HEMP BAN RIDICULOUS

AS of Feb. 6, it will be illegal to sell or import products containing
hemp, under a new rule of the DEA.

The hemp-containing foods being banned contain traces of THC, the main
active ingredient of marijuana. The products that are affected include some
cheeses, coffees, energy drinks, beers, ice creams, snack bars, salad oils,
sodas and some others.

Manufacturers say there is no measurable THC content in these foods under
tests available when Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act. The
hemp seeds are thought to be a good source of protein and essential fatty
acids not found in other foods.

Why on earth is the DEA spending so much time and effort to ban microscopic
amounts of a useful substance with only an incidental connection to
marijuana? Is there a good reason for what seems like a witch-hunt, or is
this just marijuana madness for the new millennium?

Does DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson need a new moral cause celebre, after
his team's failed crusade in Congress to remove Bill Clinton from office
for lying about sex?

I think "get a life!" is the appropriate reaction to the current DEA crusade.

Michael J. Gorman

Whitestone, N.Y.