BIRD BRAINS

Has the drug war finally entered the realm of the surreal - or at least
surreal enough to provoke more serious questions among serious people?

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration a few days ago seized a tractor
trailer load of sterilized Canadian hemp seed on its way to a large U.S.
company that has been blending hemp seed into its birdseed - openly and
perfectly legally -for decades. The DEA also threatened Kenex, the Canadian
company, with $500,000 in fines if it doesn't recall previous shipments of
other hemp-related products such as oil, granola bars, horse bedding and
animal feed.

None of these products is illegal under U.S. law. Hemp seed has no
psychoactive properties. The DEA has not responded to repeated requests by
Kenex to explain the legal basis for its confiscation.

So the drug agents seize bird seeds, with no legal authority, because hemp
is the devil-plant, marijuana. What are they smoking over at the DEA?