AIR FORCE DRUG-USE PROGRAM THREATENED

WASHINGTON -- In the mid-'80s, the standard urinalysis testing became an
effective weapon in the Air Force war against drugs. Now, the program that
has produced a healthy force of drug-free professionals may be compromised
by something actually being touted as a healthy dietary supplement. It's
called hemp oil.

Some health-conscious Air Force body builders and other hemp seed-oil
consumers will now have to find alternatives. The Air Force has banned the
use of hemp seed oil products because they contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or
THC, the psychoactive ingredient of the marijuana plant. In urinalysis
testing, no distinction can be made between a positive test because of hemp
oil ingestion and one caused by the illegal use of marijuana. Such test
results pose a real potential to ruin careers.

Recent scientific studies at several private research firms and the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology show the ingestion of products made with hemp
seed oil nearly always produce positive urinalysis tests.

The AFIP has also found some level of THC in all hemp seed and hemp oil
products tested. This is why the Air Force has amended its alcohol and drug
abuse prevention program to forbid use of such products by airmen.

Most widely available over-the-counter dietary supplements and a host of
other products containing hemp seed and hemp seed oil contain some level of
THC. Although tests show the level of THC found in the commercial products
is not believed to be significant enough to produce a psychoactive reaction
in the body, the levels are indeed high enough to produce positive
urinalysis results.

"In the interest of military readiness and good order and discipline,
active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard members are now prohibited from
consuming any products containing hemp seed oil," said Lt. Col. Greg Girard
of the Air Force judge advocate general's office in the Pentagon.

Recently, a number of new "hemp" products have appeared on the shelves of
many health food stores accompanied by claims they contain high
concentrations of essential amino acids and fatty acids. Girard was quick
to add that the Air Force is not challenging such claims but rather
pointing out that their use by airmen "effectively interferes" with the Air
Force's ability to maintain a drug-free force.

"We don't want people testing positive and jeopardizing their careers
because they swallowed something they may have thought was healthy and good
for them," said Lt. Col. Peter Durand of the Air Force Surgeon General's
Office.

As program manager for the Air Force drug abuse prevention and treatment
program, Durand added that without the ban on hemp products, drug users
could hide their crime simply by claiming they ingested a hemp-based
dietary supplement.

Although it is illegal to grow marijuana in the United States, it is
perfectly legal to import hemp products into the country. Hemp oil is most
often used as a salad dressing or as a dietary supplement in capsule form.
It can also be found in many consumer items ranging from cosmetics and
soaps to snack bars and other foods. There is even a tofu substitute made
with hemp oil.

"Service members need not be concerned that they are unwittingly ingesting
hemp products in foods and drinks because," Durand said, "most of these
products are still expressly marketed and sold in health food stores."