US ND: House Panel Backs Bill For Industrial Hemp



Pubdate: Fri, Jan 22, 1999 



Source: Grand Forks Herald (ND) 



Author: Ian Swanson, Herald Staff Writer 	



ubject: HOUSE PANEL BACKS BILL FOR INDUSTRIAL HEMP 	



BISMARCK -- Noxious weed, illicit drug or viable crop? 	



The great hemp debate began again Thursday at the North Dakota Legislature when the House 

Agriculture Committee unanimously recommended that a bill removing industrial hemp from the 

state's list of noxious weed seeds be passed.	



House Bill 1265 would eliminate hemp from the list of "prohibited noxious weed seeds" in the 

North Dakota Century Code. 	



The elimination could be a step toward the legalization of hemp crops in North Dakota, something 

some legislators would like to see. 	



Rep. Dave Monson, R-Osnabrock, introduced the bill. He will also introduce legislation that 

would classify hemp as a crop. 	



But even with a new state designation, Federal Drug Enforcement Agency rules still make growing 

hemp illegal.	



THC content	



Monson, the House assistant majority leader, told the committee that industrial hemp has less than 

three-tenths of 1 percent of THC, the chemical that gives marijuana its kick.	



House Bill 1256 would add a section to the Century Code keeping hemp with more than .3 percent 

THC designated as a noxious weed. 	



Monson told the committee that it's time for a change. 	



He said Canadian farmers, including a friend of his who owns a hemp seed farm just 10 miles 

north of the North Dakota border, are profiting from their production of hemp, which can be used 

for making rope, paper and oils, among other products. 	



If hemp were made legal, Monson said, hemp plants could be tested to prove that they have less 

than 0.3 percent THC content. He also said it was possible to see the difference between industrial 

hemp and cannabis sativa plants, which have much more than 0.3 percent THC content. 	



"For these reasons, it's time to remove the industrial hemp from the list of noxious weeds," 

Monson said.	



BCI is cautious	



Bureau of Criminal Investigation officials said they have doubts about redesignating hemp seeds.	



"I don't know if I'm actually here in opposition to the bill, but not everything in Canada has been a 

panacea," said Jerry Kemmet, the BCI's acting director. "They have had some problems." 	



Kemmet said the plants are virtually impossible to tell apart with the unaided eye. He also said 

farmers could get in trouble if people trespassed on their land to plant marijuana plants. 	



If that happened and investigators found plants with a higher THC count than .3 percent, even 

among a crop of plants at 0.3 percent or lower, law enforcement officers would have no choice but 

to arrest the farmer who owned the land.	



BCI officials also said marijuana with 0.2 or 0.3 percent THC was commonly smoked in the 

1960s and 1970s.	



Rep. Ronald Nichols, D-Palermo, also testified in favor of the bill.	



"Sometimes we get behind the 8-ball on some of these things," Nichols said. "Canada is getting 

pretty far into research on industrial hemp. I hope we don't get too far behind."