Hemp

[Courtesy of Vote Hemp] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2008 CONTACT: Adam Eidinger, t: 202-744-2671, e: [email protected] or Tom Murphy, t: 207-542-4998, e: [email protected] Hemp for Vermont Bill Becomes Law State Wants Federal Permission for Farmers to Grow Hemp MONTPELIER, Vermont – Vote Hemp, a grassroots advocacy organization working to give farmers the right to grow non-drug industrial hemp, is extremely pleased that Vermont Governor Jim Douglas allowed H.267, the Hemp for Vermont Bill, to become law without his signature yesterday afternoon. The bill overwhelmingly passed both the House (126 to 9) and the Senate (25 to 1). The new law sets up a state-regulated program for farmers to grow non-drug industrial hemp, which is used in a wide variety of products, including nutritious foods, cosmetics, body care, clothing, tree-free paper, auto parts, building materials and much more. Learn more about industrial hemp at: www.VoteHemp.com. Smart and effective grassroots organizing by Vote Hemp and the Vermont-based advocacy group Rural Vermont (www.ruralvermont.org) mobilized farmers and local businesses, many of which pledged to buy their hemp raw materials in-state if they have the opportunity. Rural Vermont’s Director Amy Shollenberger says that “the Hemp for Vermont bill is another step toward legalizing this important crop for farmers. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't allow this crop to be grown. Looking at the Canadian experience, hemp provides a good return for the farmer. It's a high-yield crop and a great crop to mix in with corn.” Vermont grows an average of 90,000 acres of corn per year, a small amount compared to Midwest states; however, the need for a good rotation crop exists nationwide. From candle makers to dairymen to retailers, Vermont voters strongly support hemp farming. Admittedly a niche market now, hemp is becoming more common in stores and products across the country every day. Over the past ten years, farmers in Canada have grown an average of 16,500 acres of hemp per year, primarily for use in food products. In Vermont, the interest in hemp includes for use in food products, as well as in quality and affordable animal bedding for the state’s estimated 140,000 cows. “Vermont’s federal delegation can now take this law to the U.S. Congress and call for a fix to this problem of farmers missing out on a very useful and profitable crop,” comments Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “North Dakota farmers who want to grow hemp per state law are currently appealing their lawsuit in the federal courts. The real question is whether these hemp-friendly state congressional delegations feel compelled to act,” adds Steenstra. Rural Vermont’s Shollenberger states that “the Vermont law is significant for two reasons. First, no other state until now has followed North Dakota’s lead by creating real-world regulations for farmers to grow industrial hemp. Second, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont is Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, as well as a member of the Committee on Agriculture – relevant committees that could consider legislation. We also have a friend at the USDA in new Secretary Ed Schaffer who signed North Dakota’s hemp bill as Governor. I plan to visit Washington, DC and try to figure out what Congress and the Administration intend to do.” # # # Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow this agricultural crop. More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com and www.HempIndustries.org. BETA SP or DVD Video News Releases featuring footage of hemp farming in other countries are available upon request by contacting Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671.

Kiza Park is located 3 miles north of Manderson SD, on BIA 33, near Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. A hempcrete building project/workshop will be conducted at this site from May 11th through June 15th, supervised by American Limetec. We’re calling this project Maka Akan Wicoti (Community Upon The Earth), or Eco-Wicoti. For a variety of reasons, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota is one of the poorest locales in North America. The population grows while employment opportunities are nearly non-existent. Federal assistance under the Bureau of Indian Affairs is substandard. The supply of adequate housing diminishes each year. A crisis, (and now an opportunity) presented itself on December 20, 2007. The family homestead of Alex and Debra White Plume burned to the ground as the result of an electrical fire. The house was home to Alex and Debra, daughter Rosebud and her children, and grandchildren Tyson and Denise. The home served as the hub around which the White Plume clan turned. Many irreplaceable artifacts, ceremonial items, and records from their lifetime of work in human and indigenous rights are now gone. Alex has been Oglala Sioux Tribal President and Vice President. The White Plumes oversee a political action group called Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way) that is stopping uranium mining on the reservation and the Black Hills. Owe Aku is also active in protecting water, sacred sites, and economic development through renewable energy as well. In 2002, the White Plumes became the only farmers