.

"The potential is just amazing what this plant can do," he said. "God, it just makes so much sense to me."

__________________


"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

Posting Guidelines

 

16204ever

The USA is the only country that doesn't grow hemp.

I guess it's cops are so stupid they can't tell a difference, but everyone else can.

Also, Cannabis growers I know pale at the thought of all that f'in hemp out there cross-polinating there precious plants.