Legislation requiring North Dakota State University to study the feasibility and durability of industrial hemp production was signed into law on March 23.
House Bill 1305, introduced by a coalition of both representatives and senators, mandates the study to include “an analysis of required soils and growing conditions, seed availability, harvest methods, market economies, environmental benefits, and law enforcement concerns.” It is undetermined whether test plots of hemp will be grown for the study. Researchers will report their findings and recommendations to the state legislative council by Aug. 1, 1988.
“Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were both industrial hemp producers,” Rep. David Monson (R-Osnabrock) told reporters. “This is as American as baseball and apple pie.”
North Dakota is the third state to commission a study on the economic viability of domestic hemp cultivation. A prior study commissioned by the Hawaii state legislature was completed this past January and a second study is currently underway in Vermont.
For more information on industrial hemp or pending hemp legislation, please contact Paul Armentano or Allen St. Pierre of NORML at (202) 483-5500.