Glenwood Springs Post Independent, 03 Jan 2013 – This letter is written in response to the Jan. 2 article in the Post Independent regarding the potential of local Garfield County farmers to grow hemp as a cash crop and subsequent hemp value-added products for economic development and local jobs creation. As reporter John Colson points out, in the 1930s, the federal government placed marijuana on a list of banned drugs and because hemp has similar characteristics of marijuana, the feds cannot discern the difference between the two plants in a drive-by inspection. Therefore the DEA will never allow the economic development benefits of growing hemp to be deployed by local Garfield County farmers.