North Dakota Update
Nov 6, 2008 Laws, Video
Tags: David Monson, DEA, North Dakota, Vote Hemp, Wayne Hauge
A few days ago, we posted about how two North Dakota farmers were finally getting their day in court. In June of 2007, the farmers filed a lawsuit against teh DEA’s band on commercial hemp farming in the US, and on November 12, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will begin hearing oral arguments. Well, the Wisoncisn Ag Connection has some clarification on the exact nature of the lawsuit:
In 2007 the North Dakota Legislature removed the requirement that state-licensed industrial hemp farmers first obtain DEA permits before growing hemp. The question before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will be whether or not federal authorities can prosecute state-licensed farmers who grow non-drug oilseed and fiber hemp pursuant to North Dakota state law. Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading industrial hemp advocacy group, and its supporters are providing financial support for the lawsuit. If it is successful, states across the nation will be free to implement their own hemp farming laws without fear of federal interference.
So basically, while the state of North Dakota permits farmers to grow industrial hemp, the federal government does not. Consequently, therefore, a state license to grow hemp is pretty much useless because it does not protect you from federal indictment.
Complete background information on this case is available on the Vote Hemp – Legal Cases: North Dakota page. And here is some footage of the post-court press conference last November.
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November 15th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
[...] prosecution under federal law. This kind of catch-22 is precisely what’s behind the current North Dakota case where two farmers are fighting for their right to grow [...]
December 9th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
[...] that two North Dakota farmers are still in court with the DEA, fighting for the right to grow industrial hemp licenses without being federally prosecuted, the [...]