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Hemp-growing rules take step forward
11-16-06 l Star Telegram l Dale Wetzel

State rules for growing industrial hemp are close to taking effect, although federal drug agents will have the final say on whether farmers may cultivate it, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued a letter Wednesday saying the proposed rules comply with state law. A legislative committee that reviews North Dakota agency regulations still must go over them before they take effect, Johnson said.

Industrial hemp is a relative of marijuana, but does not have the hallucinogenic chemical that provides a "high" when the leaf is smoked. It is used to produce an assortment of goods, including paper, rope, clothing and cosmetics.

Industrial hemp cultivation is legal in Canada and other countries, but it is banned in the United States, a situation that Johnson and North Dakota lawmakers have been working to reverse. Johnson and other state agriculture officials met with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials last February in Washington, D.C., to discuss the issue.

North Dakota farmers who want to grow industrial hemp must undergo a criminal background check, provide their fingerprints, and let law enforcement officials know the exact location of their fields, the proposed Agriculture Department regulations say.

Farmers must document the amounts of harvested hemp they sell, and to whom, and show that their hemp seeds have less than three-tenths of 1 percent of the hallucinogenic chemical THC.

Even if the state conditions are met, the Drug Enforcement Administration must agree to allow hemp to be grown before any state license is issued, Johnson said.

Hemp has a number of benefits for producers, Johnson said. It grows rapidly, generates a great deal of usable fiber, and does not require much, if any, pesticide, he said.