-Caveat Lector- Dave Hartley http://www.Asheville-Computer.com http://www.ioa.com/~davehart -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 1999 10:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: HEMPTECH: Hemp News Service Digest ======================================== ARTICLE: HEMPEMBARGO.COM -- A CALL TO ACTION!! AUTHOR: Hemp Industries Association DATE: Tuesday, 12 October 1999, at 11:33 a.m. http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM has several sample letters that you can send to your legislators protesting this travesty. Whether you are a manufacturer or retailer of hemp products or a concerned American or Canadian citizen, http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM has something for you. Pubdate: Oct. 10, 1999 Under US federal law, sterilized hemp seed, hemp seed oil and hemp seed cake are legal products. Despite 60 years of legal importation, the DEA has instructed US Customs to seize a hemp shipment from Canada because it "potentially" contained a controlled substance. Visit http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM to learn about this issue!! The Hemp Industry is now responding to this with knowledge and action. Go to http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM to read copies of the affidavits showing that the DEA knows Hempseed is Legal. http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM has several sample letters that you can send to your legislators protesting this travesty. Whether you are a manufacturer or retailer of hemp products or a concerned American or Canadian citizen, http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM has something for you. http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM has many news articles and press releases relating to this issue. Knowledge is one of our most effective weapons. Read about the DEA's actions and take some action of your own!! A discussion area has been created at: http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM to allow visitors to post questions or talk about this issue with others. The Hemp Industries Association has created http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM for the education of the public and all businesses concerned with the actions of the US Drug Enforcement Agency. We want the hemp industry to be regulated by the Agriculture Dept. in the USA, as industrial hemp is a valuable commodity for commerce around the world. PLEASE! Go to http://HEMPEMBARGO.COM and help us do something!! ======================================== ARTICLE: Birdseed Latest Victim in Unending War against Drugs AUTHOR: Patrick McCartney, Auburn Journal DATE: Tuesday, 12 October 1999, at 11:37 a.m. "The number one selling hemp products today are body care and food products, and that's what (the DEA) is going after," Roulac said Friday. "It's a major hassle. This is basically an attack on the Canadian hemp industry." Pubdate: Sun, Oct. 10, 1999 The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has opened a new front in its ever-expanding war against drugs, and the news is not good for your pet parakeet. On Aug. 9, the U.S. Customs Service seized nearly 20 tons of birdseed at the U.S.-Canadian border and continues to hold the contraband in a Detroit warehouse. The reason? The shipment by Kenex Ltd., a Canadian company, consisted entirely of sterilized seeds gleaned from its harvest of industrial hemp. The reason for this bizarre act by the DEA is that hemp can also be cultivated for its intoxicating effect and in that form is known as marijuana, a drug that is currently illegal. When it seized the Kenex shipment, the DEA announced that the birdseed had a THC content - marijuana's psychoactive ingredient - of .0014 percent. Never mind that marijuana has a typical THC content of 5 percent or more. According to an Oct. 3 article by Christopher Wren in the New York Times, a Kenex official said the Customs Service ordered him to recall earlier exports to the United States of hemp oil, horse bedding, animal feed and granola bars, or face more than $500,000 in fines. The seizure came as a blow to Nutiva, a California company based in Sebastopol that distributes Kenex products in the western United States. According to John Roulac, Nutiva's president, the company has lost $40,000 in sales of its popular Nutiva hempseed bar since the seizure. The Sonoma County company sold 100,000 of the nutritious bars in just the last five months, but with the DEA-ordered action, Nutiva has lost some major accounts, including Rite Aid drug stores, Roulac said. "The number one selling hemp products today are body care and food products, and that's what (the DEA) is going after," Roulac said Friday. "It's a major hassle. This is basically an attack on the Canadian hemp industry." Roulac insists that the hemp products he sells have nothing to do with marijuana. "If you smoke (industrial) hemp, you get a headache," Roulac said. "If you smoke more hemp, you'll get a bigger headache." The DEA's rash act undoubtedly will strengthen the hand of those anti-drug-war activists who claim that the 1937 Marijuana Stamp Act was not aimed at any drug problem, but instead was intended to crush the legal hemp industry. Hemp was the world's most important crop for as long as 10,000 years, providing nutritious seeds (the basis of gruel), durable paper and fabric (original Levi jeans) and all the ropes and canvas sails used in the world's sailing fleet. For more than 200 years, colonial Americans could pay their taxes in hemp. But hemp had one principal fault - it required intensive manual labor to separate the fibrous stalks from the nearly pure cellulose "hurds" within the stalks (used as oakum to seal wooden ships). With the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton dropped in price and replaced hemp in popularity in the United States by the mid-19th century. Perhaps it was only coincidental timing, but the equivalent of the cotton gin for hemp was perfected by the mid-1930s, leading Popular Mechanics to trumpet the return of hemp as the most important fiber plant, predicting it would become the world's first billion-dollar crop. Some pro hemp activists believe that the imminent return of hemp threatened certain entrenched interests, including William Randolph Hearst's wood-pulp paper mills (Hearst demonized "marijuana" in his tabloid papers) and DuPont, which was beginning to produce synthetic fibers from petroleum. (DuPont's banker, Andrew Mellon, appointed his nephew-in-law Harry Anslinger as the nation's first drug czar.) During the 1937 congressional hearings, the sponsors of the marijuana prohibition assured those in the tiny hemp industry that the ban would not affect their trade. In fact, sterilized hemp seeds, hemp oil and meal were specifically exempted from the Marijuana Stamp Act. Until now. Perhaps the real reason for the DEA's action is the current resurgence of interest in industrial hemp, which is occurring on a global scale at the same time AIDS and cancer activists have fought for the right to use higher-THC varieties as medication. There are now 33 countries that allow the cultivation of hemp for industrial uses, including England, Canada, Germany and France. Canada allowed the first crop of industrial hemp to be grown last year, and this year authorized the