RECIPE FOR CONTROVERSY: ADD HEMP TO FOOD

Chocolate Bar Leads To Marijuana Possession Charges Against Syracuse
Protesters.

Hans Head, Gerrit Cain and Jennifer Copeland were protesting a new federal
regulation over edible hemp products as they sat at a table in front of the
downtown police station Dec. 4, handing out free samples of candy bars and
pretzels.

The three were charged after a deputy took one of the candy bars and a drug
field test turned positive for the presence of marijuana.

The three protesters, charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, a
violation, found themselves in the middle of a court battle addressing the
hemp-vs.-marijuana dispute they were trying to publicize by their protest.

While a battle between the hemp industry and the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration over the new restrictions is pending in federal court in
California, the lawyers for Head, Cain and Copeland are expecting a
favorable resolution of their case in Syracuse City Court today.

Lawyers Gary Sommer and Craig Schlanger said they expect the marijuana
charge to be dismissed because a subsequent laboratory test on the candy bar
turned up negative for THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the hallucinogenic
substance in marijuana.

Head, 20, and Cain, 22, are Syracuse University students. Copeland, 21, is a
Syracuse resident who is a friend of the students. They are active in the
drug-law reform movement, their lawyers said.

According to court papers, the students set up shop handing out "Hemp
Sweetie" candy bars and "Hempzels" pretzels outside the Public Safety
Building in the 500 block of South State Street.

Sommer said the protest was supposed to be part of a national college
student demonstration against the DEA ban on edible hemp products containing
THC.

Sommer said the protesters chose the PSB for their demonstration because
they mistakenly believed it was the headquarters for the DEA in Syracuse.

Sheriff's Deputy Kelly Bowles, who works security shifts in the Onondaga
County Courthouse and PSB, said she investigated a citizen complaint that
the trio was selling marijuana bars.

Deputy Peter Slack took one of the bars and discovered hemp seeds in the
chocolate. The seeds tested positive for the presence of marijuana in a
field test, Slack reported.

Sommer said the defendants told how they were confronted by law enforcement
officers. He said one of his clients asked about the Constitution when they
were told to move along.

Schlanger said the three protesters did not believe they were breaking any
laws.

"I think they expected to raise some eyebrows, but I don't think they
expected to get arrested," he said.

The DEA in October issued an order banning all hemp food products that
contain THC. The ban took effect Feb. 6.

"In issuing these rules, DEA has attempted to strike a fair balance between
protecting the health and safety of all Americans and accommodating
legitimate industry," the DEA noted in a news advisory.

"What it did was place a big chilling effect on the industry because the
whole industry came to a standstill," Schlanger said.

Schlanger, who represents Copeland in the local case, said part of the
problem was that drug laws have not kept up with advances in testing
procedures. New procedures are able to identify smaller amounts of THC than
could be detected earlier.

Wendy Meyerson, owner of Natur-Tyme health-food store in Geddes, said her
hemp-food distributor says the products he supplies to her store are
THC-free. Many edible hemp products are, she said.

"It's one of the richest sources of essential fatty acids," Meyerson said of
hemp, noting she celebrated a "hemp month" promotion at her store during
February to introduce her customers to hemp products. She said she had not
been aware of the changing federal regulations when she made those plans,
although she said she did not think she was violating the law.