GET HEMP TO THE JIVE: DAY 1

With the DEA threatening to ban nonintoxicating hemp products for various,
spurious reasons, I think it's wise to take a quick look at what we'll be
losing if we allow this unconstitutional powergrab to go forward.

Making an end-run around the legislative process, the DEA will accomplish
its hemp ban by bureaucratic fiat -- administrative rule -- and entirely
skirt Congress, the constitutionally vested body for making laws. Not only
does this outrageous move show flaming contempt for our representative form
of government -- sidestepping those properly responsible to, and empowered
by, the people to make laws -- but it also shows a grossly asinine attitude
about an amazingly helpful plant.

In the next few days, I plan to use this space to catalogue just some of
the valuable uses of the hemp plant and why the DEA and its supporters
should think more than twice about banning its use.

Hemp as food While the idea of wolfing down products from a plant related
to marijuana might strike someone as a bit odd, there's little to fear.
Because hemp has less than 1 percent THC, it's harmless in the dope
category. What hemp does offer, however, are big pluses in the health category.

Hemp seed oil is a tremendously good source for the two essential fatty
acids our bodies need but do not produce: omega 3s and omega 6s. What's
more, despite the fact that these fatty acids can be found in some other
sources, as Dr. Andrew Weil of the University of Arizona College of
Medicine pointed out in a March/April 1993 article for Natural Health
magazine, hemp oil contains the best ratio of omega 3s to 6s -- one to three.

A widely respected author of numerous books and articles, Dr. Weil points
out that "Deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids can lead to skin diseases,
heart disease and inflammatory conditions along with premature aging and
disorders of the central nervous system." Further, he recommends a good
intake of omega 3s "to promote cardiovascular health and protect against
many cancers, including breast cancer."

And where do you get your vital fatty acids?

"Omega-3's come primarily from salmon, herring, sardines and other oily
fish from cold waters, as well as from egg yolks.

..." While flaxseed will also work well, "the best source of omega-3's in
the vegetable kingdom is hemp seeds." For those inclined toward
vegetarianism, are worried about environmental toxins in animal sources of
omega 3s, or are allergic to them (like yours truly), hemp is a Godsend for
maintaining good health.

Beyond that, hemp seeds are a prime vegetable source for complete proteins,
containing all eight amino acids -- and according to some, hemp seeds taste
better than their vegetable-protein rival, soy, while also being more
easily digested.

Further, as Weil's 1993 article keenly points out, hemp seeds are the only
edible seeds to contain a very rare nutrient -- gamma linoleic acid, or
GLA, which is an active agent in lowering cholesterol. Babies are, of
course, fairly hip on GLA, since one of the primary methods of getting the
nutrient is through our mother's milk.

But since nursing is out for most of us well-adjusted ruddy Americans, the
question arises about how best to ingest this oh-so healthy vegetable
wonder. Dr. Weil recommends simple roasting and eating the seeds. Indeed,
the restaurant Cheba Hut in Tempe, Ariz., shells and roasts its own hemp
seeds for its brownies and sandwiches.

Whole hemp seeds can be used for snacks, in cooking, even roasted and mixed
in coffee.

Processed hemp seeds can be used to make non-dairy milk, various styles of
cheese and ice cream, or ground up and used in spreads similar to peanut
butter.

After the seeds have been crushed for their oil, they can be processed into
protein powder (hemp seed meal contains about 25 percent protein), baking
flour and can even be used in brewing beer.

Unrefined hemp oil can be taken daily as a dietary supplement or used in
salad dressings and cooking in place of other vegetable oils.

For topical dry-skin care, refined hemp oil can be made into lotions and
creams for your parched epidermis and can even be used to treat skin
conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Skin-friendly soaps are also easily
made from hemp oil; mentioned only for the sake of infamy, Dr. Bronner's
"magic soaps" contain hemp oil.

"Eventually," writes D. Paul Stanford in the Oct. 5, 2000, Arizona
Republic, "even desperately behind-the-curve companies like Franco-American
and Campbell's may jump on the hemp bandwagon. Who knows? Maybe someday
there will even be a hemp roll-up treat for kids."

Unfortunately, if the DEA has its druthers, kids will go to jail for eating
those hemp roll-ups. And, unlike hemp, jail's not so healthy.