cultivation of 35,000 acres. Just as it has fought the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the DEA must consider industrial hemp a threat to its hard-line stance against marijuana. That may explain why it urged Nicaraguan officials to burn the first commercial seed and fiber crop of another Canadian company, Agro Hemp, which had spent five years in Nicaragua developing a tropical strain of industrial hemp. Although a Nicaraguan court failed to find Agro Hemp guilty of wrongdoing, its botanist has languished in a Managua jail for nearly a year. It's enough to make a canary sing the blues. ======================================== ARTICLE: DEA Seizure of Sterile Hemp Seeds Illegal, Locals Say AUTHOR: Brian Hansen, Colorado Daily DATE: Wednesday, 13 October 1999, at 11:55 a.m. Pubdate: October 7, 1999 The seizure of 39,000 pounds of sterilized Canadian hemp seed at the Detroit International Airport eight weeks ago has several severely bummed-out Colorado companies jonesing for an explanation. The sterilized seed, which was produced by Kenex, Inc. of Ontario, Canada, was seized in Detroit on Aug. 9 by U.S. Customs agents acting on orders from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. According to the DEA, the seed was found to contain minute amounts of THC, which is classified as an illegal drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The DEA, beyond simply confiscating the 39,000 pounds of seed still sitting in Detroit, promptly ordered Kenex to recall all of the hemp products that it has shipped to some 17 different companies throughout the United States. Moreover, the U.S. Justice Dept. has ordered these 17 companies to turn over all of their records pertaining to their dealings with Kenex and some of the companies have been served with summons to explain their "marihuana-related products." Although no portion of the confiscated Kenex seed had been purchased by any Colorado-based company, the seizure and its aftermath have intimidated and angered local businesses that utilize hemp products. "What the DEA did with the Canadian seed is completely illegal," said Kathleen Chippi, co-owner of the Boulder Hemp Company. "We weren't using any of the Kenex seed, so we haven't been subpoenaed or had anything confiscated yet, but our concern is that the DEA is accountable to no one." Chippi, whose company markets hemp tortilla chips and a host of other foods, noted that sterilized hemp products have always been completely legal in the U.S. in the past. "Sterilized hemp seeds, stalks, and any products made with derivatives of sterilized seeds have always been legal -- no matter how much THC they contain," Chippi said. Chippi and other local hemp products merchants base that conclusion largely on a 1991 affidavit, in which DEA agent Charles Metcalf testified about the use of sterilized marijuana seeds as birdfeed. "Sterile marijuana seeds are specifically excluded from the definition of 'marijuana,' and are not a controlled substance under federal statute," Metcalf stated in his affidavit. "The DEA, and my office in particular, is aware that sterile marijuana seed ... is likely to contain residue .... which will test positive for THC, the active ingredient of marijuana." By that standard, Chippi said, the recent seizure in Detroit is completely illegal. "The DEA is all of a sudden saying that they've changed the law, and there's a 'zero tolerance' for THC in sterilized hemp products," Chippi said. "They're just making up the rules as they go along, and everyone is on edge, because we don't know what they're going to do next." According to Chippi, the Kenex seed confiscated in Detroit tested positive for THC in the amount of .00148 parts per million -- a level far too low to give human consumers of hemp tortilla chips any kind of a buzz. DEA spokeswoman Rogene Waite said that didn't matter. "Basically, the issue is whether there is THC or not," Waite said. "If there is, then it's a schedule I drug -- it's illegal." Waite wouldn't comment on the subject of Metcalf's affidavit, which would seem to support Chippi's position. Instead, the DEA sent the Colorado Daily a prepared statement on the subject. "Recently, DEA and other federal agencies have become aware that sterilized cannabis seed has been imported into the United States for use in food products for human consumption," the statement declares. "Under federal law, THC is a schedule I controlled substance. Therefore, any product containing any amount of THC can only be imported into the United States by a company that is appropriately registered with DEA." According to Waite, companies that voluntarily register with the DEA "might" be able to utilize hemp products containing measurable levels of THC. "If there is any THC, then a company wishing to import something would need to register with DEA, and they would start by contacting their local DEA office," Waite said. "I can't speculate on whether a company would meet the registration requirements or not." Asked to elaborate on just what, exactly, the "registration" procedure would entail, Waite said, "There would be requirements for information providing, bonafide use of the company or group, and security requirements," she said. "Companies interested in that you can call their local DEA office." Chippi was quick to question that explanation. "Register? Is that their new policy?" Chippi asked incredulously. "No one has ever been required to register anything with the DEA before, and they've never provided anyone with any paperwork to do so. "Our company abides by the federal Controlled Substances act, and it doesn't say anything about registering," Chippi added. "We're not going to register, and we'd like to hear more about who rewrote the law." Blair Wilson of the Nederland-based High Country Hemp Company said the Detroit seizure and the newly implemented "registration" process are both indicative of the DEA's true agenda. "The public knows that kids aren't getting high off of smoking hemp hats or hemp seeds," Wilson said. "It's time to expose the real motivations of the DEA -- this is the DEA's last-ditch attempt to kill the developing hemp industry." Representatives from Kenex, Inc. could be not be reached by press time Wednesday. PHOTO CAPTION: Kathleen Chippi is vice president and co-owner of Heavenly Hemp, which manufactures tortilla chips that include ground hemp seeds in the flour. Chippi believes the recent DEA confiscation of 39,000 pounds of sterile hemp seeds is an illegal attack on the fledgling hemp industry. ### Colorado Daily, P.O. Box 1719, Boulder, CO 80306, Phone: (303) 443-6272 Fax: (303) 443-9357, Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Web: http://www.codaily.com ======================================== ARTICLE: Drug War Stupidity AUTHOR: Cheri Nightingale, Hightower Radio, TX DATE: Wednesday, 13 October 1999, at 12:01 p.m. Pubdate: Oct. 10, 1999 America's drug war is so stupid that if you pay close attention to just how stupid it is . . . it'll drive you to use drugs. How stupid is it? Ask Jean Laprise, a Canadian farmer. He raises industrial hemp, which is a cousin of marijuana, though hemp can't make you high because it contains so little of THC, the psychoactive ingredient that gives marijuana its oomph. Instead, hemp is used to make an astonishing array of products-from