Thousands of American farmers, entrepreneurs and business ventures stand ready to cultivate this multi-faceted plant. However, other countries currently profit from the worldwide resurgence of interest in industrial hemp. By law, industrial hemp is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance because of its distant relationship to the much higher THC-containing plant, marijuana. The D.E.A. has never granted these permits. However, industrial hemp is often confused or considered synonymous with its chemically distant cousin, marijuana.
Many distinguishing characteristics exist between the two.
The trained eye can easily tell the difference between a strand of industrial hemp and a strand of marijuana. The two plants are bred for completely different purposes and thus share very little in common. However, the D.E.A. argues that legalization of industrial hemp will create hiding places for illegal marijuana growers or, alternatively, the industrial hemp growers will secretly attempt to enhance the THC levels in hemp to produce marijuana. As such, the regulation of industrial hemp has not been granted expressly or impliedly to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Despite the many positive and legal uses for industrial hemp, the D.E.A. remains steadfast in a mistaken conviction that industrial hemp is more trouble than it is good.