The two North Dakota farmers who are suing the DEA so that they can actually use the hemp growing licenses that the state issued them have been granted a renewal on their licenses. As The Dickinson Press reports:

Two North Dakota farmers who were granted the nation’s first state licenses to grow industrial hemp a year ago have been granted renewals. The farmers have tried to get federal permission to grow hemp, which is a cousin to marijuana but doesn’t produce a high.

Although the state of North Dakota (and a few others) permit the cultivation of industrial hemp, it is still illegal under federal law. Consequently, even though a farmer is licensed to grow the plant, they can still face prosecution by the DEA.

Despite the legal murkiness, North Dakota is still issuing licenses to grow hemp, but warns that applicants will still have trouble with federal authorities. Perhaps that these two farmers re-applied for their license is indicative of what they think their chances are of winning their case against the DEA (i.e. good). However, there is no set date for when the judge is expected to hand down his decision on this case.

For those who want more background info on this case, VoteHemp.com has a page all about the North Dakota Case.

A few days ago, we posted about how two North Dakota farmers were finally getting their day in court. In June of 2007, the farmers filed a lawsuit against teh DEA’s band on commercial hemp farming in the US, and on November 12, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will begin hearing oral arguments. Well, the Wisoncisn Ag Connection has some clarification on the exact nature of the lawsuit:

In 2007 the North Dakota Legislature removed the requirement that state-licensed industrial hemp farmers first obtain DEA permits before growing hemp. The question before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will be whether or not federal authorities can prosecute state-licensed farmers who grow non-drug oilseed and fiber hemp pursuant to North Dakota state law. Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading industrial hemp advocacy group, and its supporters are providing financial support for the lawsuit. If it is successful, states across the nation will be free to implement their own hemp farming laws without fear of federal interference.

So basically, while the state of North Dakota permits farmers to grow industrial hemp, the federal government does not. Consequently, therefore, a state license to grow hemp is pretty much useless because it does not protect you from federal indictment.

Complete background information on this case is available on the Vote Hemp – Legal Cases: North Dakota page. And here is some footage of the post-court press conference last November.