HEMP IS HARMLESS, ANGRY GROWERS SAY

Report Done For Health Canada That Warns Of Health Risk Called Alarmist

Ottawa -- Cheeseburgers pose more of a danger to humans than hemp burgers,
say Canadian hemp growers who are furious at a report done for Health Canada
that says their products may pose a health risk.

Ruth Shamai, who owns R & D Hemp Inc. in Toronto, said yesterday that the
study done for Health Canada shows that there is still a prejudice against
hemp because it is the same species of plant that produces marijuana.

She said the federal government should be more worried about the fatty foods
many Canadians eat that lead to heart attacks and other health problems.
Hemp, on the other hand, is a healthy substitute for animal protein such as
beef and chicken and can lead to lower cholesterol levels, she said.

"The hospitals are full of all kinds of people who have been eating the kind
of crap Health Canada allows people to eat," an angry Ms. Shamai said. "What
are consumers going to do, go back to their awful fatty burgers?"

Hemp is the same plant as marijuana, but is bred to be low in
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in dope that
makes people high when they smoke it.

Hemp as a crop was legalized last year, and foods made from hemp --
including oil, seeds and even pasta, brownies and ice cream -- by law can
contain only 10 parts of THC per million. They are starting to become
available in Canada.

But the report carried out for Health Canada, which has not been reviewed by
other scientists to see if its conclusions are valid, said that even the
small levels of hemp in food and cosmetics may cause developmental problems,
especially in babies and teenagers. It was based on a review of the
scientific literature regarding exposure to THC. The Body Shop and other
purveyors of hemp products say the study is speculative, unsubstantiated and
alarmist.

Yesterday, hemp growers were furious at The Globe and Mail for running a
story on a scientific study before it had been peer reviewed. It was
obtained under access-to-information legislation. Health Canada says it
won't consider any warnings or other measures until it is sure its
conclusions are valid.

Eric Hughes, a spokesman for the Canadian Industrial Hemp Council, said
there are several studies, including one carried out in the Netherlands and
another in Jamaica, that found no long-term effects from smoking marijuana.

Hemp products contain such minuscule amounts of THC, there is no way they
would pose any kind of serious threat, he said.