Ron Paul Backs Industrial Hemp

Presidential candidate Ron Paul says he supports the legalization of growing industrial hemp during his campaign tour in North Dakota. "There is no reason, in a free society, that farmers shouldn't be allowed to raise hemp," the libertarian Republican told a crowd. "Hemp is a good product." Advocates say the alternative crop can be grown quickly and turned into a wide range of products including paper, rope, textiles and even food products. Despite hemp being a legal multi-million dollar export crop in Canada, the US government has banned its cultivation; the Drug Enforcement Agency lumps it together with its plant cousin, marijuana, even though it shares virtually none of its mind-altering properties. North Dakota lawmakers once filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the DEA's hemp ban.