from The Lancaster County Democrat,
Lincoln, Nebraska, June 1996
"I think it's been difficult to deal with the issue of hemp because
of the close association with the illegal use of the plant known as marijuana.
I understand the good arguments about use of hemp. I just don't think expansion
of the law enforcement requirements would ever permit us (in Nebraska) to
get into doing that, but I do know that an opportunity is being missed."
-- U.S. Senate candidate Ben Nelson, answering a question about hemp on
KFAB, May 13, 1996.
When I heard that the Governor made these comments I felt it was time to
open publicly a legitimate discussion on industrial hemp in Nebraska p;
a discourse which has been previously been ignored due to the association
of the hemp movement with the marijuana legalization movement. I want to
take the opportunity to make some useful distinctions and clarifications
about what I feel is an issue of immediate importance to Nebraskans.
Hemp has been in the news lately because of the activism of actor Woody
Harrelson (of Cheers fame). Harrelson got himself (intentionally) arrested
on May 31st as an act of civil disobedience for planting four (4) industrial
hemp seeds on a Kentucky farm. This sets up a challenge to the law to define
distinctions between hemp and marijuana.
The distinctions sought to be legally established are the basis of the entire
issue. There are two major cultivars of the plant Cannabis Sativa. One subspecies,
commonly known by many names including "marijuana," contains levels
of the psychoactive agent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) above 0.5%. The other,
also known as industrial hemp, contains less than 0.5% THC. These are standards
currently used by the European Economic Community. Distinctions can also
be made based on the relative content of THC to the non-psychoactive molecule,
cannabidiol (CBD) [i.e. plants with more CBD than THC can be considered
industrial]. The distinction is important because industrial hemp can't
be used as a drug in any fashion. In other words, there is absolutely no
quantity of industrial hemp that can be smoked to produce a "high."
Furthermore, the industrial plant can't refined to produce "hashish"
due to the presence of CBD molecules.
Industrial hemp has many uses. Its primary utility comes from its strong
fibers which have a tensile strength exponentially greater than that of
cotton (as much as eight times by some estimates). As such, hemp is the
best fiber plant on Earth for textile production. It also makes excellent
paper. Countless other products can be made from the hemp seed alone. Seed
oil products include methanol, soap, detergents, plastics, paints, varnishes,
and cosmetics. All of the above are clean, environmentally friendly products.
Hemp is very practical to grow. The USDA has conservatively estimated the
yield of a hemp crop (in terms of its biomass) to be four times that of
trees per unit area. This means that a hemp farmer using one acre of land
could grow a mass of fiber at least four times that of a fiber tree crop
grown in another acre. In addition, hemp is an annual crop and tree crops
take as long as 20 years to reach maturity. When viewed in the context of
a paper and timber industry which admits that we are facing a severe worldwide
fiber shortage, hemp seems like a critically important resource. If hemp
production could prevent cutting of old growth timber, imagine the widespread
support the issue would receive from environmentalists.
In Nebraska, hemp plants reach 15 to 20 feet in height in the wild with
no agricultural encouragement. This is because Nebraska's climate is ideally
suited to growing the industrial variety of the plant. In fact, Nebraska
"ditchweed" is estimated to have less than 0.1% THC, making it
a viable and marketable fiber crop. Experts estimate that there are already
several hundred thousand acres of industrial quality hemp growing wild in
Nebraska p; hemp with no drug potential.
Is there a market for hemp? Environmentally conscious consumers are everywhere
in this country. Since hemp can be grown organically almost as well as with
chemicals, it is one of the most viable "green" crops on the planet.
Hemp clothing stores are springing up all over the country and people are
paying premium prices for hemp products. Hemp stores (such as Hemp Fields
in Lincoln) are surviving selling shirts for 40 to 80 dollars each. If the
domestic supply increased, prices would drop and the industry would have
a better opportunity to succeed.
The most common concern of law enforcement agencies and the concern cited
by Governor Nelson is that legalizing hemp would make it impossible to enforce
current drug policy . However, the concern is unwarranted for two reasons.
First, the industrial hemp plant as previously mentioned grows like trees
p; reaching heights of up to 20 feet. The drug plant is much smaller
(3 to 10 feet) and has a much different appearance. This would make visual
spot checking of hemp farms an easy and effective method of enforcement.
Further, random samples could be collected as necessary from hemp crops
and submitted for lab testing using gas chromatography or simple chemical
analysis.
It is also necessary to keep in mind that any new hemp industry would be
regulated, and growing hemp would require a license. All hemp crops would
be known in location and easily checked. No new legislation would allow
for a "free for all license" to grow hemp anywhere.
Critics commonly argue that the hemp movement is just a front for full legalization
of marijuana. With the distinctions made above, the line is clearly drawn.
Proponents need to be aware that supporting medical use of marijuana is
one step onto a slippery slope. While there are arguments in support of
medical use of the plant, they step over the line into a gray area that
is not relevant in the context of strictly industrial hemp.
Currently, Vermont is the only state that has passed legislation to investigate
the viability of industrial hemp. At the time of this writing, similar legislation
is pending in Missouri and Hawaii and has been defeated in Colorado for
1996. With the support of an American Farm Bureau resolution at its 1996
convention, it is likely that other states will follow suit next year.
The earlier a state gets into the hemp market, the more it stands to gain.
The longer a state waits, the less likely it is to fully exploit its potential
in a new market.
If there is a cognitive difference and a botanical difference between hemp
and marijuana, then there needs to be a legal distinction.
If the above arguments are sound, there is no excuse for an industrial hemp
bill not being introduced and passed in the 1997 Nebraska Unicameral.
--Carter Van Pelt