The Hemp Report

     Sometimes it is a little bizarre to think that getting to the point where we can farm industrial hemp in the United States requires little more than overcoming the objections of law enforcement and the drug policy wonks in our government. Our opposition simply does not want to talk about economic development and agricultural policy.

     "We try to base our positions on science and reality," as I was quoted in the story "Governor Vetoes Second Hemp Bill" in the Capital Press Agriculture Weekly. We have them beaten in those two arenas, so they wield their authority and power to unfairly influence the media and state and federal legislators into believing just about any fictional storyline that they want to tell.

     Last month, California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) was quoted as saying "there are going to be some practical lessons learned from North Dakota that show this is not the boogeyman to law enforcement that some people try to make it out to be."

     The issue of hemp farming has never been a problem for law enforcement in North Dakota. Every piece of legislation that has been put forth in the past decade has passed overwhelmingly. In an interesting turn of events, just before oral arguments next week in Bismarck, North Dakota State University (NDSU), a publicly-funded land grant university, has taken the unprecedented step of submitting an amicus brief in support of the two North Dakota farmers trying to grow hemp there. The legal case is funded entirely by Vote Hemp, thanks to contributions from supporters like you.

     Please make a contribution to Vote Hemp today. Your donation to our Hemp Farmer Licensing and Legal Support Fund will help North Dakota (and soon, we hope, other) farmers overcome the unreasonable roadblocks that have been placed before them.

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