paper to building materials, from food to biodegradable plastic, from beer to birdseed. Birdseed is what got Laprise in trouble with America's Drug Enforcement Agency, which gives new meaning to the term bird brained. He shipped to a U.S. customer a 20-ton load of birdseed that included hemp seed in the mix. The hemp seed is high in nothing but protein and is good for birds and people, but the DEA got wind of Laprise's shipment and had the whole load impounded, saying it contained a trace of the dreaded THC. Let me give you three numbers. Marijuana must have at least 4 percent THC to get anyone high. Industrial hemp is only 1 percent THC, so you can't get high on it. Laprise's birdseed mix tested out with a THC content of 0.0014-one fourteen-thousandths of a percent. Even a bird couldn't get a buzz on that. To compound this raw stupidity, the DEA demanded that Laprise recall 17 loads of hemp-based products he had earlier shipped to the U.S. Associated Press reports that this recall included hemp seed used by Nutiva, a California company that makes granola bars. As a result, Nutiva had to suspend production, forcing a layoff at the company. Also, a wholesaler was about to pick up Nutiva's bar for national distribution, but backed out of the deal after it learned that the DEA was messing with the company. This is Jim Hightower saying . . . What the hell is the DEA smoking? Sources: "Bird seeds made from hemp impounded" by Catherine Tsai. Associated Press: October 5, 1999. "Bird food is a casualty of the war on drugs" by Christopher Wren. New York Times: October 3, 1999. Cheri Nightingale, Hightower Radio, 1800 W. 6th St., Austin, TX 78703, [EMAIL PROTECTED], www.jimhightower.com, T: 512/477-5588, 512/478-8536 fax ======================================== ARTICLE: KY Supreme Court Hearing Woody Harrelson's Hemp Challenge AUTHOR: Hon. Charles Beal, Louisville, KY DATE: Wednesday, 13 October 1999, at 12:12 p.m. Supreme Court arguments will be heard Thursday, October 14, 1999, 11:00 a.m. at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, 23001 S. Third Street, Louisville, Kentucky. Pubdate: September 12, 1999 Contact Hon. Charles Beal (606) 254 6363 Louisville, KY The Supreme Court of Kentucky is scheduled to consider Woody Harrelson's challenge of Kentucky's law, which includes industrial hemp within its legislative definition of marijuana. The court challenge began over three years ago when Woody Harrelson planted four certified industrial hemp seeds in Lee County and was arrested for possession of marijuana. Lee County Commonwealth Attorney Tom Jones has continually appealed the District and Circuit Court decisions ruling Kentucky's law unconstitutional by including industrial hemp within its definition of marijuana. Mr. Harrelson says, "Since Hawaii, Minnesota and North Dakota have passed legislation legalizing industrial hemp, I would hope Kentucky's Supreme Court will help pave the way for Kentucky farmers to have the same economic opportunities as those states. Farmers in Canada, England, Germany & France are not being arrested for growing hemp, so why should Kentucky's farmers?� Supreme Court arguments will be heard Thursday, October 14, 1999, 11:00 a.m. at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, 23001 S. Third Street, Louisville, Kentucky.(END) ======================================== ARTICLE: Rep. Cynthia Thielen Letter to the DEA AUTHOR: Rep. Cynthia Thielen, State Of Hawaii DATE: Thursday, 14 October 1999, at 3:51 p.m. It appears to me that the seizure of hempseeds, recall of prior shipments and the threat of excessive fines are intended to intimidate Kenex. I find this action by federal officials to be unwarranted and excessive. Pubdate: Oct. 6, 1999 House Of Representatives State Of Hawaii State Capitol Honolulu, Hawaii Rep. Cynthia Thielen Assistant Minority Floor Lead October 6, 1999 Donnie Marshall Acting Administrator Drug Enforcement Administration 600-700 Army-Navy Drive Arlington, Virginia 20229 Dear Acting Administrator Marshall: Since my, as yet unanswered, September 2, 1999 letter to you objecting to the Drug Enforcement Administration's involvement in the recent seizure of sterilized hemp seed from Kenex, Ltd., a Canadian Corporation, at U.S. Customs in Detroit, I now have learned that further action is being taken against Kenex. I understand that U.S. Customs, (at your agency's insistence), is demanding Kenex recall earlier shipments sent to its U.S. customers or face punitive fines. I ask you to reverse your action immediately and cease all efforts to obtain Kenex's prior shipments. Unless you are purposefully working to destroy the industrial hemp-based food market, this demand to Kenex to recall prior hempseed shipments makes no sense. For example, I and many others at the Hawaii State Capitol have already consumed hemp granola bars which contained Kenex hempseeds. Obviously, it would be impossible for Kenex to reclaim those products or others which entered the stream of commerce and have been used or consumed. It appears to me that the seizure of hempseeds, recall of prior shipments and the threat of excessive fines are intended to intimidate Kenex. I find this action by federal officials to be unwarranted and excessive. Until some common sense can be brought to this matter, I ask you to reverse your product recall demand to U.S. Customs and to cease any and all punitive actions against Kenex. Please respond to me without delay. Sincerely, Cynthia H. Thielen. Assistant Minority Floor Leader Contact: "Rep. Cynthia Thielen" [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================== ARTICLE: West VA Hemp Has a Hard Row to Hoe AUTHOR: Howard Peeks, Charleston Gazette (WV) DATE: Thursday, 14 October 1999, at 3:54 p.m. She expressed a view shared by other residents in Southern West Virginia for new industry to replace fading jobs in the coalfields. Some see hemp as a new farm crop to be grown on reclaimed land, not the least of which are reclaimed mountaintop mine sites. Pubdate: 28 Sep 1999 Hemp production as a new industry is a burning issue in some states, but it has yet to catch fire in West Virginia. "I use hemp oil on my skin like baby oil, hemp lotion and hemp balm for my lips," said Deborah Angel of Belva. "There are so many uses of this product. I'm surprised no one is lobbying for this industry." She expressed a view shared by other residents in Southern West Virginia for new industry to replace fading jobs in the coalfields. Some see hemp as a new farm crop to be grown on reclaimed land, not the least of which are reclaimed mountaintop mine sites. Advocates also envision the manufacturing of hemp for various products ranging from cosmetics to furniture. Its value runs from field to factory. Manufacturing jobs emerge in the picture of possibilities. But there's one big catch, I know. It's against the law to grow and sell hemp, a cousin to marijuana but without THC, marijuana's intoxicating chemical. "You could not get high off industrial hemp even if you smoked an acre," said Joseph Oliverio, a Clarksburg painting contractor who is off and running for the Republican nomination for governor in 2000. It has been shown that hemp can be grown on reclaimed mine sites, Oliverio says. Hemp is favorable to the environment and doesn't deplete the soil. Besides, it grows wild in