Vote Hemp Update- 1st Licensed Hemp Farmers

The First Licensed U.S. Hemp Farmers
Breaking News
February 12, 2007


Thank you to all who donated in Vote Hemp's
fundraising
drive to pay the costs of state and federal licenses
for
farmers in North Dakota who want to grow industrial
hemp.



Your generous donations covered the costs of
applications
with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and
the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for legislator
and farmer Rep. David Monson.



These costs included:

* Fingerprinting and criminal background check ($52)


* State license fee ($150)

* DEA import application fee ($1,147)

* DEA manufacturing application fee ($2,293)

Seeing Rep. Monson, who has been working to
remove
barriers to industrial hemp farming since the 1990s,
receive
the first North Dakota industrial hemp farming
license is priceless.



Today, another priceless moment in industrial hemp
history
will occur when Agriculture Commissioner Roger
Johnson goes to DEA headquarters to hand-deliver
applications for the
first ever state-licensed industrial hemp farmers.



Please read the news report below to learn more
about Rep.
Monson and Wayne Hauge, the nation's first two
state-licensed industrial hemp farmers.



So far, the DEA has refused to waive federal
registration
requirements for North Dakota's licensed industrial
hemp
farmers. The agency claims that to recognize the
legitimacy
of North Dakota's industrial hemp regulations would
be an
abdication of its Constitutional responsibility to
enforce the
laws of the United States. You know that ? and just
about
everything else federal officials say about
industrial hemp ?
is hooey. Read more about it in the Vote Hemp press
release,
"Vote Hemp Exposes ONDCP and DEA Lies about
Hemp Farming."
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=6skmx8bab.0.8qv6r7bab.77w8grbab.5302&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2FPR%2F02-08-07_ondcp_lies.html)



If the DEA doesn't grant the farmers their licenses in
time for
spring planting, expect a legal battle. Vote Hemp
got the
courts to strike down the DEA's attempted hemp food
ban in
2004, and we will happily go to bat for North Dakota's
farmers. If you'd like to help, please donate now to
our
Hemp Farmer Licensing and Legal Support
Fund
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=6skmx8bab.0.4qv6r7bab.77w8grbab.5302&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fcontribute_ff.asp).



In other news, Vote Hemp is now on
MySpace
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=6skmx8bab.0.crv6r7bab.77w8grbab.5302&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fgroups.myspace.com%2Fvotehemp)
and
Facebook
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=6skmx8bab.0.frv6r7bab.77w8grbab.5302&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.facebook.com%2Fgroup.php%3Fgid%3D2231341825).
Join these social networking groups to
find
out who else in your area supports industrial hemp
and make
friends with other Vote Hemp activists around the
country.

Finally, if you enjoy reading hemp news that goes
beyond
legal and legislative updates, please
subscribe
to our Weekly News Update by clicking
the "Update
Profile/Email Address" link in the footer below and
adding "Weekly
News Update" to your Email List Options.



Thanks again for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Eric Steenstra

President

Vote Hemp

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Breaking News
* North Dakota Issues First Hemp Production Licenses

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
North Dakota Issues First Hemp Production Licenses

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson,
left, gets ready to sign the state's first
commercial hemp farming license for Rep. David
Monson, R-Osnabrock, right, at the Capitol in
Bismarck, ND, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007. Industrial
hemp, a cousin of marijuana, can be used to make
everything from paper to lotion. (AP Photo/Will
Kincaid)

By Associated Press

In-Forum News
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=6skmx8bab.0.hrv6r7bab.77w8grbab.5302&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.in-forum.com%2Farticles%2Frss.cfm%3Fid%3D155586)

February 6, 2007



BISMARCK, ND ? North Dakota officials have issued
the
nation's first licenses to grow industrial hemp.

Farmers Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge, who got the
licenses
Tuesday, still must meet federal requirements before
they can
grow the crop. The Drug Enforcement Agency requires
a $2,293
annual registration fee, which is nonrefundable even
if the
agency does not grant a farmer permission to grow
hemp.

"It's taken us a lot longer than (expected) to get
here, and I'm
thinking we still have a ways to go," said Monson, of
Osnabrock, who first became interested in growing
industrial
hemp 10 years ago.

The North Dakota Agriculture Department approved
rules late
last year for the production of hemp, a
non-hallucinogenic
cousin of marijuana that can be used to make
everything from
paper to lotion.

Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson in late
December
asked the DEA to waive the registration fee, but
federal
officials
rejected that request.

Monson, who also is a state lawmaker, and Hauge, a
farmer
from Ray, said they will pay the federal fee.
Johnson said he
will hand-deliver the applications when he meets
with DEA
officials in Washington, DC early next week to
try again to
persuade them to relax what he said is the
"unreasonable"
federal fee requirement.

Johnson said the state Agriculture Department is
processing
16 other hemp applications from farmers.



"I think it's a viable crop," Hauge said. "I think
it would work
well in rotations in both eastern and western North
Dakota."


Copyright © 2007 Forum Communications Co.

Fargo, ND 58102

Read more news ... -
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=6skmx8bab.0.qy6qsrbab.77w8grbab.5302&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fnews_coverage.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Please donate now to Vote Hemp's Hemp Farmer
Licensing and Legal
Support Fund
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=6skmx8bab.0.4qv6r7bab.77w8grbab.5302&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhttp://www.votehemp.com%2Fcontribute_ff.asp).



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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