within the boundaries of the USA to have raised and delivered a crop of hemp since 1968. The United States quickly made it impossible to do so again. The Lakota Hemp Project is still fighting what they see as legal and political stupidity. Now, the perfect moment in time for the global hemp movement to take action has arrived. Building a home and community that demonstrates the potential of hemp to the world is now underway. Hempcrete is a building material that is formed by combining air-lime based binders with the chopped core of the hemp plant stem. It can be pored into a form almost identical to pouring concrete, or spray applied. Hempcrete homes are lightweight, fire, water, earthquake, and rodent resistant, have excellent thermal mass and insulation characteristics that allows the homes to breath, which saves money on heating and cooling costs, has high sound insulation, and good flexibility. This building technique also sequesters a lot of carbon, reversing the damaging effects of greenhouse gases, providing one the best value materials for low impact, sustainable and commercially viable construction. The Roman aqueducts were most likely built this way, as were still active bridges in France dating to the sixth century. Homes such as these are being built in Europe today, and a new Chicago company called American Lime Technology is ready to use this technique here in the U.S. The White Plume’s community center will be the first building of its kind in America. With help from friends, relatives, and the global hemp community, rebuilding efforts are now in progress. A surviving portion of the foundation of the burned home has been re-used to build a simple building to get the family under a roof. The community center, located above Kiza Park, will be the site for this hempcrete building project. The community center is intended for neighbors to use for wakes and meetings, while serving as the hub around which a sustainable community will be built. The community center needs to be rebuilt, because much of the building materials in it have been used to rebuild Alex and Debra’s new house. The community center already has a floor, a foundation, and a timber frame, which are the requirements for a hempcrete building. Underneath the siding is a plywood wall that will be used to facilitate the spraying of the Hempcrete. The roof on the center needs to be replaced. A green tin will be used, which lasts much longer than asphalt. Then a solar powered water heater will be installed over the tin. The center already has electric power, and an original homestead well is nearby where a solar well pump will be installed. The inside of the building needs funding and labor to finish the interior rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and utility. Every possible conservation and sustainability technique will be incorporated into all aspects of the design, including water consumption, composting toilets, heating and cooling, and renewable energy. A green pool where plants instead of chemicals clean gray water for gardening is in the planning, as well as a greenhouse system. The entire lot will be fenced off to keep horses out of the gardens, which will have row covers to keep the grasshoppers out. Housing/rental bungalows built out of straw bale and cob will then be strung along the ridge beside the road all the way down to the Kiza Park. A natural amphitheater in front of Wounded Knee creek, and a bridge into the campground will then be built, linking the community center with Kiza Park. The idea is to create a thriving eco-community that provides workshops and information for others on Pine Ridge and around the region, teaching them how to live sustainable by providing a sustainable model. Then an eco-hemp store will be opened in Kiza Park to bring economic development and further knowledge to the area, which will be passed on to others, providing a location where tourists, hemp enthusiasts, and visitors can come and stay in a green cottage, ride horses and mountain bikes, take classes, and eat buffalo and other organically grown local foods, all in a comfortable and educational environment. The 8th Annual Hemp Hoe Down (May 8-10, 2008) at the Elkview Campground near Sturgis, South Dakota, will be held as a benefit for the White Plume building project. This year's event proceeds will be applied to help build the green home. The Hemp Hoe Down regularly features workshops regarding sustainability, and will be expanded this year to allow attendees the option to travel to Pine Ridge after the event and help participate in the construction of the home. Donations will be contributed to the construction of the house, and volunteers and workers are needed. Engineers, contractors, and others involved in construction are encouraged to attend to learn this amazing building technique. Hemp will have to be imported from Europe for the Hempcrete portion of the house, which will be expensive. However, American Limetec has graciously offered to do the construction and workshop without a fee. Join us! Learn sustainable building techniques. Email Jeremy Briggs at [email protected]. Please send donations to Alex White Plume, PO Box 71, Manderson, SD, 57756. For more information visit: www.bringbacktheway.com; www.hempheodown.com; www.kizapark.com; and www.americanlimetec.com.

