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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2001

In an editorial today, The Sioux Falls Argus Leader questions whether legalization of hemp would help South Dakota farmers.

The paper says law enforcement issues can be worked out, since hemp is often confused for marijuana. But the paper doubts whether there is actually a market for industrial hemp.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service calls hemp a small market," writes the paper. "A study earlier this year concluded that the 35,000 acres planted in hemp in Canada in 1999 oversupplied the whole North American market."

The Oglala Lakota Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation has legalized hemp growing. Tribal members use it for construction and other purposes.

The federal government, however, considers such farming illegal and has raided and confiscated hemp crops.

Get the Story:
Editorial: It's unlikely that hemp will benefit S.D. farmers (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 12/12)

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S.D. farmers support hemp (12/4)
Neb. hemp bill stalled (5/24)
Supreme Court says no to pot distribution (5/15)
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US criticized for hemp raid (9/6)