Is Fort Berthold ready for industrial hemp production
Is Fort Berthold ready for industrial hemp production
By MARVIN BAKER
A Minot man was in New Town Monday to drum up support for an agricultural industry that remains controversial on a federal level even though it is legal in North Dakota.
Modern Hemp President Rob Robinson said he would like to see Indian farmers on the Fort Berthold Reservation come forward and begin voicing their concerns for the right to grow industrial hemp.
In 1999, North Dakota became the first state in the United States to legalize industrial hemp, and two North Dakota farmers have been granted state licenses to grow hemp but have been stalled because the issue remains tied up in federal court.
Industrial hemp remains illegal under the Drug Enforcement Act since the hemp and marijuana plants are nearly identical. The difference is that hemp doesn’t have the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannibanol.
