Industrial Hemp Lawsuit Dismissed in North Dakota

Now it’s up to Congress to act — An Associated Press (AP) report states that “A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the government by two North Dakota farmers seeking to grow industrial hemp, which can be used to make a variety of products from rope to lotion.  The judge, Daniel L. Hovland of United States District Court in Bismark, said in his ruling on Wednesday that the best remedy might be to change the definition of industrial hemp under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, which does not distinguish the plant from the illegal drug marijuana.”
  To read the Vote Hemp report, Click Here. To read Judge Hovlan’s 22-page dismissal decision, Click Here.

Industrial Hemp Decision Near in North. Dakota

The court case pitting two respected North Dakota farmers against the U.S. Government’s DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) could resolve important questions about legalizing U.S. industrial hemp production as early as this week. The initial ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Dan Hovland will be on DEA’s motion to dismiss the farmers’ efforts to obtain DEA permission to plant industrial hemp next spring. DEA’s case appears to rest on the DEA contention that there is no distinction between marijuana and its distant cousin industrial hemp. If the judge rules that the two plants are in fact dissimilar, since industrial hemp is clearly non-psychoactive, legalization efforts would score a major victory. For full details of the court case, Click Here.
For a video of a press conference with the farmers and further background, Click Here.