Health Foods Draw DEA Ire

DRUG WAR SHOULD BE FOUGHT OVER WEIGHTIER SUBJECTS

Put down those tortilla chips. Now. And while you're at it, back away
slowly from those veggie burgers. If those chips and burgers -- and a whole
host of other foods -- happen to contain hempseeds or hempseed oil, they
will be illegal after Feb. 6, 2002.

Why? Because hempseeds and the oil contain trace amounts of
tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, which is a hallucinogenic
component of marijuana.

It seems that the Drug Enforcement Administration is worried about people
getting "high" from foods with the hempseed or oil and, therefore, has
announced rules to ban them as controlled substances. What's next on the
ban list? Bagels' poppy seeds, which contain a trace amount of opiate?

Seriously, what happened to the real war on drugs that this nation was
supposed to be fighting? Have the Colombian drug lords surrendered? Have
drug dealers stopped selling illegal substances on U.S. street corners?
Have crack houses disappeared?

Who thought it would be a good idea to invest DEA money and resources going
after health food products that contain hempseeds or oil, which are high in
protein and the "good fats" that doctors recommend? How many corn chips
would a person need to consume before the tiny amount of THC from the
hempseed oil would produce even the slightest buzz?

The DEA says that allowing food with hempseed sends a pro-drug message to
children. Following that line of logic, perhaps the DEA should issue a ban
on grapes on the grounds they may send a pro-wine message to children.

It's still not too late for the DEA to reverse itself on this. Let's drop
this dopey rule before it's ever put into effect.