[Courtesy of Ruth's Hemp Foods]   This week marks the 10th anniversary since Canada's Industrial Hemp Regulations came into effect. On March 12, 1998, about 100 people gathered in Tillsonburg, Ontario with great excitement to hear our former Minister of Health, Allan Rock, make the announcement, formalizing what we had been working towards for several years previous. We've come a long way. Starting at just 264 licensed acres in 1998, a high point was reached in 2006 at over 48,000 acres. And the players have changed as well - very few of the faces in that room are still involved, and many new ones have appeared. Now to grow hemp in the US... see below for a delicious way to support American farmers. To celebrate the birthday of the modern hemp industry, we're taking 20% off of all our products! Shop at www.ruthshempfoods.com, and at check-out, code in Happy 10 to receive the discount. It will be good until March 22. In Hemp and Health, Ruth VoteHemp bar Support the right of American farmers to grow hemp! Despite the fact that most Canadian hemp is now sold in the US, it is not legal to grow in that country... yet! Read about the struggle to legalize commercial hemp at www.VoteHemp.com. And here's a delicious way to support VoteHemp: buy the VoteHemp bar - we donate 20% of the profits of this bar to VoteHemp. Scroll to the bottom of this page http://www.ruthshempfoods.com/hempbars.html to buy the VoteHemp bar.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 19, 2007 CONTACTS: Tom Murphy 207-542-4998 or [email protected], Adam Eidinger 202-744-2671 or [email protected] North Dakota’s Licensed Hemp Farmers File Appeal in Eighth Circuit BISMARCK, ND – Two North Dakota farmers, whose federal lawsuit to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ban on state-licensed and regulated commercial hemp farming in the United States was dismissed on November 28, 2007, filed their appeal today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. A copy of the appeal will be available later this evening at: http://www.VoteHemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html. Lawyers working on behalf of the farmers, State Representative David Monson and Wayne Hauge, are appealing the district court’s inexplicable ruling that said hemp and marijuana are the “same,” as the DEA has contended. The ruling failed to properly consider the Commerce Clause argument that the plaintiffs raised — that Congress cannot interfere with North Dakota’s state-regulated hemp program. Indeed, the lower court itself recognized in the decision under appeal that “the stalk, fiber, sterilized seed, and oil of the industrial hemp plant, and their derivatives, are legal under federal law, and those parts of the plant are expressly excluded from the definition of ‘marijuana’ under the CSA [Controlled Substances Act].” “This appeal is basically saying why can Canadian farmers grow non-drug industrial hemp plants to produce perfectly legal hemp fiber and seed commodities for the interstate US market, but North Dakota farmers cannot under North Dakota’s state-regulated industrial hemp program,” says Vote Hemp President Eric Steenstra. “The DEA has banned hemp farming for 50 years by conflating hemp and marijuana on very shaky legal ground while at the same time imports of hemp fiber, seed and oil are allowed. With North Dakota regulating industrial hemp, there is no reasonable threat farmers would be able to grow marijuana without being caught,” says Steenstra. Scientific evidence clearly shows that industrial hemp, which includes the oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis that would be grown pursuant to North Dakota law, is genetically distinct from the drug varieties of Cannabis and has absolutely no use as a recreational drug. Vote Hemp, the nation's leading industrial hemp advocacy group, and its supporters are providing financial assistance for the lawsuit. If the suit is ultimately successful, states across the nation will be free to implement their own regulated hemp farming programs without fear of federal interference. More information about the case can be found at: http://www.VoteHemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html. # # # Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow this agricultural crop. More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com and www.HempIndustries.org. BETA SP or DVD Video News Releases featuring footage of hemp farming in other countries are available upon request by contacting Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671.

