'HEMP FOOD' PRODUCTION IN DANGER

The Hemp Industry Association and the Drug Enforcement Administration are
in a legal battle over the future of hemp food products that could take
months to resolve and could result in a ban on all foods that contain any
amount of hemp.

In October 2001, the DEA issued a statement that clarified the Controlled
Substances Act saying the production and distribution of hemp food products
are illegal. Increasingly popular hemp clothing and cosmetic products were
not outlawed because THC [tetrahydrocannabinol], the psychoactive agent in
marijuana, is not ingested.

"When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, they named THC
as a controlled substance," said DEA spokesman Will Glasty.

The temporary ban created problems for hemp food distributors and resalers.

"We used to order hemp granola called Hemp Plus," said Alex Nichols, a
freshman psychology major who works at the Maryland Food Co-op. "We stopped
when we heard there might be legal problems. As soon as the first ban was
made, then I think a lot of companies started to snatch it up real quick."

The product was so popular that customers would special order 25-pound
cereal boxes, Nichols said.

"It's just the best granola we carried," said Caitlin Carty, a senior
English and women's studies major who also works at Maryland Food Co-op.
"It had a really good flavor and a good crunch to it. And hemp seeds are
very nutritious."

On March 7, the 9th District Federal Court of Appeals in California
temporarily blocked the DEA's rule by granting the Hemp Industry
Association's motion of stay.

Current congressional members expressed disapproval of the hemp rule in a
letter sent the same day to the DEA. U.S. Representative Connie Morella
(R-Md.) and 17 other members of Congress signed a letter that said current
technologies can detect trace amounts of THC in everyday products and that
the existing provisions in the Controlled Substances Act prevent
psychoactive effects of THC. The letter also said the DEA's "zero
tolerance" on THC in hemp food products is overly restrictive.

Cannabis, the plant that produces marijuana, produces hemp seeds high in
essential fatty acids, protein, dietary fiber and B-vitamins. Byproducts
from the plant also include oils for cosmetic products and stalky fibers
used to make paper, rope, fiberglass and other durable materials.

Hemp production is not illegal in most industrialized countries, unlike the
United States. All unrefined hemp products are imported from countries such
as Canada and Mexico for domestic industries.

The DEA defines hemp as the stalks and seeds of the cannabis plant. Hemp
proponents say this is an oversimplification that fails to draw important
distinctions between the industrial strains of cannabis and the strains
used specifically for harvesting marijuana.

"Comparing hemp to marijuana is like comparing a Chihuahua to a St.
Bernard," said David Bronner, chair of the Food and Oil Committee of the
Hemp Industries Association.

Industrial cannabis strains are bred to have low THC levels. While
marijuana is about 1 to 3 percent THC, in Canada hemp oil is kept below
.0005 percent and seeds are kept below .00015 percent, according to
TestPledge, an organization that regulates hemp in Canada. These levels are
too low to cause a psychoactive response.

"Even persons consuming extensively all shelled hemp seed food products
currently in the market will find it all but impossible to eat such
quantities [to cause a positive result in a marijuana test]," according to
TestPledge's website.

Hemp proponents say that the trace opiate content of poppy, which is legal,
is similar to the THC content of hemp foods, so hemp should be exempted,
too. However, there is a legal difference. Poppy was specifically exempted
in the Controlled Substances Act, said Glasty.

"Regardless of whether you're talking about marijuana, or other forms of
cannabis, it's illegal. The Controlled Substances Act names both marijuana
and THC by name," Glasty said.