MrFixit
June 18th, 2007, 02:15 PM
2 farmers suing DEA over right to grow hemp
By Donna Leinwand (http://www.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=175), USA TODAY
Two North Dakota farmers who want to grow hemp are filing a federal lawsuit today to challenge the Drug Enforcement Administration's ban on the plant that is the same species that produces marijuana.
Hemp can be imported from Canada, Europe and China, but growing hemp in the USA is illegal, the DEA says.
"Hemp is marijuana," DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney says. "There's no distinguishing feature between marijuana and hemp."
Lawyers for the farmers say the Controlled Substances Act, which governs illegal drugs, makes a specific exception for hemp, a non-drug version of the marijuana plant. They are seeking a court ruling that says the federal authorities cannot arrest the North Dakota farmers for growing hemp.
The federal government used to encourage farmers to grow what is known as "industrial hemp," says attorney Joseph Sandler in Washington, D.C., who is representing the farmers. Hemp plants have a low concentration of the psychoactive chemical that gives marijuana users a high, he said
Read More... (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-17-hempsuit_N.htm)
By Donna Leinwand (http://www.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=175), USA TODAY
Two North Dakota farmers who want to grow hemp are filing a federal lawsuit today to challenge the Drug Enforcement Administration's ban on the plant that is the same species that produces marijuana.
Hemp can be imported from Canada, Europe and China, but growing hemp in the USA is illegal, the DEA says.
"Hemp is marijuana," DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney says. "There's no distinguishing feature between marijuana and hemp."
Lawyers for the farmers say the Controlled Substances Act, which governs illegal drugs, makes a specific exception for hemp, a non-drug version of the marijuana plant. They are seeking a court ruling that says the federal authorities cannot arrest the North Dakota farmers for growing hemp.
The federal government used to encourage farmers to grow what is known as "industrial hemp," says attorney Joseph Sandler in Washington, D.C., who is representing the farmers. Hemp plants have a low concentration of the psychoactive chemical that gives marijuana users a high, he said
Read More... (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-17-hempsuit_N.htm)