cannabisnews.com: Edited Interview Transcript with Officer James Tip





Edited Interview Transcript with Officer James Tip
Posted by FoM on December 27, 1999 at 20:15:37 PT
Transcripts Edited for The American Edge - Hemp
Source: CNN Transcripts
KNAPP: [There's a] big movement to legalize industrial hemp now. What are your concerns about that? TIPTON: Well my concerns are, naturally, it's going to be a regulatory nightmare. For one, the illicit marijuana growers are just going to use it as another tool to advance their illegal activities. 
KNAPP: Hemp activists say you can tell the difference between a marijuana plant and a hemp plant. So how are traffickers going to use industrial hemp? TIPTON: That's true to a certain extent. I think you just about have to get the plant almost to maturity to be able to tell the difference. Hemp contains THC the psychoactive ingredient. They [the illegal marijuana growers] are going to do two things. Often times they will go ahead and take it premature if they got a buyer. We see that. A lot of times they don't take this all the way to maturity. And you just about have to have it to maturity to tell the difference. And another thing they're going to use it as filler. It's a lower grade THC, they'll just put it with what they've genetically altered to raise the THC. KNAPP: So they're going to plant high THC content marijuana with the low grade industrial hemp? TIPTON: That's exactly right. That's exactly right. It'd be a regulatory nightmare. How could you go out and monitor it? Let's say hemp was legalized. I'm afraid you'd have the organized crime people that are involved in the distribution and cultivation today, going in and taking advantage of the situation. In other words, they would be putting their high grade plant in the same fields. We experience and have experienced it in corn fields already. They go in and cut out rows of corn, and place the marijuana. Hemp is marijuana. Anybody advocating the legalization of hemp in my opinion [is] advocating the legalization of marijuana. It's one and the same. PEGGY: Now hemp activists again have said to me it is as genetically different from marijuana as pop corn is from field corn, it's a different plant. TIPTON: It contains THC. It's got the psychoactive ingredient in it. It just has less of it. You would just have to use more of it to get the high. They were smoking it 20 years ago, when it had the low THC content. KNAPP: They were smoking low grade? What we would call industrial hemp? TIPTON: Exactly. KNAPP: The people in the hemp community have tried very, very hard to separate the two issues. And they've tried to -- what they say -- educate the public about the differences. Are there any differences that you can see? TIPTON: I can't see any differences, I can not see, other than the THC content being lower. KNAPP: Hemp activist say that marijuana is a horticultural crop. In other words, you tend each plant. And with industrial hemp, they say they're just going to pack the field so tight that there will be very few leaves. They will process it in the field leave the leaves in the field and all they want is the stalk. TIPTON: Well, they may see it that way but I have been in illicit crops where the plants have been just crammed together. I've also found it as just individually cared for plants. I've seen it both ways. They already go in and cut out rows of corn, why wouldn't they just take this and cut out some plants, and put in a higher grade? KNAPP: So it would just make your job a nightmare? TIPTON: It would be nightmare. I just I just don't believe it would work. KNAPP: The people who are involved in the industrial hemp community are adamant that they are not the people who want to legalize marijuana. There are many industrial hemp organizations who will not admit pro-pot members. TIPTON: Well they haven't worked law enforcement for the past 20 years. They haven't been exposed to what I've been exposed to. And that's about all I can say. KNAPP: Is there any way that they can satisfy law enforcement's concerns about industrial hemp? It sounds like when I talk to them that they're willing to jump through just about any hoop that you want to put in front of them because they believe in this as an industrial crop. TIPTON: I don't see how. We're not against working [with them], but I don't see how we could do it. I just don't see how you could regulate it. It would just be a strong tool for the illicit grower and trafficker. It's already a big problem. KNAPP: What do the farmers say to you? TIPTON: The farmers invite us. They're appreciative of us. They ask us to monitor as much as possible every year. Sometimes they're met with resistance if someone puts a [marijuana] crop out on a farmer's crop. Sometimes they have lots of acres and they can't cover everything. They're met with hostilities from these folks [the illicit growers]. KNAPP: Why are so many farmers for industrial hemp, though? The American Farm Bureau Federation supported the research into industrial hemp. Farmers are looking for something to replace tobacco which is coming under attack. And they're losing their family farms. They're looking for something. What are you going to say to the family farmer? TIPTON: Well, naturally I wouldn't do anything to hurt the family farmer. I would say look at kenaf, soy beans, corn. It's my understanding that tobacco produces 26 hundred per acre. Marijuana would produce 2 to 3 hundred an acre. I think soy bean and corn alone would beat that. And I don't believe we have the acreage to raise marijuana, because it takes a lot out of the soil. It's bad for erosion, has a very shallow root system. There's just a lot of negatives. And I don't know where they get the land. If they could only get that much per acre, I don't know where they would get the land. KNAPP: And hemp activists would say all of that, everything you've just said is wrong. They'll say it's got oils, it's got fiber it grows faster it's good for the soil. How can both things be said? Is there disinformation do you think? TIPTON: I'm not sure about that. I don't know where they get their information. I can talk about it from law enforcement and I can just say it's not going to be good. There are other [alternatives] out there, from what I understand. That's what I've heard, that's what I've been exposed to. KNAPP: Hemp has been a tremendous part of Kentucky's heritage. I mean I was out on Hemp Hill Road, at the Hemp Hill Baptist Church? TIPTON: Right. I understand that. If it were going to be that great why didn't they continue it back then? Why today? KNAPP: And they'll say because the marijuana hysteria grabbed the country. TIPTON: I don't agree with it. I don't agree with it. KNAPP: Why do you think it's no longer a part of our of our crops. . . TIPTON: Well it's been replaced by nylon