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Letter To The Editor

HEMP

May-June 1997

I was sorry to see five pages of NewsBriefs devoted to the hemp pseudo-controversy. Agreed, making hemp legal for industrial purposes would have essentially no impact on the drug problem. So why should those whose interest is in drugs, rather than farming, care? Answer: Ever since the publication of "The Emperor's New Clothes," "hemp advocacy" has been a code-worded way for people to endorse marijuana legalization.

"Hemp" is to "legalization" what "state's rights" was to "segregation": a cover for scoundrels and a trap for fools. The actual industrial significance of hemp is almost certainly negligible, but even if it weren't that would be no reason for NewsBriefs to get involved.

Mark A.R. Kleiman