HEALTHY HEMP IN HOT PERIL

In a move that worries makers of hemp products, the Drug Enforcement Agency
said it intends to make any foods containing the high-inducing chemical in
marijuana illegal substances.

The recent announcement was an "interim decision" that will be finalized at
the end of this year. In the meantime, manufacturers and sellers of hemp
products are concerned about repercussions if the decision is made
official, even though most hemp foods contain no traces of
tetrahydrocannabinols, or THC.

Hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant, but most food
products made out of hemp don't contain THC, the chemical in marijuana that
creates a "high" feeling. But over the past several years, hundreds of
people who failed drug tests said that they had not used marijuana, but
instead had eaten food made with hemp and that's how the THC got in their
bloodstream.

That's unlikely, according to at least one study, but some won their cases
anyway. Now, the DEA is on the lookout to make sure no one is ingesting THC
without their knowledge.

"Many Americans do not know that hemp and marijuana are both parts of the
same plant and that hemp cannot be produced without producing marijuana,"
said DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson, in a statement announcing the
interim decision.

But manufacturers say that doesn't mean hemp is a drug, and hemp food
products have never contained THC.

Cool Hemp ice cream is labeled "THC: 0 percent."

The head brewer at Humboldt Brewing Company in Arcata, California --
http://www.humbrew.com/ -- said the company's Hemp Ale has been tested for
THC by Maxxam Analytics in Canada and came up negative for THC. --
http://www.maxxam.ca/

The brewery has been contacted in the past by folks who tried to blame
their failed drug tests on Hemp Ale. Lesterlud said he faxed them the lab
report and never heard from them again.

The hemp plant can be used to make products including biodegradable carpet,
clothing, paper, and oil for both cooking and fuel. Advocates say hemp is a
more sustainable plant than cotton or soy, and can help reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.

Hemp foods include cooking oil, ice cream, beer, cheese and others. It's
high in protein as well as omega-3 fatty acids. Advocates say it's easier
to digest than soy. Brewers say it helps beer retain a healthy head.

Still, if the move by the DEA is finalized, industry representatives say it
could hurt a fledgling industry.

Echo Organics of Christina Lake, British Columbia, doesn't fall under the
DEA's regulations per se. But the DEA move has already impacted Echo
Organics' business, said company president Jodi Koberinski.

Echo Organics -- http://www.echo-oils.com/ -- which sells organic products
and also has a processing plant -- signed a $30,000 deal with a hemp seed
seller to process the seeds into oil. The oil was then to be sent to a
company in California.

But when the California company heard the DEA's notice, they cancelled the
order, leaving Echo without income it had expected and the hemp seed seller
with surplus grain in a saturated Canadian market.

"Until people get a clear legal definition of what's going on there will
definitely be concern on the retailer end," Koberinski said. "That was a
huge amount of business for us. It would take us two to three months to
come up with that income in direct sales."

Fear of THC was already preventing a viable hemp seed industry from
emerging, says the Hemp Food Association. -- http://www.hempfood.com/

"For such a small market (hemp seed product sales are well under $2 million
annually in North America at retail), many companies are now in a fragile
predicament, desperate for increased revenues in order to even achieve
break-even and keep their doors open," said Richard Rose, president of the
Hemp Food Association, in a statement.

A spokeswoman from Whole Foods -- http://www.wholefoods.com/ -- a chain of
organic food stores that sells some hemp food products was unfazed.

"At this time it's not going to have any effect on us," said Kate Lowery, a
spokeswoman for Whole Foods. "We monitor our products to make sure (they
don't) contain any (THC)."

Koberinski worries that future technologies to detect THC could become
increasingly sensitive, spotting traces of THC where there once seemed to
be none.

"There's no detectable amount now, but there might be in two or four
years," she said.