HEY, WE'RE FAMOUS!

Anyone who agrees with the saying that there's no such thing as bad press
will surely be pleased with the article "High Noon" in this month's issue
of Saturday Night magazine.

The article chronicles the journey of Grand Forks hemp crusaders with a
definite focus on our colorful mayor, Brian Taylor, who has also been known
to speak in favor of growing marijuana for various purposes.

For some inexplicable reason, the writer of the article also felt compelled
to tell us all about the romantic exploits of our fearless leader. To do
so seemed odd, but it did make for mildly entertaining reading,
particularly the part where the magazine incorrectly identified a
photograph of Taylor's former girlfriend as his 20-year-old daughter.

Chances are, though that most of the people in this town didn't get a
chance to see the article because the magazine is not routinely carried in
local stores.

Out East, though, Saturday Night's a big deal, sold on newsstands
everywhere and delivered free to the homes of hundreds of thousands of
people. Now all of them will have heard of Grand Forks and will have heard
of hemp.

But unfortunately they will have heard it in the same breath as marijuana.
Whether you are for hemp, for marijuana, or for both, or for neither, the
fact is that they are extremely different crops.

But hemp continues to get a bad rap because of the wide spread
misconception that it's just like pot.

This article only reinforces the false association between the two. Let's
just hope that anyone with any influence who has read the article will be
able to tell the difference.

Checked-by: Richard Lake