Just this past July farmers in North Dakota, who are some of the most financially hit sectors of the farming industry in the past decades, filed an appeal in the U.S. Courts of their denied industrial hemp lawsuit against the DEA that was formally filed in 2007. These farmers, who had some political influence, State Rep. David Monson and Wayne Hauge, initially had their lawsuit dismissed in 07 by U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland he said because of federal law that lumped industrial hemp together with marijuana under the controlled substances act. While North Dakota producers can purchase state licenses to grow industrial hemp, the DEA continues to ignore their requests for a federal registration.

Althought he characterized the DEA’s non response as unreasonable, Judge Hovland stated that “there is no realistic prospect the plaintiffs (Monson and Hauge) will ever be issued a license by the DEA to grow industrial hemp.”

Another example that was cited by this case was that the North Dakota Legislature had ordered North Dakota State University to begin testing industrial hemp cultivars for farmers in the late 1990s. NDSU applied to the DEA for the right to do so in 1999, but never heard back from the agency. It is quite evident in this case to all involved, including the appeals court judge that the DEA had just simply ignored the requests.

Adam Eidinger of VoteHemp, the organization that is funding the lawsuits, said it has been three years and the DEA continues to ignore the farmers’ requests for a federal registration. “The DEA can’t ignore the farmer forever,” Eidinger said. “We want to know one way or another what their decision is so we can move forward with this.” It’s seems that they may not get an answer simply because the DEA knows the laws that are restricting hemp are truly illogical.

The primary basis of the DEA’s polic you hemp is directly related to the government’s stance on marijuana even though that plant has nothing whatsoever to do with industrial hemp. While being both members of the cannabis family, industrial hemp has such a nearly microscopic amount of THC that is rendered completely useless to anyone seeking to get “high” from it.

Industrial hemp is a highly sutainable crop that can be made into some fo the most healthy, protein packed food products on the planet along with handily producing many industrial goods like paper, plastic, rubber and all sorts of home building materials like wall panels and hempcrete which is stronger than
concrete. Many of the materials such as rope, silk, cloth and even building materials are generally stronger and more durable than is currently being bought and sold in the global market.

NDSU had conducted a study validating industrial hemp as a alternative rotation crop. The letter read, “Industrial hemp is not marijuana and does not need to be regulated under the Controlled Substances Act. While the administration has recently softened its enforcement stance regarding the unlawful use of marijuana for medical purposes, North Dakota’s licensed hemp growers are barred from supplying our domestic market with a product their licensed Canadian counterparts have unfettered access to.” The U.S. Justice Department has not yet responded to this letter. Judy Carlson of the state agriculture department, whose contact information was listed in the letter, said she was notified the letter was simply forwarded to the DEA.

These isolated incidents only spotlight a small corner of the battle that farmers across the country have been waging against an unreasonably mute DEA that seems to be hiding behind the unreasonable and illogical tenets of the antiquated Controlled substances act which equates industrial hemp with marijuana. There is an exhaustive list of how hemp excels beyond ALL other crops on the planet for viability, production of raw material and sustain-ability for the soul. As more and more farmers become educated and look into the vast potential of hemp it becomes a complete no-brainer. Why aren’t we producing this crop? Why are we still being forced to import all of our hemp from foreign countries?