BISMARCK, ND — The first in the nation to do so, North Dakota’s Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson will hold a public hearing on Thursday, June 15 about rulesexpected to be finalized later this year that would license farmers in his state to grow industrial hemp under current state law. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in the North Dakota Heritage Center, Lecture Room B, located at 612 East Boulevard Avenue in Bismarck. Members of the media are invited to attend this historic stride towards bringing back hemp farming in the United States after 50 years of prohibition. The proposed hemp farming rules may be viewed online here.
At the hearing a spectrum of agricultural interests, including contractors, farmers, market experts and a certified agrologist, will testify about their personal experiences growing industrial hemp in Canada which expects to plant an estimated 40,000 acres this year.
WHO:
-
North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson
-
Anndrea Hermann, Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, Agrologist and Researcher
-
Tom Murphy, National Outreach Coordinator for Vote Hemp
-
Local farmers and other industrial hemp advocates
WHAT: Public hearing on proposed North Dakota Hemp Farming Rules
WHEN: Thursday, June 15, 2006 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: North Dakota Heritage Center, Lecture Room B, 612 East Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND
In February, Commissioner Johnson, along with agriculture commissioners from three other states, met with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials in Washington, DC to explore acceptable rules on industrial hemp farming. The official meeting marked a turning point in the federal government’s relations with hemp-friendly policymakers who have been routinely ignored by DEA officials. This is seemingly an about face for an agency that has threatened to prosecute anyone who tries to grow non-psychoactive hemp in America.
While North Dakota’s proposed rules would require farmers to secure a permit from the DEA before their licenses would become effective, there is precedent for this as the DEA permitted a test plot of industrial hemp in Hawaii from 1999 to 2003. North Dakota’s proposed rules cover commercial hemp farming and include a number of restrictions to alleviate law enforcement concerns.
Some highlights of the proposed hemp farming rules include:
-
Farmers must consent to a criminal background check
-
To whom and how much the farmer sells must be documented within 30 days of sale
-
The location of the hemp field(s) must be provided using geopositioning (GPS) coordinates
-
Planted hemp seed must contain less than three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
Currently seven states (Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia) have passed pro-hemp farming laws. Sales of hemp foods in 2004/2005 grew by 50% over the previous 12-month period. U.S. retail sales of hemp products are estimated to now be $250 to $300 million per year. There are more than 2.5 million cars on U.S. roads that contain hemp composites. European farmers now grow more than 40,000 acres of hemp.
###
Vote Hemp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow hemp commercially.