North Dakota Researchers May Get Approval to Grow Industrial Hemp

By JJ Hermes

A federal judge has ruled against two North Dakota farmers who were seeking to grow industrial hemp, a form of cannabis, but North Dakota State University, which had supported the farmers' lawsuit, may soon be cleared to conduct its own research on the federally controlled substance.

University researchers, who have been seeking approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for hemp studies since September 1999, recently wrote a letter backing the farmers' lawsuit