and other things. I mean cotton's our number one fiber crop. Second to nothing. KNAPP: What what will law enforcement do if hemp is legalized? TIPTON: It's like anything else, we'll adapt. We'll just have see what happens. We won't know what to do until we see what kind of problems we're going to be faced with. And then we'll just take it from there. We have a program that includes 17 different law enforcement agencies in the state of Kentucky. We'll just try to work better and then do as much or more with less. We'll just have to see what happens when it if it does occur. I don't believe it will occur. KNAPP: You don't? TIPTON: I don't think so. The drug problem is overwhelming in our society. That's why I can't go along with legalization of hemp. Why add to the problem, when there are other things out there to look at? If the farmers say that it's going to make it, it's going to pull them through, I can't argue with that because I don't know the situation. I'm not a farmer. But we would never never hold a farmer down, they've always been supportive of us, of our program. KNAPP: What's your biggest fear in all of this? TIPTON: My biggest fear if it were to be legalized, naturally would be just the tremendous amount of drugs that it would put in the hands of the youth. And the youth abuse a lot a drugs. KNAPP: The hemp activists are saying that legislation is being introduced in many states this year to legalize industrial hemp. And they seem to feel like they have a pretty good chance of passing in several states. Vermont has already passed legislation to do research into it. Does that make you worried? TIPTON: No, that does not worry me. As I say, we're not trying to hold the farmer down in any way. If they could come up with a way to genetically alter this plant where there's no psychoactive ingredient in it would be wonderful. And I hope they can come up with something. KNAPP: What if what if they pass legislation and say below one percent is industrial hemp? TIPTON: Then there will be a problem. It will be a nightmare for us to enforce. In other countries they're already beating the system when they're caught by simply saying they were growing this for commercial use. KNAPP: But can't they test the percentage and prove that wrong? TIPTON: I guess they could. All I know is they're beating the cases. It is marijuana. It'll look like it and it will be marijuana. Unless they can figure out a way to take the THC out of it. If they can do that everything will be great. That's why kenaf [an alternative, fibrous plant] looks so attractive in my opinion. Newshawk: DdCDecember 18, 1999Click the link to visit The American Edge - Hemp - CNN Interactive for more transcripts.http://cnn.com/CNN/Programs/americanedge/program/hemp/index.html
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Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on December 28, 1999
 at 14:55:22 PT
Willful ignorance
Thomas Jefferson said it best: Trying to argue with those who have divorced the use of reason has all the usefulness of administering medicine to the dead.Never waste your time dealing with the low end of the totem pole. These guys are just as bad as the low-level Nazi's saying that 'They were only following their orders'. Don't expect any of them to exercise some common sense or judgement; not so long as they are underlings and fear loss of income by speaking out against this patent nonsense. The time for reasoning with such as these are long past. It is those who are in a position to give these louts their orders who should be the focus of our efforts. Only when things change, and these automatons get new orders are they going to lay off.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #7 posted by Don on December 28, 1999
 at 12:49:43 PT
hemp
Officer Tipton is one of the many drug warriors who may never see or hear the truth about industrial hemp with trace amounts of THC. Those of us who know the truth about the many uses of industrial hemp need to spread the word in a professional way to farmers and others so the drug warriors don't kill the message because of the messanger.We need to seperate "reffer madness" from industrial hemp with trace THC to the public so we don't get caught up in the Drug War hysteria--and what we do in our own time to relax is our business !!!!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #6 posted by Don on December 28, 1999
 at 12:48:54 PT
hemp
Officer Tipton is one of the many drug warriors who may never see or hear the truth about industrial hemp with trace amounts of THC. Those of us who know the truth about the many uses of industrial hemp need to spread the word in a professional way to farmers and others so the drug warriors don't kill the message because of the messanger.We need to seperate "reffer madness" from industrial hemp with trace THC to the public so we don't get caught up in the Drug War hysteria--and what we do in our own time to relax is our business !!!!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #5 posted by Doc-Hawk on December 28, 1999
 at 11:20:34 PT:
Lying Sack of Excrement
Sent today to the Kentucky State Police (sorry, I tried to clean it up):Detective Sgt. James Tipton is a lying sack of excrement! The worst part is, either he knows it and is fraudulently propagating his lies, or he is simply uneducable.His arguments have thoroughly been refuted by study after study, yet he insists on spewing his LIES because he is addicted to the POWER that the War on Drugs gives him.Assholes like him should not be quoted....they should be exported to Afghanistan (nothing personal against the Afghanis) or perhaps one of the many countries where hemp is legal and is NOT the law enforcement nightmare he would have us believe.His biggest fear is that the POLICE STATE would collapse if legalization made the US government's $18,000,000,000 per year (over $50,000,000,000 counting the states) drug money habit disappear.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by Mike on December 28, 1999
 at 10:30:50 PT:
Transcript
Was this guy a Hitler youth in a former life?
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by Chris Campbell on December 27, 1999
 at 21:37:18 PT:
P.S.
I'm in for 5$
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by Chris Campbell on December 27, 1999
 at 21:35:23 PT:
collection..
Anyone want to start up a collection for the purpose of mailing this guy a copy of "The Emperor Wears No Clothes"?
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by military officer guy on December 27, 1999
 at 20:37:16 PT
what planet is this guy from
this guy doesn't have a clue, where the heck does this guy come from...can anyone say loser...am i the only one that thinks this guy doesn't have a clue...?
[ Post Comment ]

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