some parts of the state, as he and others have seen. But that doesn't wash with Federal Drug Enforcement agents. They say the cultivation of hemp would make it more difficult to find and destroy marijuana because of the striking similarity of the plants. Marijuana thrives and is called the best cash crop in West Virginia. The same is true in other states. But the weed goes untaxed and states get no revenue from it because it's an underground industry. That fact is part of the growing national argument to make marijuana lawful for tax revenue as well as for its medicinal value and its low addictive qualities. Hemp has been illegal for about 60 years. West Virginia and most states have their own laws against cultivating and selling it. They class hemp with marijuana, despite known and practical differences. Canada legalized industrial hemp last year. Now hemp fiber and yarn imports come into the United States from Canada and from China, Poland and Romania, where it's legal to grow and sell hemp. In this country, a growing number of farmers are advocating the cultivation of hemp to ease the squeeze on tobacco crops. The anti-smoking climate has cut tobacco as a longstanding cash crop in West Virginia and sister states. Farmers in Lancaster County, Pa., for instance, recently joined others across the country advocating industrial hemp to make up for dwindling income from tobacco. Advocates say an acre of hemp can bring up to $500 compared to $375 from an acre of feed corn. They further maintain that the plant has 50,000 legal uses like those familiar to Deborah Angel. I see what advocates mean when they say laws against hemp penalize farmers and consumers, and prevent a whole new industry from springing up in West Virginia. Plainly, hemp has a hard row to hoe to make it. ======================================== ARTICLE: Justices Hear Arguments in Harrelson Hemp Case AUTHOR: Andy Mead, The Lexington Herald-Leader, KY DATE: Monday, 18 October 1999, at 11:02 a.m. At issue: Whether the Kentucky law that considers hemp as illegal as marijuana is too overly broad to be constitutional, or whether it is vital to keep the state from being overrun by drug dealers. Pubdate: October 15, 1999 Louisville -- Justice William Cooper noted that sugar looks a lot like cocaine and wondered whether possession of sugar should be made a crime. Chief Justice Joseph Lambert wondered whether you could distinguish between a marijuana patch and a hemp field from a helicopter. Thus did The Commonwealth of Kentucky vs. Woodrow Harrelson, a legal case that began more than three years ago when the actor planted hemp seeds in a rocky Lee County field, get its day before the Kentucky Supreme Court. At issue: Whether the Kentucky law that considers hemp as illegal as marijuana is too overly broad to be constitutional, or whether it is vital to keep the state from being overrun by drug dealers. While a decision from Kentucky�s high court could be six months away, the outcome could determine whether Kentucky farmers, once foremost in the nation in hemp production, will be allowed to grow the crop again. A lot has happened since that June 1996 day when Woody Harrelson, wearing comfortable hemp clothing, wielded a grubbing hoe in a deliberate attempt to get arrested and set up a test of the law. By the time attorneys in suits presented their case to judges in robes yesterday, three states had taken steps to allow farmers to grow hemp, a cousin of marijuana that contains an insignificant amount of the chemical that causes a high. The three are Hawaii, Minnesota and North Dakota. Planting could begin late this year in Hawaii if permits are issued by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The Fayette County Farm Bureau recently passed a resolution that strongly encouraged the General Assembly to make Kentucky the next state to legalize hemp. That appears unlikely; a bill that would allow a university study of the crop got nowhere in the 1998 legislative session. Harrelson, an actor known for his roles in the TV series Cheers and in various movies, was not in court yesterday. He was in New York preparing to open in the play The Rainmaker. But his mother was there. And to the media crowd that covered the arguments, that was almost as good. She is Diane Harrelson, 62. She lives in Lebanon, Ohio. Like her son, she was wearing hemp clothing. She carried a hemp purse. She did not address the court, but after the attorneys and justices had their say, reporters and television cameras crowded around her. She talked about the agricultural and environmental attributes of hemp and wondered whether the DEA "has better things to do� than confiscate Canadian hemp seed that came into this country recently as bird food. She also mentioned that she is just completing a master of science thesis at Antioch College. The subject: The use of hemp for paper. It will be printed on paper that is 50 percent hemp. The arguments in the Harrelson case were heard yesterday at the University of Louisville�s Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. It was only the second time the Supreme Court has met in Louisville. The courtroom was overflowing with students. In considering the case, the seven justices could follow two lower courts and find the state law unconstitutional. Or they could follow the state Court of Appeals, which said the matter should go back to where it began Lee District Court on a procedural matter. Tom Jones, the county attorney in Lee County, argued that allowing hemp to be grown in Kentucky would create a law enforcement nightmare because the plant looks so similar to marijuana until the two are mature. Harrelson's attorney, Charles Beal II of Lexington, said his client was not trying to legalize marijuana in Kentucky. But the law that lumps hemp with marijuana is not reasonable, he said. Strictly followed, Beal said, the law could be used to shut down stores in Louisville and Lexington that sell hemp clothing. "Based on the way the law is written today,� Beal said, "there are certain copies of the Constitution that would be illegal if I possessed them in this court.�(END) Reach Andy Mead at (606) 231-3319, (800) 950-6397, or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================== ARTICLE: In Canada, Can Hemp Live up to the Hype AUTHOR: Bob von Sternberg, The Star Tribune St. Paul, MN DATE: Monday, 18 October 1999, at 1:04 p.m. "It's given us one hell of a glut of grain and fiber," said L'Ecuyer, whose firm harvested nearly 2,200 acres of hemp this year. "There's been a major overestimation of the market that's out there." Pubdate: October 16, 1999 During the summer just past, the tabletop-flat countryside of southern Ontario was bursting with towering, spike-leafed plants, making it look for all the world like the biggest, most brazen pot farm in North America. It's the second year of Canada's pioneering attempt to see whether industrial hemp -- marijuana's genetic cousin-- can become a lucrative new crop for its struggling farmers. And if Gov. Jesse Ventura gets his way, that scene will be re created in Minnesota. Ventura has asked the federal government to give Minnesota the green light to become the first state where industrial hemp could be legally grown. "It's ridiculous that we're not expanding something that could be of tremendous value to