Pubdate: Sat, 09 Feb 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Greg Winter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)

D.E.A. EXTENDS ITS DEADLINE FOR BANNING HEMP IN FOOD

Hoping to give an appeals court time to rule, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration said yesterday that it would extend a grace period for 
companies to dispose of food products made from hemp, a plant 
containing small amounts of the same psychoactive substance found in 
marijuana.

In early October, shortly after Asa Hutchinson became D.E.A. 
administrator, the agency issued a rule that effectively banned "any 
product that contains any amount" of the active substance in 
marijuana, known as tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

Hemp, a close relative of the marijuana plant, does not contain 
enough of the substance to have a mind- altering effect or to show up 
on most drug tests. Nevertheless, the rule still applied to the 
dozens of pretzels, snack bars and other food products that are made 
with hemp seed oil, and stores and manufacturers were given until 
early this month to dispose of them all.

In explaining the rule, the D.E.A. said it was merely interpreting 
existing drug laws, not expanding them to cover previously acceptable 
products.

But the nascent hemp food industry cried foul, asserting that the 
agency has the authority to control only substances with a "high 
potential for abuse." The industry filed an appeal last year with the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which handles 
appeals of administrative rulings like this one.

The court has yet to rule, but the D.E.A. agreed this week to suspend 
its prohibition for another 40 days to give the panel of judges more 
time and information to decide.

Though the hemp foods industry in the United States is small, with 
sales of no more than $7 million a year, the drug agency's stance has 
elicited a surprisingly forceful response.

Representatives Ron Paul, Republican of Texas, and George Miller, 
Democrat of California, sent letters to fellow lawmakers last week, 
criticizing the D.E.A. for erecting "unwarranted barriers" to a 
legitimate business and imploring Mr. Hutchinson to follow "a more 
reasonable approach."

Last month, a Canadian importer filed a complaint with the State 
Department over the rule, asserting that the United States had 
violated the North American Free Trade Agreement by banning a product 
without consulting its trade partners.

Notwithstanding the delay, the D.E.A. said it had no intention of 
softening its prohibition on food made with hemp.

"We take our responsibility seriously," a D.E.A. spokeswoman, Rogene 
Waite, said.
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