On the Cutting Edge of Societal Satire

The Kentucky Supreme Court has temporary halted actor Woody Harrelson's crusade to legalize hemp by ruling that the actor will stand trial for planting four hemp seeds in 1996.

Hemp, which is a strain of marijuana that contains minute traces of THC, the substance which makes smokers high, is used primarily for rope and textiles. Harrelson says the legalization of hemp will help small farmers in need of a cash crop.

But the court ruled that it's too difficult to distinguish between hemp and more potent marijuana without testing, and would make law enforcement's job much more difficult. In it's ruling, the court said that the issue of whether or not marijuana should be legalized is one for the legislature, not the court system.

"I was disappointed by the ruling, yeah." Harrelson said. "I'm only concerned with saving the rain forest. Forget the fact that I own a company that sells hemp products and legalizing hemp in this country would mean I wouldn't have to spend so much money importing it from China and Hungary, which cuts into my profit margins. Forget about that. This is about saving the rain forests in South America man."

Harrelson said that he will not give up the fight. "When we beat this thing and get hemp legalized, I'm going to crusade for the legalization of growing cocoa plants in this country, there's another great cash crop for farmers. My only concern here is that I drink a lot of pop, and this will help bring down the cost."

Harrelson said his motives are purely idealistic. "You know, when you run around play-acting for a living, getting paid millions of dollar to pretend you're a real person, you start feeling a little shallow." Harrelson said. "I guess this is my way of feeling like I'm doing something of substance."

Harrelson's attorney says the case should be thrown out of court. "Woody has done so much for the betterment of society, to make America a better place. His movies, like 'Natural Born Killers' and 'EdTV', lift us all up and make us all better people. It's inspiring..."

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