There are two new bills, HB 1549 and HCR 3026, in North Dakota this year. One is a bill to amend and reenact section 4-41-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to industrial hemp, the other is a concurrent resolution urging the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to allow North Dakota to regulate industrial hemp farming.

The state is also now issuing licenses to farmers to grow hemp under existing state law and North Dakota Department of Agriculture rules.

In June 2007 the two North Dakota farmers granted state hemp farming licenses, Rep. David Monson and Wayne Hauge, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota in an effort to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) obstruction of commercial hemp farming in the United States. The case was dismissed by the District Court in November 2007. The prospective hemp farmers have appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and an opinion is expected in early to mid 2009. Please see the Vote Hemp North Dakota Case page for the latest information on the case.

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