FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 CONTACT: Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671, [email protected] or Tom Murphy at 207-542-4998, [email protected] Television Coverage of Industrial Hemp Confused by Puns and Drug References “You Can’t Get High Talking About Hemp” WASHINGTON, DC – Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading industrial hemp advocacy organization, recognizes that the American news media strives to provide accurate information to their readers and viewers. In recent years there have been an increasing number of news reports about hemp farming legislation and the activities of industrial hemp advocates at the local and federal level. On average, the facts presented on industrial hemp are accurate; however, silly pot humor still manages to creep into some of the coverage. Confusion between non-drug, industrial hemp varieties and psychoactive, drug varieties of Cannabis is fueled by these easy pot shots, ultimately aiding the myth that hemp and marijuana are the same. The DEA’s justification for threatening prosecution against anyone who grows the non-drug industrial hemp is that there is no distinction under federal law. Just saying that hemp is not marijuana is not enough to save a story. The media should take extra effort to provide straight, fact-based news coverage of industrial hemp legislation, lawsuits and grassroots campaigns that seek to bring the U.S. in line with the rest of the industrialized world that already grows hemp. “We at Vote Hemp are tired of seeing TV news personalities giggle and act stoned when talking about industrial hemp,” says Eric Steenstra, co-founder of VoteHemp.com. “You can’t get high eating or talking about hemp, so don’t act stoned,” he adds in reference to giggling by hosts on NBC’s TODAY Show earlier this year. “It’s time to get past the giggle-factor. Legitimate news organizations have an obligation to treat industrial hemp as the serious issue it is and to not confuse it with drugs.” “We constantly have to correct misstatements about the relationship between industrial hemp and marijuana,” says Alexis Baden-Mayer, director of Government Affairs for Vote Hemp. “The most recent offence was in Mike Luery's July 11 report on San Francisco’s NBC Channel 11 which was laced with bad puns tainting any hope of serious coverage.” Luery begins by saying that Cannabis can be used by farmers to make not only industrial hemp, but also marijuana. This is the equivalent of saying, “Canis lupus can be used by breeders to create not only chihuahuas, but also wolves." Luery just isn't making sense. Industrial hemp and marijuana are genetically distinct varieties, or sub-species, of the genus Cannabis. They each have been bred over thousands of years for very different characteristics. Like dogs and wolves, two kinds of Canis lupus, different sub-species of Cannabis can interbreed, but you would not mistake one for the other. More information is available online at: http://www.votehemp.com/media. Chemically and genetically, marijuana and industrial hemp are opposites: marijuana has a lot of THC and very little CBD, both cannabinoids, while industrial hemp has a lot of CBD and almost no THC. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the psychoactive component that gives marijuana users a high, while CBD (cannabidiol) effectively blocks THC's psychoactive punch. This means that if you try smoking industrial hemp, all you'll get is a bad headache. Luery relishes using his favorite puns from the marijuana joke book to color the debate. For example, opponents’ arguments "went up in smoke," and Chuck DeVore is the bill's "self-proclaimed joint author." The amazing thing is that — despite this kind of reporting — most California voters are aware of the truth about industrial hemp and don’t buy into the drug storyline. In fact, Vote Hemp's recent Zogby poll showed that 71% of Californians support changing state law to allow hemp farming. See the news clip at: http://video.nbc11.com/player/?id=127962. “The story that should be told is that in the past six months new hemp products like Hemp Milk have been a huge success,” says Steenstra. “California companies lead the nation in manufacturing hemp products such as soap and snack bars. Meanwhile, legislation in the California legislature to allow industrial hemp farming is likely to succeed, and North Dakota farmers with state-issued hemp farming licenses have recently filed a landmark lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).” In June, two North Dakota farmers filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota in an effort to end the DEA’s obstruction of commercial hemp farming in the United States. If successful, the legal action would result in licensed hemp farmers receiving assurances that no federal agency could hold them criminally liable under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Vote Hemp’s grassroots supporters are funding the legal action. A copy of the complaint is available online at: http://www.votehemp.com/legal. Last