HEMP SHAKING ITS SHADY IMAGE

Health Food Market Drives 'Gangbuster' Canadian Sales

IT'S used in salad oil, power shakes and non-meat burgers, it's
turning up in skin care products and may one day coat the exterior of
long-haul buses.

The Canadian hemp industry is booming as farmers, food processors and
industrial users alike are rediscovering the plant that is related to
marijuana, but won't get you high.

Health-conscious consumers are driving the growth that saw crop
acreage double in Canada this year, according to participants
gathering in Winnipeg for the annual convention of the Canadian Hemp
Trade Alliance on Friday.

"It's the human health food market which is driving things along at
the moment," said Arthur Hanks, the group's executive director.

"We're now making things like hemp burgers, hemp bars and hemp
waffles, hemp granola. One thing that's really hot right now is hemp
protein powders (used in smoothies and shakes)," Hanks said.

Ruth Shamai, owner of Ruth's Hemp Foods Inc. in Toronto, which
manufacturers and distributes hemp products throughout North America,
said her company experienced 60 per cent growth last year. "Hemp
companies and products are winning awards," and consumers are
becoming much more conscious of hemp seeds' health benefits, such as
its high protein content, she said.

It wasn't that long ago, Shamai recalled, that the industry used to
hear comments like "Oh, can I smoke it?" and "Why would I eat it?"

Consumers are also looking for alternatives to soy products as some
people are having physical reactions to it or are "just sick of it,"
Shamai said.

An employee at the Organza Market, a Winnipeg health food store, said
Thursday that hemp products are selling like "gangbusters."

"The seeds are incredibly popular," said Shawn Nesbitt. "People eat
them by the handful."

The Canadian industry -- farming and processing -- is located mainly
on the Prairies, said Hanks.

Manitoba farmers accounted for about half the 50,000 acres grown in
Canada in 2006. Farmers must get a licence from Health Canada for
each field they plant to the crop.

Shaun Crew, president of Hemp Oil Canada Inc., in Ste. Agathe,
contracted with about 100 growers representing 10,000 acres this past
year. His company, which employs 10 people in the small town 40
kilometres south of Winnipeg, sells hemp food products around the world.

He's also developed a line of hemp body products that include a
shampoo, hair conditioner, body lotion, bath oil and hand cream.

Another Manitoba company, Winnipeg-based Motor Coach Industries, is
participating in a $3.5 million research project that could allow the
bus manufacturer to make the outer skin of its buses from hemp- and
flax-based alternatives instead of fiberglass.

The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance's Winnipeg meeting is expected to
draw more than 80 participants from across the country, including
marketers, food and fibre processors and researchers.

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IT'S LEGAL, HIGH-PROTEIN, VERY LOW IN THC

Are hemp seed and hemp oil legal? Both are legal in Canada and in
many countries around the world. The United States prohibits the
cultivation of hemp, but allows importation of hemp products.

What's the difference between hemp and marijuana? Hemp and marijuana
are different varieties of the plant species cannabis sativa L. The
major difference between the two is in the level of THC, the
psychoactive ingredient found at levels ranging from 5-20 per cent in
pot and at trace levels 0.00030 per cent (maximum allowable limit) in
hemp. Can hemp food products make you high? No.

What are the nutritional benefits of hemp seed? Contains 31 per cent
highly digestible protein. High-quality amino acid composition is
closer to "complete" sources of proteins (meat, milk, eggs) than all
other oilseeds except soy.

What are some other uses of hemp? It has been used to make paper,
rope, textiles, bio-fuels, lubricants, paint and building materials.

Sources: Hemp Oil Canada Inc.; Wikipedia

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HEMP BY THE NUMBERS:

50,000: Number of acres licensed for hemp production in Canada in
2006, compared with 24,000 in 2005 and 8,750 in 2004.

25,000: Estimated acres devoted to hemp in Manitoba this year;
Saskatchewan was second with 12,000.

200: Estimated number of hemp growers in Canada.

1998: Year in which hemp was 're-legalized' for cultivation by the
government of Canada.

80-plus: Number registered to attend the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance
meeting in Winnipeg Friday.

Sources: Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, Hemp Oil Canada Inc.