society," Ventura said in an interview. "It's a great alternative product that can do things so much better than what we use now." But an examination of the Canadian hemp industry's brief record reveals the fact that the experience hasn't lived up to the hype that preceded legalization. Despite opponents' warnings that growing hemp would spark an explosion in growing still-illegal marijuana, Canadian officials say that simply hasn't happened. And even though hemp's advocates predicted the new crop could become the economic salvation for farmers, that also hasn't happened. Not yet, anyway. "Everyone thought this would be a godsend, but it hasn't worked out that way," said Bob L'Ecuyer, general manager of Kenex Ltd., the Chatham, Ontario, firm that is Canada's biggest hemp operation. "People go into this thinking it's the best thing since sliced bread, but if you've got no one to sell to, it's not worth anything." Hemp farmers quickly discovered it's not enough to grow a new crop that has remarkably diverse uses if markets and a processing infrastructure don't exist -- a reality that has not been lost on Minnesota officials. "Once you grow it, where is it going to go?" asked Kevin Edberg, head of marketing for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. "The processing infrastructure all has to be built from scratch. That's its Achilles' heel, but also an opportunity." Markets for hemp don't exist for the simple reason that during most of the 20th century, it was illegal to grow, sell or even possess it in Canada and the United States. In the grip of the "reefer madness" days of the Depression, the U.S. government banned the cultivation of cannabis in 1937; Canadian officials followed suit a year later. But neither country made a distinction between marijuana and industrial hemp. They are virtually indistinguishable varieties of cannabis � except for their tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, the component that produces a dope smoker's high. While marijuana contains THC levels as high as 20 percent, industrial hemp normally has far less than 1 percent. A person is as likely to get high by smoking hemp as by smoking the newsprint this story is printed on. In other words, rope -- not dope, as hemp advocates are fond of saying. Many uses Hemp has a storied history, going back more than 8,000 years, when it was first cultivated. It has been used to make as many as 25,000 products, turned into everything from rope and ships' sails to painters' canvasses and paper. The first pair of Levi's jeans was made from hemp; so was (apocryphally) the first U.S. flag sewn by Betsy Ross and the parchment on which the U.S. Constitution was printed. Hemp has been legally grown throughout Europe for years, and Canadian agricultural officials estimate the world market to be as much as $200 million a year. Contemporary uses include everything from cosmetics to car door panels. The push to legalize the plant developed during the '70s as something of a sideline to the push to legalize smokable marijuana, but in recent years the effort has been pushed hardest by farm advocates seeking to diversify farmers' crop mixes -- which has made legislators in both Canada and the United States more receptive to the idea. Ventura said he became interested in hemp during his days as a talk-radio host, when hemp advocates made their pitch to him, filling his mailbox with such hemp-based products as paper and clothing. He endorsed the plant's legalization during his gubernatorial campaign last year and kept pushing once in office. "Once I was governor, I looked at the state's agricultural situation and all the problems farmers are having," he said. "With production going down the tubes, they need the ability to diversify the crops they plant." That was the rationale offered by Canadian farmers when they began their campaign on behalf of hemp in the early 1990s. The effort was pioneered by Geof Kime, an Ontario farmer who wrangled permission from the government to plant test plots starting in 1994 with the hope of "reviving a sustainable, job-creating crop that could be grown without pesticides." He did exactly that, although it took four years of lobbying to persuade federal officials to legalize hemp. When they did so, they erected a dense regulatory web to ensure that hemp growing didn't spawn an illicit marijuana industry. All hemp farmers are required to undergo a criminal records check, and officials of Health Canada, the federal health department, decided that the maximum allowable THC concentration in hemp would be 0.3 percent. Anything above that is illegal; the department conducts random checks of THC levels, as do Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers. "Occasionally people have tried to get around the THC levels, but it hasn't been a huge problem," said Health Canada spokesman Eric Morin. During the first two growing seasons, there have been so few busts for growing marijuana that "it's a problem that's statistically insignificant," he said. Meanwhile, production has exploded. In 1998, 259 farmers harvested about 6,175 acres of hemp, mostly in Ontario and Manitoba. This year, 674 farmers harvested more than 35,000 acres, a nearly sixfold increase. "It's given us one hell of a glut of grain and fiber," said L'Ecuyer, whose firm harvested nearly 2,200 acres of hemp this year. "There's been a major overestimation of the market that's out there." L'Ecuyer's firm has set up its own processing facility because of the void that existed when the crop was legalized. It is selling fiber to auto manufacturers, who use hemp fiber as a replacement for fiberglass. "We're starting to make decent inroads into a lot of different markets," he said. "Realize when we started, there was nothing at all in North America � no harvesting equipment, no markets." Government red tape remains a headache for hemp farmers, "but that's more a glut of paperwork than anything," L'Ecuyer said. Yet for all the problems, "it's a great rotation crop," he said. "You can substitute it for practically any crop. You don't need chemicals, you don't get weeds, it does a great job of aerating the soil." On a per-acre basis, it nets farmers more income than either corn or soybeans, traditional staple crops. Waiting to hear That's music to the ears of hemp's advocates in Minnesota, who are waiting to hear from federal drug officials whether they can undertake test plantings as early as next year. "This is not a panacea for farmers, but it's not a wild-eyed hairy idea either," Edberg said. Department officials have no idea how many farmers might undertake hemp farming if it becomes legal, he said. "It's not going to be the salvation of all farmers, but it should be an alternative that's available to them," Ventura said. With the Legislature's blessing, Ventura last month asked the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to allow hemp cultivation -- something the agency has consistently refused to do because officials have called it a subterfuge for efforts to legalize marijuana. DEA officials have not responded to Ventura's request that would-be hemp farmers apply for permits through the state Board of Pharmacy and the DEA. Last month, a DEA official said that if the agency changes its policy, it probably would require farmers to post bonds of as much as $1,000 an acre to pay for government seizure and burning of hemp that crosses the 0.3 percent THC threshold. As in Canada, hemp growers probably would have to pay license fees for criminal-background checks and government inspections. Pressure on the DEA to alter its prohibition of hemp isn't only coming from Minnesota; pro-hemp laws also were enacted this year in North Dakota, Nebraska and Hawaii. "We need to expand the use of this instead of the DEA running its unwinnable war on drugs," Ventura said. "We're trying to create a viable product here -- what's the Constitution written on? Hemp. It was a viable product in this country for 200 years, but no longer. That's ridiculous." But DEA officials' actions show they remain wary of hemp. A few weeks ago, they seized 40,000 pounds of birdseed at a border crossing in Detroit -- birdseed produced by Kenex that consisted of processed hemp. "We haven't gotten the seed back," L'Ecuyer said. "But that put us in the news all over the world."