Identity problem keeps alternative crop out of fields

By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press

CHICO, Calif. -- Nope, it's not dope.

That's the key message from those who would like to ease the nation's effective ban on cultivating industrial hemp.

While some say the plant has a significant role in the nation's history, its close association with marijuana has drawn the ire of drug enforcement agents and made it vulnerable to consumer stereotypes.

But industrial hemp and marijuana are only "kissing cousins," insists Valerie Reddemann, president of the Chico, Calif.-based Greenfeet, an online retailer that sells hemp products.

"The big difference is the level of THC," the active ingredient in pot that produces the high, Reddemann said. "I'm a big advocate of hemp, but I have never smoked marijuana a day in my life. People always think I'm some hippie because I'm all for (hemp)."

In reality, Reddemann said, the crop's versatility, durability and drought resistance make it a potential boon for American farmers struggling with poor returns in a weak economy or lack of water.

Imported, finished fabric from hemp plants can be used for everything from wallets and purses to clothing. Hemp food and body care products are carried at thousands of natural food stores and at national chains such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Trader Joe's, according to the organization Vote Hemp.

"People just love it," Reddemann said of the clothing material. "It's earned respect. It lasts much longer than cotton does."

Marijuana and hemp both come from the plant Cannibis sativa L, but from different varieties or cultivars, Vote Hemp explains on its Web site. Marijuana consists of flowering tops and leaves grown for their high THC content, while low-THC hemp plants are grown for their seeds and fiber.

Technically, it's not illegal to grow industrial hemp in the U.S. But doing so requires a permit from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which has been unwilling to allow the plant because of concerns about its potential for "diversion" into the illicit drug trade.

"As far as the Controlled Substances Act is concerned, hemp is part of the marijuana plant and it's illegal," said Barbara Carreno, a DEA spokeswoman. "Unless the Controlled Substance Act is changed, nothing is going to change in our approach to hemp."

Drug agents have also fretted that industrial hemp farms could be used to hide illicit marijuana plantings -- an argument that has drawn ridicule from hemp advocates. Cross-pollination between the two would virtually ruin the marijuana plant, advocates say.

A handful of states, including Oregon, have legalized industrial hemp, but a federal bill authored by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, that would exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana has languished in Congress since it was introduced last April.

Reddemann said she started researching industrial hemp in the 1990s and discovered it was once a staple of colonial America, having been farmed by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and used to make the first U.S. flag.

She said controversies over marijuana have prevented industrial hemp from reaching its potential in the U.S.

"I think there's a lot of uneducated people out there and a lack of information," she said.

"I think you would see farmers become more profitable" if there were no legal constraints on growing hemp, she said. "We would have improved soil, water and air quality by reducing a significant amount of dangerous chemicals. Not only would it help farmers but also surrounding communities."

Online

Vote Hemp: www.votehemp.com

Hemp Industries Association: www.thehia.org

H.R. 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009: www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1866

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration: www.justice.gov/dea