ACTIVIST: TELL THE DEA THEY MADE A MISTAKE

SUMMIT COUNTY - Stan White is sick of the federal government making
decisions for its citizens without their input, especially when it comes to
hemp and cannabis.

The Drug Enforcement Administration's most recent move - a ban on
hemp-based food products - is the last straw for White. Now the Summit Cove
resident is rushing to rally supporters into a letter-writing campaign to
have the decision reversed.

"I'm trying to get people to acknowledge what the DEA has done, to let them
know that we do have comment period and to get people to write and say
there's nothing wrong with these foods," White said.

On Oct. 9, the DEA published three interpretations and clarifications in
the Federal Register, the publishing clearinghouse for federal regulations
and actions. The first part clarifies that "any product that contains any
amount of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) to be a schedule I controlled
substance" - or, in layman's terms, if it's made from hemp or marijuana,
it's illegal. The other two parts say that it doesn't matter if the THC is
synthetic or natural, and that certain products, e.g. animal feed or other
products not intended for human use, are exempt from the ban.

The decision doesn't affect products such as textiles or shampoos made from
hemp. Other products, however, such as hemp seed oil (used in salad
dressings), hemp ice cream and granola-like snack foods must be pulled from
the shelves by Feb. 6, 2002. The only issue is that the DEA didn't announce
the rule clarification to stores. Vendors of natural food products are only
discovering they can't restock their inventory when they call distributors
and companies who tell the merchants the company's been shut down.

"I didn't even know what was going on until I happened to mention to a
customer that I could no longer get some of the products," said Kathy
Jones, owner of Alpine Natural Foods in Frisco. "He just happened to know
about the rule change. But nobody ever told us."

Likewise, staff at Amazing Grace Natural Foods in Breckenridge "hadn't
heard a peep" from the government on what they were allowed to sell and
what they weren't. The store owners didn't see much sense in the decision.

"Anybody out to get high is going have a tough time drinking 20 bottles of
oil," Jones said.

White, a cannabis and hemp activist, is hoping citizens will make the same
point to federal decision-makers. White became a proponent of the plant
products after his 17-year-old son died of leukemia four years ago. White
said he asked doctors about medical marijuana and was given little
information. He said he found out later that doctors did him a disservice
by keeping information from him.

"My son could self-administer morphine, but he couldn't smoke a joint,"
White said. "Later, I got a computer and did my own research and found our
government has no credibility on this issue and that they've thwarted
efforts to get information out there. Now they've completely banned a grain
product. That's never happened before in this country."

The DEA has an open comment period, until Dec. 10, on the hemp law
clarification. White said he hopes concerned citizens will write letters to
get the agency to change the law back.

Even if the law doesn't change, local vendors probably have little to worry
about if they continue selling the hemp-based products. Summit County
Sheriff Joe Morales said local police have bigger things to worry about.

"A lot of these changes are still going on as legislators try to define
what's what, so we don't have a real educated position on it," Morales
said. "But we're more concerned with the felonious aspects of marijuana.
This thing isn't real high on our priority list."