Hawaii hemp
test to begin

The state hopes the plant's
industrial use will make it
valuable for the economy

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

An experiment to test industrial hemp as a new crop for Hawaii agriculture will begin tomorrow morning when Gov. Ben Cayetano is scheduled to plant the first seeds on a quarter-acre test plot at Whitmore Village near Wahiawa.

The test project was approved by the 1999 Legislature and is sponsored by a $200,000 grant from hemp shampoo maker Alterna's Professional Hair Care Products, which uses nutrient-rich hemp seed oil in its products.

Because hemp belongs to the same family as marijuana, it has been illegal to grow it anywhere in the United States since World War II, despite supporters' pleas that industrial hemp is not a drug product.

Helped by Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua), supporters of hemp's potential as a commercial crop in Hawaii won legislative approval for the experimental plot. After setting precise limitations, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency also approved the trial on the single Oahu plot.

Proponents say industrial hemp has a wide variety of uses in such products as carpet, car parts, hemp reinforced plastics, building materials, nutritional food products and personal care products. A number of states have approved legislation to support hemp growing, but Hawaii will be the first to plant, the sponsors said.

In a press statement, Alterna said that while it is only a small test planting, the Hawaii project will provide a forum for scientists to establish that large-scale industrial hemp production can boost the economy.

"Once the DEA removes its restrictions on growing industrial hemp freely outside of the test plot, the vast economic and ecological benefits of this plant will make themselves known to American farmers," the plant-genetics scientist in charge of the project, David West, said in the statement.