North Dakota preparing to grow industrial hemp [View All]

12-05-2006: news-state

North Dakota preparing to grow industrial hemp
By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press Writer

David Monson plans on being one of the first in line to apply for a license to grow industrial hemp legally in North Dakota.

Monson is a state representative from Osnabrock and a farmer who watches his Canadian neighbors grow the crop just 25 miles north of his farm. Hemp production has been legal in Canada since 1998, after 60 years of prohibition.

Monson said it's time for North Dakota to cash in on the crop.

"We know it will grow here," Monson said.

North Dakota farmers may start applying for state licenses to grow industrial hemp on Jan. 1, but no seed may be sown until federal drug agents approve, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson says.

"We'll see where it goes," said Johnson, who, like Monson, has been pushing industrial hemp as a crop in North Dakota for more than a decade. "Hopefully, North Dakota will be the first state where producers can grow hemp for legitimate uses."
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http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/12/05/news/state/125002.txt