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| The Drug Czar's View of Edible Hemp |
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Posted by FoM on March 14, 2002 at 13:05:42 PT By Lance Gay Source: Albuquerque Tribune 
President Bush's drug czar Tuesday ridiculed moves to bring edible hemp-based products to market such as cookies and potato chips, contending the industry is a "Trojan horse" for those who want to legalize drugs."A lot of this is quite cynical," John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said at a meeting with reporters. He said the hemp industry's fight to expand use of edible hemp products was being used to undermine American drug laws. "You cannot pretend there is not a broader issue of legalization behind this," he said. Representatives of the tiny hemp industry - which is battling Drug Enforcement Administration regulations issued in October that aim to stop any consumption of hemp-based products in the United States - denied they have any such agenda. Industry representatives said they are just trying to market a nutritious and healthy product, which contains only trace elements of the psychoactive ingredients of marijuana, just as the poppy seeds sprinkled on bagels have trace amounts of opium. "This is a drug war out of control,'' said Adam Eidinger, a spokesman for the industry-backed group VoteHemp. "This is not a drug, and we are not a stalking horse for legalization.'' David Bronner, chairman of the Hemp Industries Association and owner of a company that makes a hemp-based soap, said the government is wasting money trying to squelch a growing but tiny $7 million industry. "Industrial hemp is not marijuana. It's as different as a Chihuahua and a St. Bernard - the same species, but a separate strain,'' Bronner said. Bronner said the industry is just getting off the ground, and could eventually produce products that would replace petro-chemicals and timber. Edible hemp is marketed primarily in health food stores as pretzels, tortilla chips, energy bars, waffles, bread, salad dressing, cereal, cooking oil, ice cream and non-dairy milk. The new rules from the Drug Enforcement Administration do not affect non-edible hemp products, which are used to make kitchen mats, rope and parts for new cars. The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco last week issued an injunction blocking the Drug Enforcement Administration from enforcing its new rules, and scheduled a full hearing on the case April 8. As a result of petitions gathered at stores like the Body Shop, some 115,000 people have protested the rules. Walters said he hopes the federal government and the industry reach a compromise on new regulations. He said the Bush administration will not back down on drug laws. "These are laws we intend to enforce," he said. Eric Steenstra, national coordinator for VoteHemp, said he has seen no indication that the Drug Enforcement Administration wants to compromise on the issue. On the Net: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/ Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM) Related Articles & Web Sites: Vote Hemp FTE's Hemp Links Manufacturers of Hemp Foods Gear Up for Fight Ninth Circuit Court Blocks DEA Hemp Rule 115,000 Comments Filed AgainstHemp Food Rule Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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