Actor Woody Harrelson was charged with cultivating marijuana yesterday as part of a publicity stunt to promote the legalization of industrial hemp. Harrelson, best known for his role as the bartender Woody on the sitcom Cheers and for roles in the movies Natural Born Killers and White Men Can 't Jump was accompanied by a lawyer, a spokesman, a photographer and a CNN television crew as he planted four marijuana seeds on a Lee County farm. The charge is a misdemeanor. Five seeds would have been a felony.
Harrelson, in Kentucky as a guest of the Kentucky Industrial Fiber Hemp Conference, was released on 10 percent of a $2,000 bond. He's to appear in court on June 17. A spokesman said Harrelson stopped by the Kentucky attorney general's and secretary of state's offices to announce his intentions.
Harrelson, an avid environmentalist, is a financial backer and highly visible promoter of industrial hemp. It was a leading crop in Kentucky from the late 1700s until early in the 1900s. Hemp was outlawed in 1937 but enjoyed a strong resurgence during World War II because of the demand for rope. Growing industrial strain hemp is permitted in countries like China, France and Russia but outlawed in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The main argument against legalization, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, is the danger that industrial hemp will be diverted into illicit drug traffic.