U.S. WON'T TRY TO BAN HEMP FOODS, OILS

The Bush administration dropped its attempt Monday to ban foods and
oils containing hemp after a federal court ruled that the substance
couldn't be classified as a dangerous drug.

The Justice Department told lawyers for the Hemp Industry Association
that the government would allow a midnight Monday deadline to expire
without asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling in February
that rejected the ban, said association spokesman Adam Eidinger.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced a nationwide ban in
October 2001 on hemp foods and oils, which contain trace amounts of
THC, the active substance in marijuana. The DEA didn't cite evidence
that hemp was dangerous but contended that federal drug laws
authorized the agency to outlaw consumption of any product containing
THC.

But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco allowed
sales to resume in March 2002 and ruled the ban illegal this February.
In its ruling, the court said the DEA had no authority to reclassify
hemp as a dangerous drug without showing that it has a high potential
for abuse and cannot be used safely under medical supervision.

Hemp foods, sold mainly in natural food and health food stores,
include granola, waffles, energy and snack bars, chips and oil
supplements. Many stores pulled the products from their shelves after
the DEA action, and the industry has been slow to recover.

"This is a huge victory for the hemp industry," said David Bronner,
president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in Escondido (San Diego County)
and chairman of the Hemp Industry Association's food and oils committee.