Pot times July 15, 2005
Industrial Opening
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1119/a04.htmlNewshawk: chip
Pubdate: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 INDUSTRIAL OPENING
Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Copyright: 2005 The News and Observer Publishing Company
Contact: https://miva.nando.com/contact_us/letter_editor.html
Website: http://www.news-observer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304
Author: Gale Glenn
Regarding your July 11 article "Hemp advocates pitch plant as farmers'
gold" Pivotal hemp facts: 1 ) Hemp, legal in 30 nations including Canada,
is grown with certified seed containing less than 0.3 percent THC, while
marijuana contains 10 to 25 percent THC. 2 ) The "pro-marijuana
crowd" is absolutely opposed to legalizing hemp, because cross-pollination
would ruin any marijuana crop within miles. 3 ) Hemp plastics and
composites are biodegradable or recyclable. 4 ) A substantial percentage
of the German Mercedes-Benz is made from hemp -- door panels, dashboards,
headliners, and carpets.
True, the N.C. Farm Bureau opposes hemp, but 24 state Farm Bureaus have
endorsed it. Hemp is legal is six states. Law enforcement has no
problem distinguishing between 12-foot-tall hemp stalks and low bushy marijuana.
North Carolina farmers need a low-labor, sustainable, non-polluting industrial
crop. Farmers should demand hemp be removed from Schedule 1 drugs.
Arguments against hemp are irrational and illogical. Deliberate ignorance
is no excuse to keep our farmers and industries in a losing position in the
coming hemp initiative.
Gale Glenn
Vice-Chairman, North American Industrial Hemp Council
Durham