[Courtesy of Vote Hemp] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 12, 2007 CONTACT: Adam Eidinger: 202-744-2671, [email protected] or Tom Murphy 207-542-4998, [email protected] North Dakota’s Licensed Hemp Farmers Appeal Federal Court Decision BISMARCK, ND – Two North Dakota farmers, who filed a federal lawsuit in June to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ban on commercial hemp farming in the United States and had their case dismissed on November 28, have filed a notice of appeal today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Lawyers working on behalf of the farmers, Representative David Monson and Wayne Hauge, are appealing a number of issues. In particular, the lower court inexplicably ruled that hemp and marijuana are the “same,” as the DEA has contended, and thus failed to properly consider the Commerce Clause argument that the plaintiffs raised — that Congress cannot interfere with North Dakota’s state-regulated hemp program. Scientific evidence clearly shows that industrial hemp, which includes the oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis that would have been grown pursuant to North Dakota law, is genetically distinct from the drug varieties of Cannabis and has absolutely no recreational drug effect. Even though the farmers' legal battle continues, the lawsuit prompted the DEA to respond to the North Dakota State University (NDSU) application for federal permission to grow industrial hemp for research purposes, which has languished for nearly a decade. University officials, however, say it could cost them more than $50,000 to install 10-foot-high fences and meet other strict DEA requirements such as high-powered lighting. NDSU officials are reviewing the DEA’s proposal, and Vote Hemp is hopeful that an agreement can be reached before planting season gets under way. If an agreement between the DEA and NDSU is reached and ultimately signed, it would pave the way for agricultural hemp research and development in North Dakota. Such research is key to developing varieties of industrial hemp best suited for North Dakota’s climate. “We are happy this lawsuit is moving forward with an appeal,” says Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp, a non-profit organization working to bring industrial hemp farming back to the U.S. “We feel that the lower court’s decision not only overlooks Congress’s original legislative intent, but also fails to stand up for fundamental states’ rights against overreaching federal regulation. Canada grows over 30,000 acres of industrial hemp annually without any law enforcement problems. In our federalist society, it is not the burden of North Dakota’s citizens to ask Congress in Washington, D.C. to clear up its contradictory and confusing regulations concerning Cannabis; it is their right to grow industrial hemp pursuant to their own state law and the United States Constitution,” adds Steenstra. Vote Hemp, the nation's leading industrial hemp advocacy group, and its supporters are providing financial support for the lawsuit. If it is ultimately successful, states across the nation will be free to implement their own hemp farming laws without fear of federal interference. More on the case can be found at: http://www.VoteHemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 29, 2007 CONTACT: Adam Eidinger: 202-744-2671, [email protected] or Tom Murphy: 207-542-4998, [email protected] Court Rejects North Dakota Farmers’ Bid to Grow Industrial Hemp Congress Should Address this Problem, Says Judge Lawsuit Motivated DEA to Offer Hemp Research Agreement to NDSU after Eight-Year Wait BISMARCK, ND – Two North Dakota farmers, who filed a federal lawsuit in June to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ban on commercial hemp farming in the United States, had their case dismissed by federal Judge Daniel Hovland yesterday. In a 22-page decision, Judge Hovland wrote that the problem facing state-licensed hemp farmers David Monson and Wayne Hauge needs to be addressed by Congress if they hope to ever grow the versatile crop which is used in everything from food and soap to clothing and auto parts. The decision can be read at: http://www.votehemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html. Lawyers working on behalf of the farmers are considering an appeal on a number of issues. In particular, the Court ruled that hemp and marijuana are the same, as the DEA has contended for years. However, scientific evidence clearly shows that not only is industrial hemp genetically distinct from the drug marijuana, there are also absolutely no psychoactive effects from ingesting it. “Obviously we are disappointed with the decision,” says Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp, a grassroots group working to bring industrial hemp farming back to the U.S. “The Court’s decision shows it understands that the established and growing market for industrial hemp would be beneficial for North Dakota farmers to supply. Yet the decision overlooks Congress’s original intent – and the fact that farmers continued to grow hemp in the U.S. for twenty years after marijuana was banned. If the plaintiffs decide to appeal the case, we would wholeheartedly support that effort. We are not giving up and will take this decision to Washington, DC to prompt action by Congress on HR 1009, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007, which would clarify a state’s right to grow the crop,” adds Steenstra. In a related development, Vote Hemp has learned that the DEA has sent a “Memorandum of Agreement” to North Dakota State University (NDSU) which, if signed by the school, would clear the way for industrial hemp research there. NDSU filed an amicus brief in support of the farmers’ lawsuit which highlighted the university’s eight-year struggle to secure a license from the DEA to grow industrial hemp for research as mandated by state law. “It seems our arguments about the DEA’s delay in processing NDSU’s application have resulted in the agency finally taking positive action to allow research,” comments David Bronner, President of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, a