Some farmers and state lawmakers want to make it legal to cultivate hemp in North Dakota, but so far they have received little help from the state's Congressional delegation, the Associated Press reported Feb. 15.

The North Dakota House of Representatives has called on the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to issue licenses to state farmers to grow hemp, a non-narcotic cousin of marijuana that is grown extensively in neighboring Canada. But Democrat Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy have not signed onto a federal bill to legalize hemp or shown any desire to involve themselves in the conversation between the state and DEA.

"At this point in time, I'd like to leave this to the experts, and no one has ever accused Congress of being that group," Pomeroy said. "I haven't reached a conclusion.  I am watching with interest. I am learning from North Dakota's experience."

A spokesperson for Conrad said the senator "doesn't see much room for success" in the push to legalize hemp, noting the Bush administration's opposition.

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson recently met with DEA on the hemp issue and said he "felt that we've got a long ways to go with DEA. They made it quite clear that they still do not understand or believe the distinction between industrial hemp and marijuana. That's a pretty fundamental issue."