(END) *** THE STAR TRIBUNE St. Paul, Minnesota October 14, 1999 Hemp's history 6500 B.C. -- First harvested in central Asia 4500 B.C. -- Wild hemp domesticated in China 2700 B.C. -- Included in pharmacopoeia of Shen Nung, Chinese medical pioneer 450 B.C. -- Greek historian Herodotus reports that Scythians throw hemp seeds on heated stones and inhale the smoke 5 B.C. -19th century -- Used in 90 percent of ships' canvas sails, rigging and nets 15th-20th centuries -- Used in artists' canvases 16th-18th centuries -- Major fiber crop in Russia, Europe and North America 1606 -- French botanist plants first N. American hemp crop in Nova Scotia 1870 -- U.S. Pharmacopoeia lists cannabis as medicine 1937 -- U.S. prohibits cannabis cultivation 1938 -- Canada bans cannabis cultivation 1940s -- U.S. and Canadian governments lift cultivation bans to assist war effort 1998 -- Canada legalizes hemp production and sale 1999 -- Minnesota asks federal gov. permission to conduct hemp cultivation tests Among the reported 25,000 commercial and industrial uses for hemp: Insulation, particleboard, fiberboard, rope, twine, yarn, methanol, heating oil horse stable bedding, compost, salad oil, pharmaceuticals, soaps, cellophane, diapers, newsprint, cardboard, filters, absorbent paper, clothing, carpets, curtains, upholstery, paint, ink (END) ======================================== ARTICLE: Arkansas Passes Industrial Hemp & Kenaf Legislation AUTHOR: Agro-Tech Communications DATE: Tuesday, 19 October 1999, at 11:57 a.m. Arkansas passed a resolution this year calling for the University of Arkansas to study the potential uses of Industrial Hemp and Kenaf. The Division of Agriculture will conduct studies regarding the uses and economic benefits of Industrial Hemp to determine the feasibility of growing hemp as an alternative and profitable crop in Arkansas. Pubdate: Oct. 19, 1999 The studies will include an analysis of required soils and growing conditions, seed availability, harvest methods and environmental benefits. The Division of Agriculture will report its finding to the House and Senate Interim Committees on Agriculture and Economic Development no later than December 31, 2000. ======================================== ARTICLE: Canada Embassy Asks DEA to Release Hemp AUTHOR: Douglas G. Waddel, Minister (Economic) and Deputy Head of Mission, Canada DATE: Tuesday, 19 October 1999, at 12:01 p.m. Canada considers this seizure action to be contrary to U.S. NAFTA and WTO obligations. I am asking that you review this entire incident at the earliest opportunity. This company has acted in good faith and should expect to be afforded due process. Canadian Embassy 501 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 October 8, 1999 Mr. Donnie Marshall Acting Administrator U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency 12060 Lincoln Place-West 700 Army Navy Drive Arlington, VA 22202 Dear Mr. Marshall, I am writing in regards to a seizure and forfeiture of a shipment of hemp seed from Canada on August 9, 1999 in Detroit, Michigan. This seizure, I understand, was based on a decision by officials of the Drug Enforcement Agency that the importation of hemp seed is contrary to the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. The Canadian shipper, Kenex Ltd., is a well-established agricultural company in Canada engaged in the manufacture of hemp and hemp products. On August 9th, DEA and U.S. Customs officials seized a shipment of Kenex's products, however no formal, written notice has been issued to the company by either agency. As Canadian authorities understand current legislative and regulatory provisions, the sterilized seeds which are incapable of germination are explicitly exempted from the Controlled Substance Act's definition of marihuana. Similarly, DEA's own current definition of the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) is limited to synthetic forms of THC, not to organically occurring THC such as those found in Kenex products. Kenex's cargo of August 9th, valued at approximately $25,000 has been forfeited, the company is faced with a number of $500,000, its officers threatened with U.S. criminal charges and their U.S. customers have been issued with summons to produce all records of their commercial transactions with Kenex. Of particular concern is that all of this has taken place without any formal or written notice issued to them by either DEA or U.S. Customs officials. Canada considers this seizure action to be contrary to U.S. NAFTA and WTO obligations. I am asking that you review this entire incident at the earliest opportunity. This company has acted in good faith and should expect to be afforded due process. Canadian authorities are requesting that the shipment how sitting in the bonded warehouse in Detroit be ordered released and redelivery notice should be rescinded. Yours sincerely, Douglas G. Waddel Minister (Economic) and Deputy Head of Mission c.c. Raymond Kelly, Commissioner, U.S. Customs Service ======================================== ARTICLE: Contentious Crop--Hemp Farmers Get Caught in the War Against Drugs AUTHOR: Andrew Clark, Maclean�s, Canada�s Weekly News Magazine DATE: Tuesday, 19 October 1999, at 12:14 p.m. "They are trying to cut off our supply so there won�t be a hemp market," says Roulac. "Six months from now, Canadian farmers will have warehouses bulging full of hemp seed and fiber that can't be sold in America. Hemp products have caught on quickly in the United States. But Sholts, chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council Inc., estimates the business to be worth $225 million annually. Under constant pressure from U.S. farmers, several states including Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota have passed laws allowing hemp crops. Pubdate: October 19, 1999 On Aug. 9, U.S. Customs Service officials in Detroit made their move, seizing 18,000 kg of Canadian birdseed. It was a simple case of zero tolerance. The seed came from industrial hemp, which "like marijuana" is a variety of the species Cannabis sativa. Although it is illegal to grow industrial hemp in most of the United States, it has always been legal to import it. On the other hand, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will not allow any substance containing even trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive agent in marijuana, into the United States. So on the DEA's instructions, customs locked the birdseed up. Caught in the middle age farmers like Jean Laprise, president of Chatham, Ontario-based Kenex Ltd., the company that grew the hemp and sent it south. If the U.S. zero tolerance policy on industrial hemp continues, he says, the company's future is bleak. "I'll tell you right now," says Laprise, "that would break us." Across Canada, close to 700 farmers have jumped on the hemp bandwagon since Ottawa legalized it as a crop last year for the first time since 1938. With 14,000 hectares (30,800 acres) already devoted to hemp, they are counting on continued sales to U.S. Manufacturers who use the versatile, ecologically friendly plant to produce dozens of products, from shampoo and cooking oil to paper and clothing. Laprise says Kenex, a large farming operation that has invested millions of dollars in its new crop, has been shipping hemp to the United States for almost a year. Suddenly, following the birdseed seizure and a U.S. Customs order recalling 17 other Kenex hemp shipments, the company faces $700,000 in fines and an uncertain future. "The DEA is trying to destroy whatever Canadian companies it can," says 45-year-old Laprise, "so they can discourage U.S. Farmers and companies from manufacturing or selling hemp products." What frustrates Laprise and other growers is that their product has no narcotic value. The birdseed's THC content of a barely measurable 0.0014 per cent compares with the minimum four per cent and up to 20 per cent found in marijuana. The DEA's unexpected decision to crack down on hemp imports almost a year and a half after the market opened has stunned Canadian farmers and the many American manufacturers of hemp products. Kenex, which has laid off four of its 24 employees since the seizure, is planning to file a claim under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), arguing that U.S. officials are interfering with international trade. And a Sebastopol, Calif., company, Nutiva, which uses Canadian hemp to make a popular line of granola bars, says it has lost $60,000 since its supplies were cut off. It and other U.S. manufacturers are contemplating a class-action suit against the U.S. government to have the DEA back off. Like Laprise, most of the Canada's hemp farmers turned to the plant in the belief it was a durable rotation crop with a proven market in the United States. "It's not hard to grow," says Erling Olsen, who planted eight hectares on his farm in Warner, Alta. For Kenex, hemp has turned out to be more profitable than many of its traditional crops, including corn, soybeans and wheat. Hemp products have caught on quickly in the United States. But Sholts, chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council Inc., estimates the business to be worth $225 million annually. Under constant pressure from U.S. farmers, several states including Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota have passed laws allowing hemp crops. But Nutiva's president, John W. Roulac, says the DEA is trying to quash the industry. The agency, he says, is trying to protect annual funding of millions of dollars for cannabis eradication, 98 per cent of which, he maintains, is spent burning "ditch weed," a free-growing strain of industrial hemp with no psychoactive properties. "They are trying to cut off our supply so there won�t be a hemp market," says Roulac. "Six months from now, Canadian farmers will have warehouses bulging full of hemp seed and fiber that can't be sold in America." A DEA spokesman says the agency became concerned about hemp shipments once it learned that seeds were being used to create edible products such as granola bars, beer and cooking oil. "What happens to the people," he asks, "who are using hemp oil to cook and THC turns up in their drug test?" In the short term, Roulac says, publicity surrounding the birdseed seizure has helped increase awareness of hemp products. But Laprise, now a reluctant champion of the hemp industry, worries that his investment will go up in smoke. "We're not a group of activists by any stretch of the imagination," he says. "We're just Canadian farmers who think we've found a nice rotation crop." (END) ======================================== ARTICLE: Benchmarking Study on Hemp Use and Communications Strategies AUTHOR: BSR News Monitor #153 DATE: Monday, 25 October 1999, at 10:48 a.m. The report is based on interviews with five companies that have incorporated hemp into their products: adidas, The Body Shop, Patagonia, and Two Star Dog. Pubdate: October 25, 1999 BSREF is pleased to announce the release of a new report: "Benchmarking Study on Hemp Use and Communications Strategies." This brief report describes the approach a select set of companies has taken to communicate the use of hemp (a resource with numerous environmental attributes) in their products, and customer and stakeholder reaction towards these marketing strategies. The report is based on interviews with five companies that have incorporated hemp into their products: Adidas, The Body Shop, Patagonia, and Two Star Dog. BSR News Monitor #153 To receive a copy of the report, contact Jessica Parsley at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or at 415.537.0888 ext. 128. ======================================== ARTICLE: Actor Dennis Weaver Speaks up for Industrial Hemp AUTHOR: Julian Myers Public Relations, Los Angeles, CA DATE: Monday, 25 October 1999, at 3:46 p.m. Weaver recently returned to the United States from Canada (where industrial hemp farming is legal), having completed his co-starring role in "The Virginian," a feature which will be shown on TNT January 9. Pubdate: Oct. 25, 1999 Dennis Weaver is a leader in the drive to legalize the growth of industrial hemp anywhere in the United States, and he is encouraging enactment of appropriate approval in California. He is supporting the Coalition for Agricultural and Industrial Renewal (C.A.I.R.) in its increasingly successful move to gain California acceptance for the crop. Weaver recently returned to the United States from Canada (where industrial hemp farming is legal), having completed his co-starring role in "The Virginian," a feature which will be shown on TNT January 9. As the president and founder of The Institute of Ecolonomics, Weaver is actively working to protect the environment worldwide, while strengthening the economy. In his opinion, growing industrial hemp is an Ecolonomic project which has countless beneficial applications. Noted for an acting career in all media, and honored for such series as "McCloud" and "Gunsmoke," Weaver quotes from a resolution approved by the California State Assembly on September 10 which states: "Industrial hemp can be easily distinguished from marijuana by appearance, cultivation methods and chemical analysis because industrial hemp is a non-intoxicating, benign form of the cannabis sativa plant that contains less than 1% tetrahydrocannabinol, while marijuana contains 5 to 20 percent." Weaver, his wife, Gerry, and others who realize how valuable the cultivation of industrial hemp can be to California's environment and economy, are urging the California State Senate and Governor Gray Davis to concur with the Assembly and permit its planting. Proponents say it has a wide variety of uses, from paper to plastics to feed protein, and that it can be grown in otherwise marginal cropland, requires less water, and requires little or no herbicide or pesticide application. When Dennis is not busy with his acting he is working on behalf of his Institute of Ecolonomics. He is the publisher and editor of its newsletter. He drives, with Gerry, to wherever in America they can support inventors, developers and innovators who are striving to improve and protect the environment. To contact Mr. Weaver, please telephone Julian Myers Public Relations, at (310) 827-9089.Marina Towers South, Suite 300, 4070 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 6604, (310) 827-9089, fax (310) 827-9838, www.julianmyers-pr.