POLICE ISSUE HEMP WARNING

It may look like wacky tobacky, but the only thing you'll get from
smoking this bud is a little sick.

Stratford police have issued a public alert after reports of people --
"adults and youth" -- helping themselves to a crop of commercial hemp
that looks like marijuana but instead of delivering a high can make
users nauseous with a headache.

The crop, located just south of the Festival Marketplace Mall off C.H
Meier Blvd., has become the target of thieves, police say.

"People, both adults and youth, have been going onto the property and
stealing the crop, thinking it is marijuana," said Insp. Sam Theocharis.

"Our biggest concern is from a public safety standpoint. Hemp is not
meant for ingestion (smoking) and the user will become violently ill
and may very well require hospital care."

A spokesperson for the industry said smoking hemp may make people
"nauseous" not unlike other crops if smoked.

Police have notified Stratford General Hospital and made them aware of
the possibility that people may arrive at the emergency unit suffering
the ill effects of hemp ingestion, said Theocharis.

Police have also notified the producer of the crop, who raised the
alarm that smoking the hemp would make people ill.

"This situation also goes beyond the health risk to people taking the
plant," said Theocharis. "Most notably, this is a legally produced
crop and people taking the plant are stealing. In Canada, it is also
an offence to have hemp or to sell it if you are not legally licensed
to do so."

Hemp and marijuana are both members of the cannabis family and look
similar. Hemp is used in the production of health supplements, fibre,
paper, textiles and even building materials.

Theocharis said the most significant difference is the presence of THC
(tetrahydrocannabino) in marijuana. THC is the chemical that provides
the "high" associated with marijuana.

Theocharis said the theft of hemp is a new problem in the region since
it has only been produced legally in Canada since 1998.

Police are urging anyone who has taken any hemp to discard it.