Pubdate: Tue, 19 Mar 2002
Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY)
Copyright: 2002 Casper Star-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.trib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/765
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)

WYOMING BUSINESSMAN GLAD COURT BLOCKED DEA RULES ON HEMP FOODS

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The Wyoming developer of "Hemp Dip" said he is 
pleased a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a Drug 
Enforcement Administration rule banning the sale of food made with 
hemp.

Mark Daly is founder of the Wyoming Snuff Co., which recently started 
manufacturing a snuff made of hemp. The ruling "has an amount of 
common sense," he said.

"I'm not overly confident about a victory because they are dealing 
with a government agency," he said. "But I'm glad to see the appeals 
process has given us some more time to educate people about hemp."

Hemp is an industrial plant grown outside the United States that is 
related to marijuana. Fiber from the plant long has been used to make 
paper, clothing, rope and other products. Its oil is found in body- 
care products such as lotion, soap and cosmetics and in a host of 
foods, including energy bars, waffles, tortilla chips, milk-free 
cheese, veggie burgers, salad oil and bread.

In October, the DEA declared that food products containing even trace 
amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC - the psychoactive chemical 
found in marijuana and sometimes in hemp - were banned under the 
Controlled Substances Act.

The DEA ordered a halt in the production and distribution of all 
goods containing THC that were intended for human consumption. It 
ordered all such products to be destroyed or removed from the United 
States by March 18.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an order issued March 
7, said the government could not enforce the new law until the court 
rules on challenges to it.

The appeals court tentatively is set to hear arguments on the case 
April 8 in San Francisco.
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