year, just over 48,000 acres of hemp were grown in Canada, primarily in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, provinces that border North Dakota. Hemp farmers in Canada averaged $250 CDN per acre in profit in 2006, according to the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA), an association of businesses, farmers and researchers. Hemp currently has a better profit outlook than any other crop in Canada. Hemp is a good rotational crop, with the ability to reduce weeds in future cereal crops. Very few chemicals, if any, are required to grow the crop which is considered a good alternative to those with harmful environmental impacts such as cotton, tobacco and soy. In the largest hemp-producing country, China, which grows 2 million acres annually, hemp hurds are processed into lightweight boards, and hemp fibers, already used in the paper and automotive industries, are finding new uses as reinforcement in plastics for products such as window frames and floor coverings. (In fact, some of these innovative products will be used on a large scale at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, according to news reports.) In Sweden, companies including IKEA, Volvo and Saab have shown interest in hemp fibers and hurds for use in vehicle interiors and furniture. In the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, considerable investments are being made by governments and private businesses to utilize hemp fiber in composites that are used to manufacture auto parts for BMW, Chrysler, Ford and Mercedes. In Canada, Germany and Japan, businesses are investigating reinforcing Polylactide (PLA) plastic with hemp fibers in order to widen the technology’s field of applications. # # # 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 the crop. More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com or 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.

Your itinerant Drug War Chronicle has been bouncing around North America for the last few years, spending significant amounts of time in Washington state, British Columbia, Mexico, Northern California, and my home state, South Dakota. The traveling is nice, but I’ve felt politically homeless, as if my presence anywhere were too fleeting for me to be able to do local or state-level politics, and that’s a frustration. So, as much as I would rather be elsewhere, I’m thinking I need to hunker down here in Dakotaland and try to get something done. It is not friendly territory. South Dakota is the only state where voters rejected an initiative to allow the medicinal use of marijuana. Although it was a close vote, 52% to 48%, it was still a loss. Medical marijuana bills (introduced by an acquaintance of mine) early in the decade went nowhere. The state has one of the fastest growing prison populations right now, thanks largely to its approach to methamphetamine use. Marijuana possession is routinely punished by $500 fines, and there is a good chance of jail time, too. (In fact, you may be better off being convicted of drunk driving, if my local court records are any indication.) And, most hideously of all, South Dakota is the only state I know of that has an “internal possession” law. That means when the police arrest you with a joint, they make you submit to a urine test, then charge you with an additional offense if you test positive. South Dakota judges also routinely sign drug search warrants that include forced drug tests. I know one gentleman currently serving a five-year prison sentence for “internal possession” of methamphetamine metabolites, and no, it wasn’t a plea bargain. That was the only charge they had. South Dakota’s drug reform community (which can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand) seems beaten down, but I think I’m going to reach out and see if I can’t get anyone interested in a four-pronged drug reform legislative package: Hemp. Our neighbors in North Dakota have passed a bill allowing farmers to grow hemp and are currently suing the DEA to force it out of the way. South Dakota farmers would like to make profits, too. Medical marijuana. Yeah, we lost a close one last year, and it’s never been able to get any traction in the legislature. But I think we should make them deal with it again. Our neighbors in Montana seem to be surviving medical marijuana. Marijuana decriminalization. Does South Dakota really think pot possession is more serious than drunk driving? Does the legislature understand the lifelong impact of pot conviction on its constituents? Our neighbors in Nebraska decriminalized pot back in the 1970s, and the cornfields are still standing. Repeal of the internal possession laws. Criminalizing someone for the content of his blood or urine is just wrong. Winning any of these will be an uphill battle, and perhaps even linking hemp to broader drug reform issues would spell its doom here. But I think it’s every good activist’s responsibility to do what he can to slow down the drug war juggernaut, so I’m going to give it a shot. What are you doing in your state?

