Cannabis News Marijuana Policy Project
  HIA to Argue Before 9th Circuit Court - April 8
Posted by FoM on April 04, 2002 at 14:02:10 PT
News Advisory 
Source: U.S. Newswire  

hemp Lawyers representing the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) will argue before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) attempt to ban nutritious hemp foods misinterprets the Controlled Substances Act and violates the Administrative Procedures Act.

Members of the media are encouraged to attend the April 8, 9 a.m. hearings at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit located at 95 Seventh Street, San Francisco, Calif. Coincidently, the Court has scheduled oral arguments on the same day, place and time for Conant v. McCaffrey in which a group of California physicians filed suit against U.S. federal agencies for threatening to revoke the license of any physician who talks about medical marijuana with a patient.

The industrial hemp issue should not be confused with the debate over medical marijuana. Unfortunately, because DEA's drug-war paranoia has confused non-psychoactive industrial hemp varieties of cannabis with psychoactive "marijuana" varieties, the United States is the only major industrialized nation to prohibit the growing and processing of industrial hemp. The industrial hemp varieties of cannabis grown for millennia for seed and oil have never been used medicinally. The difference between hemp and marijuana is like a Chihuahua and a St. Bernard, different varieties of the same species.

"The food use of industrial hemp is strictly an issue of nutrition. Hemp seeds are harvested from non-psychoactive hemp plants cultivated under strict regulatory regimes in the EU and Canada and are an exceptional source of protein, omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids (EFAs)," says David Bronner, chair of the HIA's Food and Oil Committee. "Medical marijuana is derived from the flowers of high THC 'marijuana' varieties of cannabis and cannot be obtained from industrial hemp varieties. The only commonality is that both are held hostage under the same out of control drug war."

The hemp food issue erupted on Oct. 9, 2001 when the DEA issued an interpretive rule purporting to make hemp foods containing harmless infinitesimal traces of naturally-occurring THC immediately illegal under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. Because trace infinitesimal THC in hemp seed is non-psychoactive and insignificant, the U.S. Congress exempted non-viable hemp seed and oil from control under the CSA, just as Congress exempted poppy seeds from the CSA, although they contain trace opiates otherwise subject to control. On March 7, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the HIA's Motion to Stay DEA's rule, effectively blocking DEA's rule until the Court makes a final decision some number of months from now. Retailers have been reassured that hemp food products should remain on the shelves, as hemp foods are perfectly legal with the Court's Stay in effect. Bronner states: "Based on the law and common sense, we expect that the Court will find that DEA's rules are obviously unfounded and arbitrary."

Independent studies and reviews conducted by foreign governments have confirmed that trace THC found in the increasingly popular hemp foods cannot cause psychoactivity or other health effects, or result in a confirmed positive drug test for marijuana, even when unrealistically large amounts of hemp seed and oil are consumed daily. Hemp seeds and oil are as likely to be "abused" as poppy seed bagels for their trace opiate content, or fruit juices because of their trace alcohol content. Yet, DEA has not tried to ban poppy seed bagels despite their trace opiates that have interfered with workplace drug testing, which hemp foods do not.

A positive court ruling will allow the hemp foods industry segment to continue its phenomenal expansion. Popular hemp foods include pretzels, tortilla chips, energy bars, waffles, bread, salad dressing, cereal, cooking oil, ice cream and even non-dairy milk. Unlike the U.S., other Western countries such as Canada, Germany, and Australia have adopted rational THC limits for foods, similar to those voluntarily observed by North American hemp food companies See hemp industry standards regarding trace THC at: http://www.testpledge.com No other Western nation has banned the consumption of hemp foods, and these countries all maintain marijuana prohibition while cultivating non-psychoactive industrial hemp under rigorous regulatory regimes. The 10-year-old global hemp market is a thriving commercial success.

For more information or to arrange interviews with representatives of the hemp industry, call Adam Eidinger at 202-986-6186 or 202-744-2671 (cell).

Visit: http://www.votehemp.com to read court documents and numerous scientific studies re: hemp foods.

Complete Title: Hemp Industries Association to Argue Before 9th Circuit Court April 8

Source: U.S. Newswire
Published: April 4, 2002
Copyright: 2002 U.S. Newswire
Website: http://www.usnewswire.com

Related Articles & Web Site:

FTE's Hemp Links
http://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htm

The War Against Hemp
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12440.shtml

Canadian Company Cites NAFTA to Sue US
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12352.shtml

Felony Foods - Bush’s DEA Criminalizes Hemp
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12328.shtml

The Drug Czar's View of Edible Hemp
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12235.shtml


Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help

 
Comment #4 posted by bruce42 on April 05, 2002 at 10:25:59 PT
perhaps...
they're not terribly clever, but the media is well bought and the public is astoundingly gullible.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #3 posted by freddybigbee on April 05, 2002 at 07:02:29 PT:

Mayan, you are correct sir...
Just one more way for the drug warriers to confuse the issues in the minds of the uninformed. Those spin-meisters are so clever.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #2 posted by mayan on April 04, 2002 at 17:06:44 PT
Hmmm...
It is very coincidental that the court has scheduled "Conant v. McCaffrey" the same exact day,place & time. Could it be that the Feds are hoping that a mass of mmj patients show up smoking cannabis so they can say that these "industrial hemp supporters" are really just "marijuana legalizers"?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on April 04, 2002 at 16:06:42 PT
hemp fields
When you see a hemp field in Canada, it is no big deal. You see a 40 acre field just as you would wheat or barley. You see 1500 lb round bales of hempstalks, and they have seed in their bins. They maintain inventories of hempseed for future plantings. It is quite interesting to see a 'breeder plot' with several different varieties of hemp.

I would plan for a 10 million acre commercial operation by 2020. 3 pecks (3/4 bushel) of seed per acre is what is used to seed an acre of hemp. 7.5 million bushels per year of certified seed should produce an average yield of 15 billion pounds or 250 million bushels. Oil, fiber, and seed from hemp is a very lucrative market.

Like kind bud, it can't be stopped.

[ Post Comment ]


  Post Comment
Name:        Password:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comment:   [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]

Link URL:
Link Title:


Return to Main Menu


So everyone may enjoy this service and to keep it running, here are some guidelines: NO spamming, NO commercial advertising, NO flamming, NO illegal activity, and NO sexually explicit materials. Lastly, we reserve the right to remove any message for any reason!

This web page and related elements are for informative purposes only and thus the use of any of this information is at your risk! We do not own nor are responsible for visitor comments. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, news clippings on this site are made available without profit for research and educational purposes. Any trademarks, trade names, service marks, or service names used on this site are the property of their respective owners. Page updated on April 04, 2002 at 14:02:10