AIRMEN MAY GET BURNED BY HEMP SUN LOTION

Just say no -- to suntan lotion? Cannon Air Force Base is warning airmen
about suntan lotions and oils that contain hemp byproducts, including an
active chemical found in marijuana.

The April 23 edition of Cannon's newspaper, the Mach Meter, notes that some
local tanning salon are selling products containing hemp seed oil, hemp oil
or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol -- THC -- marijuana's main active chemical.

The military prohibits its members from using marijuana and tests them for
THC levels.

Although there is a "statistically small" chance of testing positive for
THC with such a lotion, that possibility "is simply not worth the risk,"
the newspaper notes.

A Cannon spokesman said Air Force policy strictly forbids drug abuse. For
instance, airmen taking medical prescriptions are required to keep and show
proper paperwork.

"The zero-tolerance drug policy is all inclusive," Airman First Class Jared
Marquis said Friday.

The article was written after an officer with Cannon's Area Defense
Council, the base's version of a civilian public defender office, noticed
that tanning businesses in Clovis and Portales sold lotions made of hemp
byproducts, Marquis said.

According to the article, Cannon officials don't expect that anyone would
orally ingest a lotion, but lotions could be applied over a skin cut or
scrape. "There can be a chance of absorption under certain circumstances."

Another risk of using a hemp-based lotion is attracting the attention of
the base's drug-sniffing K-9s. That, in turn, could attract unwanted
attention from supervisors and base prosecutors, the article states.

"While the lotion was not used with intent to break any laws and is not
illegal, the fact that a military working dog alerts on your car or your
person creates a perception that nobody wants," the article warns.

The International Smart Tan Network, a tanning salon trade association,
says the THC content in tanning products is used to hydrate skin.
Manufacturers of hemp seed-based lotions haven't received complaints about
positive drug tests, according to the group's Web site.