COURT CITES PROCEDURAL ERRORS, REJECTS DEA BAN ON HEMP FOOD

The Bush administration failed to give proper public notice before
announcing a ban on food products containing hemp, which contains a tiny
amount of the active ingredient in marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled
Monday.

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco
declared the Drug Enforcement Administration's short-lived ban illegal on
procedural grounds.

The issue is not settled, however. The DEA has issued an identical ban in
separate regulations that were circulated to the public before adoption.

The DEA ban was scheduled to take effect in April, but was blocked by the
appeals court after the hemp industry sued a second time. The industry
contends the regulations were not authorized by federal drug laws. Monday's
ruling allows the products to be sold until the second lawsuit is decided.

Hemp seeds and oil are rich in essential fatty acids but contain traces of
THC, the active substance in marijuana. Until recently, hemp seeds and oil
were excluded from the definition of marijuana by U.S. drug laws enacted in
1937 because the amounts were regarded as too small to have any
psychological effect.

But the DEA announced a ban on food products containing hemp in October
2001, saying THC made them unsafe for consumption. The ban, which was
issued without advance notice, does not affect nonfood products like
clothing and paper. The appeals court put the ban on hold in March 2002
while it considered a challenge from hemp producers.

The DEA argued that public notice was not required because it was merely
interpreting its own rules. But in Monday's ruling, Judge Betty Fletcher
said the October 2001 regulation was not just an interpretation but a
reversal of a previous DEA rule that allowed hemp in food products. Such
"legislative" regulations require public notice and an opportunity to
comment, Fletcher said.