PRODUCTS WITH HEMP SEED NOW ILLEGAL

Students Who Saved The Pretzels May Be Breaking The Law

Eau Claire - The pretzels and granola bars a university group handed out
earlier this week were legal at the time.

But any of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students who tucked away
the foods could now face charges because the products contain hemp seeds,
which became illegal on Wednesday.

The Drug Enforcement Administration decided in October that food products
made with hemp seeds or hemp oil should be illegal because hemp contains
tetrahydrocannabinol, the hallucinogenic substance found in marijuana.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy handed out the products on Tuesday in
preparation for the ban. Chapter President Randy Lusk said the purpose was
to show hemp has less than 1% tetrahydrocannabinol - not enough for a
person to test positive on a drug test.

"You can't get high from hemp," he said.

The marijuana portions of the cannabis plant include the flowering tops,
the leaves and the resin. The remainder of the plant - the stalks and
sterilized seeds - is referred to as hemp.

Student Rob Ecker said other products provide the same thing as hemp, and
legalizing it would be a step toward legalizing marijuana.

But Brian Kevin, an executive board member of the group, said hemp products
are rich in protein, vitamin E and two essential fatty acids. "There is an
atmosphere of fear and ignorance in this country where anything attached
with these drugs causes a stigma," he said.