Vote Hemp calls on North Dakota delegation in Congress to take action

13 Mar '08

3 min read

Vote Hemp, the nation's leading grassroots organization working to give farmers the right to grow industrial hemp (the oilseed and fiber varieties of the Cannabis plant), which can be made into food, clothing, paper, body care products, bio-fuel and even auto parts, has released a new poll of 807 likely North Dakota voters about industrial hemp.

North Dakota is the only state to implement rules for farmers to grow industrial hemp; however, those farmers are still threatened with federal prosecution and loss of their farms through asset forfeiture if they do so.

The telephone poll has a 3.5% margin of error and sampled likely North Dakota voters on February 11, 2008. The survey was conducted by the respected research firm Zogby International on behalf of Vote Hemp and was sponsored by Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps.

According to the poll, a total of 74% of North Dakota voters support changing federal law to allow farmers to grow hemp, including 40% who "strongly support" and another 34% who "somewhat support" changes so that farmers in the U.S. can supply manufacturers with hemp seed, oil and fiber.

Presently, American companies must import hemp from other countries. Despite the stifling effect that relying on imports has had on the use of hemp in everyday products, the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) estimates that annual retail sales of hemp products in North America exceeded $330 million in 2007.

"The poll results released confirmthat there is overwhelming support in North Dakota for federal relief on the issue of industrial hemp," said Vote Hemp President Eric Steenstra.

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