HEMP BELIEVERS OFFER TASTE AT RALLY

Hemp food products won't make you want to kiss the sky or give you a
heightened appreciation of the colors in a lava lamp.

But for true-believers, hemp is good for you. And you won't even get a buzz
eating products made from hemp.

Three people were giving away hemp food products at East Third Street and
Lakeside Avenue in Cleveland yesterday, trying to bring attention to new
Drug Enforcement Administration hemp guidelines that they say would have
made hemp foods illegal.

A federal appeals court in California on April 16 stopped the DEA from
enforcing the regulations that prohibited foods that contain even trace
levels of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana.

A bummer, indeed, for those who sing the praises of hemp seed, which is
rich in amino acids.

Protests against the regulations were undertaken across the country
yesterday. The Ohio Cannabis Society and the North Ohio Chapter of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws led the protest here
at the DEA's office at 310 Lakeside Ave.

There are no psychoactive substances that could intoxicate anybody in the
foods made from hemp, said John Hartman, director of the Ohio Cannabis Society.

Banning the food stuff doesn't seem like a good idea to window-washer Daryl
Oehlstrom, 34. "I think it's a bad idea," he said. "As long as it doesn't
alter your perception or anything like that, it's fine."

He took a break from his job to munch on one of the protesters' free snack
bars. "It's good," he said. "As long I can go up there and don't feel funny."

Others stopped by, some seemingly unaware of the hemp controversy. A
Cuyahoga County court security officer stopped by for a snack. So did a
Cleveland traffic controller.

Burrell Jackson, 32, of Cleveland loved his snack. "It's much better than
some of the chocolate bars I eat every day," he said. Jackson wants tough
drug laws but added, "If hemp is not illegal and if they can use it for an
alternative, then that's fine with me."

Walking away, he added, "Now hopefully, I can drive straight."