manufacturer of soap and other body care products using hemp oil imported from Canada. Vote Hemp, the nation's leading industrial hemp advocacy group, and its supporters are providing financial support for the lawsuit. If it is ultimately successful, states across the nation will be free to implement their own hemp farming laws without fear of federal interference. More on the case can be found at: http://www.VoteHemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 2007 CONTACT: Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671, [email protected], or Tom Murphy at 207-542-4998, [email protected] Judge Promises Decision by End of November in North Dakota Hemp Farming Lawsuit – Monson v. DEA BISMARCK, ND – Two North Dakota farmers who filed a lawsuit in June to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ban on commercial hemp farming in the United States were in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. The farmers, State Rep. David Monson of Osnabrock and Wayne Hauge of Ray, observed the oral arguments made before Judge Daniel Hovland on their behalf by attorneys Tim Purdon and Joe Sandler. Judge Hovland stated he had read and re-read the briefs filed by both sides in the landmark case and concluded the hearing by saying, “I promise to make a decision by the end of the month,” in regards to the DEA’s motion to dismiss. In the meantime, Judge Hovland stayed the farmers motion for summary judgment as he felt the motion to dismiss should be dealt with first. “Today’s arguments revealed numerous weak points that the DEA is relying on to thwart this landmark case,” said Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “The DEA’s assertion that the farmers didn’t have standing because they haven’t grown industrial hemp yet was rejected by Judge Hovland when he said ‘I am not convinced that the plaintiffs have to expose themselves to prosecution’ and reminded Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney Wendy Ertmer, who argued on behalf of the government, that ‘this Court has jurisdiction to make a declaratory judgment,’ which is what we are seeking,” added Steenstra. Judge Hovland expressed skepticism that the DEA would ever act on the applications, based on the fact that an application by North Dakota State University was still pending after more than eight years. Judge Hovland also indicated he thinks that the DEA has “prejudged the merits of the applications to grow hemp.” While much of the government’s dispute centered on their contention that this case is not ripe because they are still considering the farmers’ application, attorney Joe Sandler argued that the application the farmers made to the DEA is no longer really the issue. “This case is unique because North Dakota is the only state to regulate industrial hemp so only the exempted portions of plant, that is, the non-viable seed, stalk and oil, enter commerce of any kind, whether intrastate or interstate,” said Sandler. “When the North Dakota legislature changed its eight-year-old hemp law to no longer require a DEA license this past April, it made it a matter of state law that the farmer who goes through the licensing process need not involve the DEA in any way since only the exempted portions of the plant, as described in the Controlled Substances Act, would enter commerce.” Judge Hovland also asked Ms. Ertmer what the DOJ’s position is on HR 1009, the federal Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007. Ms. Ertmer said she did not know, however Vote Hemp believes that the DOJ would in fact aggressively oppose the Act if it were to be heard in Congress. A transcript of the November 14 hearing will be available in a couple weeks. If successful, the landmark lawsuit will lead to the first state–regulated commercial cultivation of industrial hemp in fifty years. 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. More on the case can be found at: http://www.VoteHemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html.

[Courtesy of Vote Hemp] NEWS ADVISORY: November 7, 2007 CONTACT: Adam Eidinger, T: 202-744-2671, E: [email protected] or Tom Murphy T: 207-542-4998, E: [email protected] North Dakota Farmers in Court Nov. 14 for Oral Arguments in Hemp Lawsuit BISMARCK, ND – Two North Dakota farmers, who filed a lawsuit in June to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ban on commercial hemp farming in the United States, will have their day in court on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 in Bismarck, North Dakota. Oral arguments begin at 10:00 am CST in the William L. Guy Federal Building, 220 E Rosser Ave Bismarck, ND and will immediately be followed by a press conference on the courthouse steps. The farmers – State Rep. David Monson of Osnabrock and Wayne Hauge of Ray – will appear in court to observe oral arguments made on their behalf by attorneys Tim Purdon and Joe Sandler. If successful, the landmark lawsuit will lead to the first state–regulated cultivation of commercial industrial hemp farming in fifty years. WHO: Rep. David Monson, North Dakota House assistant majority leader, farmer Wayne Hauge, licensed hemp farmer Tim Purdon, Vogel Law Firm, Bismarck, attorney for the plaintiffs Joe Sandler, co-counsel for plaintiffs and legal counsel for VoteHemp.com Eric Steenstra, president, VoteHemp.com WHAT: Oral Arguments Media Availability and Teleconference on New Lawsuit to Grow Hemp WHERE: William Guy Federal Building, 220 E. Rosser Ave., Bismarck, ND 58501 WHEN: Monday, November 14, 10:00 am CDT, Oral Arguments, Media Availability Afterwards The North Dakota Legislature recently removed the requirement that state-licensed industrial hemp farmers first obtain DEA permits before growing hemp. The question before the U.S. district court 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 it’s supporters are providing financial support for the lawsuit. If successful, states across the nation will be free to implement hemp farming laws without fear of federal interference. More on the case can be found at http://www.votehemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html.

