Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
It's not marijuana. You can't get high on it. But you still can't grow it.
Proponents of industrial hemp believe they are making progress - slowly - in re-legitimizing what was for centuries a legitimate crop in the United States. But frustration remains.
The cousin of marijuana, which has a much smaller concentration of THC, was once grown by Founding Fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It has been used by the U.S. military to make tents, parachutes, rope and other essential material as recently as World War II.
The crop requires relatively few inputs and would likely do well on marginal ground.
Yet regulatory issues continue to dog hemp, which is mired in a struggle between two federal agencies - the Department of Agriculture and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
"It's crazy, because the DEA doesn't know whether they're on foot or horseback," said Calhoun County farmer Jeff Gain, who has promoted hemp for decades. "Four states now have legalized recreational marijuana, and 20 or so others have legalized it for medical use. But industrial hemp, which is not even a drug, can't get the time of day."
Gain, one of the founders of the North American Industrial Hemp Council, is a former chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association and former executive director of the American Soybean Association.
David Monson, a North Dakota state representative who farms near the Canadian border, has also pushed for years for federal permission to grow the crop, which is legal just 20 miles to the north.
"I was hoping DEA would be left out of the picture and the farm bill would take care of it," he said. "It doesn't seem like that's happening. Now we have two agencies involved with it."
Monson and other advocates got more bad news recently. The DEA announced Aug. 11 it has denied petitions to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp, leaving the plant's classification the same as marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.
"The 2014 Act did not remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances and, with certain limited exceptions, the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the CSA continue to apply to industrial hemp-related activities," DEA said in a statement.
While hemp has many uses, its most promising may be its fiber, which is some of the strongest found in nature. Detroit automakers have used the material in the past for doors and other parts. Gain tells of an experimental truck body Henry Ford made entirely from hemp fiber.
"There's a picture of him hitting the truck with a sledgehammer, to show how strong it is," Gain said. "It's more practical today than it ever was. You can make a car body that is 100 percent bio-based. When you're through with that car body, you can compost it and turn it back into topsoil."
One challenge outside the political arena is introducing the crop within a marketing infrastructure that favors corn and soybeans.
Like many new crops, hemp has a classic chicken-or-egg problem. The absence of nearby processing plants provides little incentive to grow it. But without a steady supply, there is little incentive for constructing processing plants.
"I believe the fiber market is the place you can find the opportunity for a lot more jobs," Monson said. "It will have to be processed fairly close to home because it's bulky and it costs a lot to transport it. Industrial hemp would be excellent if we could crack into that market."
Gain points to a number of agronomic benefits of growing hemp. It resists insects and disease, and its leaves provide compost after dropping from the plant. In addition, studies have shown it can help reduce populations of soybean cyst nematode when used in a crop rotation strategy.
Ironically, one perceived benefit of growing hemp on a wide scale may now be considered a detriment. Supporters in the past - who were often lumped into the same lobbying group as those pushing for legalization of marijuana - pointed out cross-pollination between the crop and marijuana would actually lower the THC levels in marijuana. Now that has been turned around.
"The other day I heard the argument that now that we're selling (marijuana) for medical and recreational use, we shouldn't be growing industrial hemp because it reduces the THC level," Gain said. "Give me a break."
Arguments against legalizing hemp production are murky.
"I don't know why; I really don't," he said. "When I was the CEO of the National Corn Growers, I knew who my enemy was on ethanol. I met with the president of Standard Oil in downtown Chicago one time and we talked about it. But I don't know who it is in this case."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Illinois Advocates For Industrial Hemp Struggle With Policy
Author: Nat Williams
Contact: 800-475-6655
Photo Credit: Burton Johnson
Website: Illinois Farmer Today
Proponents of industrial hemp believe they are making progress - slowly - in re-legitimizing what was for centuries a legitimate crop in the United States. But frustration remains.
The cousin of marijuana, which has a much smaller concentration of THC, was once grown by Founding Fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It has been used by the U.S. military to make tents, parachutes, rope and other essential material as recently as World War II.
The crop requires relatively few inputs and would likely do well on marginal ground.
Yet regulatory issues continue to dog hemp, which is mired in a struggle between two federal agencies - the Department of Agriculture and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
"It's crazy, because the DEA doesn't know whether they're on foot or horseback," said Calhoun County farmer Jeff Gain, who has promoted hemp for decades. "Four states now have legalized recreational marijuana, and 20 or so others have legalized it for medical use. But industrial hemp, which is not even a drug, can't get the time of day."
Gain, one of the founders of the North American Industrial Hemp Council, is a former chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association and former executive director of the American Soybean Association.
David Monson, a North Dakota state representative who farms near the Canadian border, has also pushed for years for federal permission to grow the crop, which is legal just 20 miles to the north.
"I was hoping DEA would be left out of the picture and the farm bill would take care of it," he said. "It doesn't seem like that's happening. Now we have two agencies involved with it."
Monson and other advocates got more bad news recently. The DEA announced Aug. 11 it has denied petitions to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp, leaving the plant's classification the same as marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.
"The 2014 Act did not remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances and, with certain limited exceptions, the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the CSA continue to apply to industrial hemp-related activities," DEA said in a statement.
While hemp has many uses, its most promising may be its fiber, which is some of the strongest found in nature. Detroit automakers have used the material in the past for doors and other parts. Gain tells of an experimental truck body Henry Ford made entirely from hemp fiber.
"There's a picture of him hitting the truck with a sledgehammer, to show how strong it is," Gain said. "It's more practical today than it ever was. You can make a car body that is 100 percent bio-based. When you're through with that car body, you can compost it and turn it back into topsoil."
One challenge outside the political arena is introducing the crop within a marketing infrastructure that favors corn and soybeans.
Like many new crops, hemp has a classic chicken-or-egg problem. The absence of nearby processing plants provides little incentive to grow it. But without a steady supply, there is little incentive for constructing processing plants.
"I believe the fiber market is the place you can find the opportunity for a lot more jobs," Monson said. "It will have to be processed fairly close to home because it's bulky and it costs a lot to transport it. Industrial hemp would be excellent if we could crack into that market."
Gain points to a number of agronomic benefits of growing hemp. It resists insects and disease, and its leaves provide compost after dropping from the plant. In addition, studies have shown it can help reduce populations of soybean cyst nematode when used in a crop rotation strategy.
Ironically, one perceived benefit of growing hemp on a wide scale may now be considered a detriment. Supporters in the past - who were often lumped into the same lobbying group as those pushing for legalization of marijuana - pointed out cross-pollination between the crop and marijuana would actually lower the THC levels in marijuana. Now that has been turned around.
"The other day I heard the argument that now that we're selling (marijuana) for medical and recreational use, we shouldn't be growing industrial hemp because it reduces the THC level," Gain said. "Give me a break."
Arguments against legalizing hemp production are murky.
"I don't know why; I really don't," he said. "When I was the CEO of the National Corn Growers, I knew who my enemy was on ethanol. I met with the president of Standard Oil in downtown Chicago one time and we talked about it. But I don't know who it is in this case."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Illinois Advocates For Industrial Hemp Struggle With Policy
Author: Nat Williams
Contact: 800-475-6655
Photo Credit: Burton Johnson
Website: Illinois Farmer Today