Contacts: Skeet Freelove, Ruth’s Hemp Foods, Inc., [email protected], (877) 359-4508, ext. 5 or Adam Eidinger, Vote Hemp, [email protected], (202) 744-2671 Uncle Sam Says, "I Want You to Vote Hemp!" Ruth's Hemp Foods Enlists Uncle Sam to Launch Special Edition Hemp Bar in Support of Vote Hemp's Efforts on Behalf of U.S. Farmers. Toronto, Ontario (July 4, 2007) – Ruth’s Hemp Foods is proud to introduce a special edition hemp snack bar to promote support of Vote Hemp. Vote Hemp, a Washington, DC-based industrial hemp advocacy group, is funding the legal costs of two North Dakota farmers, Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge, in the farmers’ lawsuit against the US Drug Enforcement Agency. 100 percent of all profits from the first three months’ sale of the Vote Hemp Bar will go directly to Vote Hemp. Thereafter, 20 percent of the bar’s profits will be donated to Vote Hemp for the entire life of the bar. Ruth Shamai, president of Ruth's Hemp Foods and a supporter of Vote Hemp's tireless work in the US, was a key activist in the cadre composed of leading environmentalists, agriculture experts and entrepreneurs that lobbied successfully for the legalization of industrial hemp production in Canada in 1998. "The United States government should get past all the drug association rhetoric and take a clear-eyed look at low-THC industrial hemp for its many valuable assets, including it being a healthy, nutrient-dense food,” says Ruth. “And, as a bonus, it is a very low-impact, environmentally-friendly crop.” “I know firsthand what Vote Hemp is trying to accomplish," adds Ruth. "This is how we, as a company, can do something to show our support for Vote Hemp and, by extension, for all the farmers in the US who simply want to be able to lawfully grow low-THC industrial hemp; a crop dating back to 8000 BC that has been of significant importance to many nations, including the United States. It’s true, colonial America had mandatory hemp farming; US Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp; the first US flag was sewn from hemp canvas; and, the first two drafts of the US Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper. I think the launch of our Vote Hemp Bar coincides nicely with the United States’ Independence Day. It's time to give the US farmer freedom to choose a crop that, in Canada and elsewhere, has proven to be an economically viable crop.” "When Ruth said that she wanted to make a Vote Hemp Bar we were ecstatic," says Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. "I was even more blown away when I tasted its delicious Red, White and Blueberry flavor. We want to thank Ruth for having the vision to support US farmers' right to grow hemp. On behalf of our thousands of supporters we encourage leading natural foods stores to carry the Vote Hemp Bar," adds Steenstra, who co-founded Vote Hemp in 2000. "This is an easy thing retailers can do to help resume US hemp farming and their customers will love it, too.” About Ruth’s Hemp Foods, Inc. Ruth's Hemp Foods, based in Toronto, Ontario, pioneered the use of hemp in food in North America, making Hemp Bars, Hemp Protein Powders, Omega Burgers™ (hemp-based vegetarian burger patties), Hemp Tortilla Chips, Hemp Salsa, Hemp Oil Salad Dressings, Certified Organic Hemp Oil, Certified Organic SoftHemp™ (shelled hempseed) in addition to other hemp food items. Ruth's Hemp Foods manufacturers the most extensive line of hemp foods available—distributed throughout the US and Canada—making tasty, nutritious products that are packed with essential fatty acids and protein, and are always free of GMOs, refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial preservatives, fillers and colors. For additional information, please visit: www.ruthshempfoods.com About Vote Hemp Vote Hemp is a national, nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to a free US market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current federal and state laws to allow US farmers to once again grow this important agricultural crop. Vote Hemp is working to end the federal prohibition on industrial hemp farming. Vote Hemp also works to defend against any new laws, regulations or policies that would prohibit or restrict hemp commerce or imports. For additional information, please visit: www.votehemp.com # # # *NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: Digital high-resolution images available at: www.ruthshempfoods.com/votehemp/media The June 18, 2007 federal lawsuit filed against the DEA by North Dakota farmers David Monson and Wayne Hauge is available at: http://www.votehemp.com/PR/06-18-07_north_dakota_farmers.html