Pubdate: Fri, 26 Apr 2002
Source: Diamondback, The (MD Edu)
Copyright: 2002 Maryland Media, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.diamondbackonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/758
Note:  is also listed as email contact
Author: Jeremy Hsieh
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)

'HEMP FOOD' PRODUCTION IN DANGER

The Hemp Industry Association and the Drug Enforcement Administration are 
in a legal battle over the future of hemp food products that could take 
months to resolve and could result in a ban on all foods that contain any 
amount of hemp.

In October 2001, the DEA issued a statement that clarified the Controlled 
Substances Act saying the production and distribution of hemp food products 
are illegal. Increasingly popular hemp clothing and cosmetic products were 
not outlawed because THC [tetrahydrocannabinol], the psychoactive agent in 
marijuana, is not ingested.

"When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, they named THC 
as a controlled substance," said DEA spokesman Will Glasty.

The temporary ban created problems for hemp food distributors and resalers.

"We used to order hemp granola called Hemp Plus," said Alex Nichols, a 
freshman psychology major who works at the Maryland Food Co-op. "We stopped 
when we heard there might be legal problems. As soon as the first ban was 
made, then I think a lot of companies started to snatch it up real quick."

The product was so popular that customers would special order 25-pound 
cereal boxes, Nichols said.

"It's just the best granola we carried," said Caitlin Carty, a senior 
English and women's studies major who also works at Maryland Food Co-op. 
"It had a really good flavor and a good crunch to it. And hemp seeds are 
very nutritious."

On March 7, the 9th District Federal Court of Appeals in California 
temporarily blocked the DEA's rule by granting the Hemp Industry 
Association's motion of stay.

Current congressional members expressed disapproval of the hemp rule in a 
letter sent the same day to the DEA. U.S. Representative Connie Morella 
(R-Md.) and 17 other members of Congress signed a letter that said current 
technologies can detect trace amounts of THC in everyday products and that 
the existing provisions in the Controlled Substances Act prevent 
psychoactive effects of THC. The letter also said the DEA's "zero 
tolerance" on THC in hemp food products is overly restrictive.

Cannabis, the plant that produces marijuana, produces hemp seeds high in 
essential fatty acids, protein, dietary fiber and B-vitamins. Byproducts 
from the plant also include oils for cosmetic products and stalky fibers 
used to make paper, rope, fiberglass and other durable materials.

Hemp production is not illegal in most industrialized countries, unlike the 
United States. All unrefined hemp products are imported from countries such 
as Canada and Mexico for domestic industries.

The DEA defines hemp as the stalks and seeds of the cannabis plant. Hemp 
proponents say this is an oversimplification that fails to draw important 
distinctions between the industrial strains of cannabis and the strains 
used specifically for harvesting marijuana.

"Comparing hemp to marijuana is like comparing a Chihuahua to a St. 
Bernard," said David Bronner, chair of the Food and Oil Committee of the 
Hemp Industries Association.

Industrial cannabis strains are bred to have low THC levels. While 
marijuana is about 1 to 3 percent THC, in Canada hemp oil is kept below 
.0005 percent and seeds are kept below .00015 percent, according to 
TestPledge, an organization that regulates hemp in Canada. These levels are 
too low to cause a psychoactive response.

"Even persons consuming extensively all shelled hemp seed food products 
currently in the market will find it all but impossible to eat such 
quantities [to cause a positive result in a marijuana test]," according to 
TestPledge's website.

Hemp proponents say that the trace opiate content of poppy, which is legal, 
is similar to the THC content of hemp foods, so hemp should be exempted, 
too. However, there is a legal difference. Poppy was specifically exempted 
in the Controlled Substances Act, said Glasty.

"Regardless of whether you're talking about marijuana, or other forms of 
cannabis, it's illegal. The Controlled Substances Act names both marijuana 
and THC by name," Glasty said.
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