A New Hampshire federal magistrate dismissed a suit today brought by parties seeking to enjoin Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials from prosecuting farmers who cultivate hemp.
New Hampshire state Rep. Derek Owen and the New Hampshire Hemp Council of Keene filed suit in U.S. District Court on April 30 asking the court to bar the agency from using federal anti-marijuana laws to prohibit hemp cultivation. Owen, who co-sponsored unsuccessful legislation this spring to “permit the development of an industrial hemp industry in New Hampshire,” sought the order so he could plant hemp on his farm this year.
The federal judge ruled that the court lacked “subject matter jurisdiction” to hear the case because state law also forbids the cultivation of hemp. Plaintiff’s attorney, Gordon Blakeney of Concord, said he will file an immediate objection to the ruling.
Plaintiffs argued that marijuana and hemp are two botanically different strains of the species Cannabis sativa, and that the federal law is ambiguous because it refers to a classification of plants “commonly understood to include more than one distinct variety.” Plaintiffs further contended that Congress intended only to criminalize the psychoactive variety of Cannabis sativa and not the non-psychoactive strain. Blakeney also said that no criminal intent exists in legitimate hemp cultivation.
A similar federal suit filed by a coalition of Kentucky farmers against the DEA and the Department of Justice remains pending.
For more information, please contact either Attorney Gordon Blakeney @ (603) 225-2310 or Allen St. Pierre of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.