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] For further information regarding industrial hemp and the California campaign, contact C.A.I.R. at (714) 543-6400. ======================================== ARTICLE: The October Hemp Commerce & Farming Report is now available AUTHOR: Jason Freeman, HCFR #5 DATE: Tuesday, 26 October 1999, at 2:58 p.m. The HCFR is a free electronic publication dedicated to the advancement and development of Canada's new industrial hemp industry. Available only on-line, each issue of the HCFR provides topical, well researched and well-crafted information to participants in this growing industry. Pubdate: Oct. 26, 1999 HCFR #5 is currently posted at: http://www.hemphasis.com/hcfr Table of Contents Editorial Top of the Crop US Border Closing? New Products from Hempline Anka Update Ruth's Hemp Foods Launches European Acreages Harvest Notebook, Part I Record Yields Moisture Chart Released CHC becomes NAH Inc. Processing Oil Seed Straw Options The Rhizosphere Part II: Hemp Pulping 101 Small Wonders (exclusive from Dr. Alexander Sumach) Hemp Shorts Echo Oils Opens News from Rella/Hempnut Fighting Words California, Here We Come... The HCFR and Hemp Hazards HIA Convention Report Canadian Health Food Show Upcoming Industry Events: JUST IN! Hemp 2000 Show Announced. Winnipeg, March 1-2nd, 2000. Marketplace BACK ISSUES ON THE WWW: In case you missed us, back issues of the HCFR can be found on at least three leading industrial hemp websites ~ Natural Hemphasis, Hemptrade and Hempages.com. Check us out at: http://www.hemphasis.com/hcfr, http://www.hemptrade.com/hcfr, http://www.hempages.com Thanks to David Marcus, Terry Lefebvre and Mari Kane for their continuing good work on making needed information available. If there are any webmasters out there who are posting our material please let us know. Send us an email. And we appreciate hearing about the links too. SUPPORTING ADVERTISERS THIS ISSUE: Earthemp, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Fibrex Qu~bec Inc,, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Gen-X, [EMAIL PROTECTED], The Hemp Club/Chanvre en Ville, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Living Tree Paper, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Hemp Industries Association, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cloud Mountain Inc, [EMAIL PROTECTED], BioHemp Ltd., [EMAIL PROTECTED], Greenman Nonwood Papermill, [EMAIL PROTECTED] ABOUT THE HCFR: The HCFR is a free electronic publication dedicated to the advancement and development of Canada's new industrial hemp industry. Available only on-line, each issue of the HCFR provides topical, well-researched and well-crafted information to participants in this growing industry. The HCFR is published monthly by Arthur Hanks Editing & Media Services, a Vancouver-based communications company. For editorial and submission inquiries, and webmaster postings, contact Arthur Hanks, Editor, at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or phone (604) 255-4332, fax (810) 314-2138. For sponsorship, supporting and advertising inquiries contact Jason Freeman at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or call (604) 255-7979, fax (419) 730-9858. To become an HCFR subscriber, contact Jason Freeman [EMAIL PROTECTED], subject line SUBSCRIBE. You've received this email because you are a subscriber on the HCFR list. If you do not want to receive future mail from us, write us back with message line UNSUBSCRIBE. ======================================== ARTICLE: Welcome to the Season of Sillines AUTHOR: Sheryl McCarthy, The Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii DATE: Wednesday, 27 October 1999, at 10:28 a.m. The only thing sillier than Trump talking about running for president is the newly declared federal war on birdseed. Pubdate: October 14, 1999 With the year 2000 approaching, things are rapidly spinning out of control. This became clear when Donald Trump announce a pending exploratory committee for a possible presidential run. He of the titanic ego and the bad comb-over has always been susceptible to flattery. But who knew his vanity would be tweaked by a National Enquirer poll saying he�d make a strong presidential contender? The only thing sillier than Trump talking about running for president is the newly declared federal war on birdseed. U.S. Customs officials have impounded 20 tons of sterilized hemp seed being shipped by a Canadian farmer to his American customers. Sterilized hemp seeds are used as birdseed, but hemp and marijuana are also different varieties of the same species of plant. You can get as high off smoking hemp, which contains only a tiny fraction of the psychoactive substance present in marijuana, as you can off smoking polyester. But federal officials are treating the hemp seeds as an illegal drug. The irony is that while American farmers are barred from growing hemp, American companies have been importing toms of hemp seeds for decades. They've used it for birdseed, cooking and body oils and even clothing. The war on drugs has bee expensive, destructive and misguided for years, and has now sunk so low that it is seizing imported birdseed. This, too, must be a sign of millennium madness. Yet another is the Pentagon admission that for months the United States has been stoning the Iraqis. That's right. To minimize injuries to civilians around military targets caused by shrapnel, our military has been dropping bombs that contain no explosives. Instead we are hurling laser guided cement toward military targets. Iraq's United Nations ambassador has complained that the stoning of Iraq is still killing people and the United States should stop it. If a Donald Trump presidential threat, seizure of birdseed by drug warriors and the stoning of Iraq don't prove that the nation has been overcome by silliness, I don�t know what does. Perhaps it's not because the century is ending but perhaps it's because with the Cold War long over, peace and relative prosperity in the land and those welfare deadbeats routed off the rolls the country has no serious issues now. So it descends ever more into the trivial. (END) www.honoluluadvertiser.com ======================================== This is an automatically-generated notice. If you'd like to be removed from the mailing list, please visit the HEMPTECH: Hemp News Service at <http://hemptech.com/cgi-bin/nu4m/hempNEWsmaker/home.cgi>, or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] you! DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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