cannabisnews.com: Hemp Grower Defiant After Crop Taken





Hemp Grower Defiant After Crop Taken
Posted by FoM on August 03, 2001 at 21:23:54 PT
By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff Writer
Source: Rapid City Journal
Alex White Plume said Tuesday he will plant industrial hemp on his family's land again next year, despite having two consecutive crops confiscated by federal agents.Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation seized hundreds of hemp plants Monday from White Plume's land near Manderson, hauling them away in 11 vehicles and a U-haul trailer. White Plume said they removed about 330 bundles of plants, with 20 to 30 plants per bundle.
"They wanted to be in and out of here in an hour, but they didn't realize how strong the plants were. They went down fighting," he said with a half-hearted chuckle, noting that agents spent four hours removing the plants.Last August, agents confiscated 3,782 hemp plants from the White Plume place.Federal law makes it illegal to grow hemp, which is related to marijuana. Hemp is different in that it has very low amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that gives a "high." Hemp also can be used to make everything from paper to clothing to candy.Government officials have held that allowing hemp farming would send mixed messages to young people and make it easier for growers to hide marijuana plants.Under federal law, cultivating 1,000 or more plants is punishable by 10 years to life in prison. But White Plume said he isn't afraid of going to jail because he believes he has the right to grow hemp under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868."We feel like we're not criminals," he said. "I don't even swear."White Plume never was charged after last year's raid. Interim U.S. Attorney Michelle Tapken was not available for comment Tuesday.Monday's seizure was no surprise to the White Plumes. They had told federal authorities openly that they were planting hemp and knew agents planned to raid the plot."Our family agreed that we would let them come in and cut it down," White Plume said. "We kept our agreement with them. They were real kind. They were the nicest police officers I've ever seen."However, he did tell Bureau of Indian Affairs criminal investigators to leave his property Monday. He said he had asked Oglala Sioux tribal police earlier this year to take samples of his hemp to be tested for THC."Instead ... they turned it over to the BIA's criminal investigation, which are federal police officers, who then brought in the DEA," White Plume said. He said BIA investigators should have consulted with the tribe before calling DEA.Members of White Plume's family spent Monday morning sitting around a sacred staff in the hemp field, forcing agents to pull plants around them. "We had to show some kind of anger, so we did it through silence," White Plume said.He plans to file a lawsuit against the United States, possibly demanding payment for the plants that were destroyed. White Plume said he has established "family law" that levies a fine for damaging hemp plants on his property.You may call reporter Heidi Bell Gease at: heidi.bell rapidcityjournal.comSource: Rapid City Journal (SD)Author: Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff WriterPublished: July 31, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Rapid City JournalWebsite: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/Contact: randy.rasmussen rapidcityjournal.comRelated Articles:The Drug War Comes To The Rez http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8646.shtmlTribe Gets Hemp Gift http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7835.shtmlCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by SWAMPIE on August 05, 2001 at 01:03:00 PT
ROCKET-MAN....
That is a great idea!!I think everyone who has the ability to do this should get a cheap kit,lock-and-load!!!The correct time in the east/midwest,should be in late Sept./early October.Don't use the good stuff,save'em for personal.When it grows in the wild,it will pollinate and produce"feral-weed",which will lose potency as it becomes crossed with other varieties/hemp.The good stuff needs personal attention.MONSANTO,EAT SH!T!!!!!!!I suppose that model rockets will be on the DEA HIT-LIST next!!
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Comment #7 posted by ooooooooo on August 04, 2001 at 10:26:31 PT
Rocket-man
Did you ever see a hobby-shop rocket, launched 1500 to 3000'into the air?....They can either pop a parachute open from the "paylod section" at that altitude, via a small explosive charge, or.......(just think how far they could scatter!)....model rockets are inexpensive, and easy to launch, can be re-used, and can carry very respectable "payload".....just a thought, not a suggestion....heh heh...(watch the finger-prints)
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Comment #6 posted by Patrick on August 04, 2001 at 09:47:09 PT
Make em Pay
White Plume said he has established "family law" that levies a fine for damaging hemp plants on his property.I for one hope that White Plum makes the DEA pay him for his lost crop. I mean doesn't the guvment pay farmers not to grow crops like corn and wheat while there are still hungry people in the world? So, I suppose it would be too much to ask them to pay for what they stole...I mean after all the DEA violated Family Law These nazi scum continue to trample over our constitutional rights with no impunity. Specifically the 4th and 5th Amendments, which passed in 1791 by the way, long before these illegal "legal" seizure laws and prohibition. Judges and lawmen, I thought were our servants and to an oath to uphold the LAW. Who upholds our laws when the law becomes lawless? We do. Read the Bill of Rights Mr. Judge. White Plume is only exercising his rights by declaring family law. His law is as valid as the one that you used to encroach upon his property.
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Comment #5 posted by Johnny Pot Seed on August 04, 2001 at 07:43:01 PT
Plant it!
... every one got a bundle of seeds and planted them wherever they will grow. I save all my seeds, and throw them around some choice locations.I got a kick a few month ago when I read a blurb about the police ripping up some plants behind and old abondond building. Exactly where I planted some seeds a few years ago, seven to be exact.Ha Ha
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on August 04, 2001 at 05:07:05 PT
Their Word Means Nothing
It's alright by the Federal Government when a mega-hog farm wants to set up shop on the Rez. They don't have to comply with environmental regulations because it is sovereign Indian land. But the land mysteriously ceases to be sovereign when the Indians grow a plant that will provide materials for housing & clothing. Those plants would not have gotten a fly high!Last year some good folk from Kentucky trucked loads of Canadian hemp up to the Sioux to replace their crop that had suffered the same fate so they could resume construction on their houses. I hope someone helps them this year also.It is so insane! We can send them tons of hemp grown north of the border but we can't grow the hemp here! Our Federal Government is dead wrong. They never kept their word with the Treaty of Fort Laramie. Their word isn't worth sh*t! Save hemp from the dumb*ss Feds!http://www.votehemp.com
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Comment #3 posted by dddd on August 04, 2001 at 02:47:19 PT
Cool message Pancho
...wish I could be in Boston on the 15th.....I'll be there in spirit....dddd
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Comment #2 posted by smileysmiles on August 04, 2001 at 02:37:45 PT
it can be so REALLY amazing if...
... every one got a bundle of seeds and planted them wherever they will grow. A sea of green. :)
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Comment #1 posted by Pancho on August 03, 2001 at 23:40:31 PT
Invasion
It is truly a shame that today, in this so called democratic country, our own government must deem what is right and what is wrong for the masses based on racist propaganda written in the last century by white imperialists. Our governments rhetoric as to why their marijuana prohibition should be enforced and maintained are so full of holes, lies, and evil, it sounds as if we live under a dictatorship, perhaps we do without realizing it.In this particular case, unarmed indigenous people growing HEMP with negligable THC value, on sovereign land, have twice been invaded by the modern day conquistadores.In our favor is the certainty that these modern day fools, like Don Quijote, are simply chasing windmills. They too will learn as did the original, that time is always the avenger.On a lighter note, the 13th Annual Freedom Rally in Boston takes place on Sat. Sept. 15,   noon 2001. If possible, be there, be proud, and most importantly, STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS!Peace,Pancho  
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