HEMP-BASED ICE CREAM HITS MADISON

MADISON--Rich Ray's co-op is drawing double-takes with an orange neon sign
that beckons passers-by to try "HempScream," a frozen treat with
ingredients derived from hemp, a relative of marijuana.

"A lot of people have stopped in since I put up my sign," Ray said.

The product advertised in the window of Ray's Hempen Goods is made from
hemp milk -- water and flour milled from imported hemp seeds. The milk is
sweetened and flavored, then run through an ice cream machine and served
between two vegan hemp cookies.

Produced in Boulder, Colo., HempScream is distributed widely in that state
as well as some Arizona markets and Madison.

Ray's co-op began selling the treats this spring at a cost of around $4.

While the product's price is higher than that of many frozen treats, Ray
and Dean Kallas, the grocery manager, say that health foods often cost more
because many are produced in small batches from hard-to-get ingredients.

Each ounce of HempScream provides one gram of complete protein, just a
little more than in an ounce of whole milk.

"Nutritionally, it really stands up," Kallas said.

Hemp-based ice cream has been available in England and other countries for
some time. Other foods also can be made from hemp, such as pretzels and
health bars.

Hemp may be best known for its narcotic element, THC, in marijuana, it
would be virtually impossible to get high from eating hemp foods, producers
say.

There is nothing illegal about hemp food because it does not contain THC,
said Madison police officer Benjamin Vanden Belt.