For Immediate Release: October 29, 2007 Contact: Adam Eidinger T: 202-744-2671, E: [email protected] or Tom Murphy T: 207-542-4998, E:[email protected] NDSU Files Amicus in Support of Hemp Farming Lawsuit DEA Makes Feeble Argument that Hemp Can be Turned into Drugs BISMARCK, ND – North Dakota State University (NDSU), a publicly funded land grant university has taken the unprecedented step of submitting an amicus brief in support of two North Dakota farmers, Rep. Dave Monson and Wayne Hague, who filed a lawsuit in June to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ban on state-regulated commercial hemp farming in the United States. In the amicus, NDSU states that since 1999 they have waited for DEA to grant their application to grow non-drug industrial hemp to create varieties best suited for the North Dakota climate and soil conditions. NDSU contends these farmers should be granted relief from the court, as it is pointless to wait for DEA’s decision on licensing because the school’s interaction with the DEA shows the federal agency has no intention of cooperating with a premier agricultural university let alone private farmers. The amicus can be read online at http://www.votehemp.com/legal_cases_ND.html. Due to DEA’s obstructionism, the North Dakota Legislature removed earlier this year the requirement that state-licensed industrial hemp farmers first obtain DEA permits before growing hemp, enabling the plaintiff farmers to bring their case. In a Reply to the DEA’s Opposition to the farmers’ Motion for Summary Judgment filed Friday, lawyers for Monson and Hauge argue that not only do the farmers have standing as they are licensed by the state to grow industrial hemp and do not have to risk arrest before growing the crop, but that DEA is ignoring that the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) exempts non-drug hemp seed, oil and fiber from control. DEA is improperly extending its authority under the CSA into purely intra-state regulated industrial hemp farming that places only exempt non-drug hemp fiber and seed commodities into commerce, that not only did Congress not intend to regulate, but cannot regulate via the CSA under the Commerce Clause. With support of the landmark litigation coming from all branches of the North Dakota government as well as the Attorney General’s office who represents NDSU, the DEA has resorted to raising outlandish claims that somehow non-drug industrial hemp can be used as a drug even though impossible by definition, and in Canada and European countries where hemp is grown for export to the US, there is no such activity taking place. Gold can hypothetically and has in some instances been extracted from seawater, but the minimal concentration makes it technically and economically inefficient and commercially non-viable to do so. There are trace opiates in poppy seeds consumed on bagels, that could also be hypothetically be concentrated; but just as with industrial hemp is not a practical source of drugs for the illicit market. “The DEA is making a feeble defense, and is basically saying the farmers in North Dakota could divert their non-drug industrial hemp crops to make drugs, even though that is economically impossible and no one does that anywhere in the world. The media should be very skeptical of any ‘facts’ the DEA purports as DEA has realized the strength of the farmers’ case and is furiously backpedaling, asking for discovery on facts it previously held to be undisputed in a desperate bid to sow confusion,” says David Bronner, President of the Hemp Industries Association whose company, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps imports hemp oil from Canada for their soaps. Monson v. DEA will be argued in court on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 in Bismarck, North Dakota. Oral arguments begin at 10:00 am CDT in the William L. Guy Federal Building, 220 E Rosser Ave Bismarck, ND and will immediately be followed by a press conference on the courthouse steps.

On Wednesday, Bill Clinton visited the city of Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to hold a speech for CEO's, NGOs and authorities concerning the topic of global warming and the need for innovative solutions. On this occasion, ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies) and the Rotterdam based company HEMPFLAX (specialised in the manufacturing of hemp products) personally handed over a public letter to Clinton We also tried to give him a bottle of hemp oil, but the security would not let us. Read the letter at http://www.encod.org/info/ENCOD-WRITES-LETTER-TO-BILL.html Rotterdam is the first city in the Netherlands where the policy of the new Dutch government will be put in practice to close coffeeshops that are situated less than 250 meters of schools. On October 1st, the city announced a plan to close 18 of the 62 existing coffeeshops by June 2009. All of the shops involved are considering legal steps to counter this decision, which is seen as the first concrete move to end tolerant policy concerning cannabis in the Netherlands. Best wishes, Joep Oomen