Newsbrief: Campaign Comments -- John Edwards on Industrial Hemp 9/19/03 Welcome to Drug War Chronicle's newest occasional feature. With 10 Democrats vying for the chance to defeat President Bush a little more than a year from now, candidates are bound to have something to say about drug policy (especially if they are being hounded by activists like those involved in Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana [http://www.GraniteStaters.com] and Americans for Safe Access [http://www.safeaccessnow.org]. When those candidates turn from terrorism, the economy, health care, and other key issues to address drugs, we will let you know. One hopes for intelligent comments from the candidates, but sometimes you have to settle for what you get. Thus North Carolina junior senator John Edwards on industrial hemp, as reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday. Waylaid by a question about using hemp as a food or fiber while at a campaign event in New Hampshire, Edwards responded: "I could tell you, in general, my position about the medical use of marijuana, which is not what you are talking about," Edwards clarified. "You are talking about industrialized hemp being used for WHAT?" The questioner, Paul Stillwell of Concord, New Hampshire, explained that hemp fiber can be used to make paper, clothing, rope, and other products, and that hemp oil is used in lotions, cosmetics, and foods. Would Edwards support industrial hemp, Stillwell wanted to know? "I didn't know that's where that question was going," Edwards said, with a laugh. "I had not thought about that as a solution to the problem, honestly." He promised to come up with an answer, though. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/303/edwards.shtml