cannabisnews.com: White House Watch: THC Madness 










 White House Watch: THC Madness 

Posted by FoM on December 08, 2001 at 11:06:59 PT
By Ann McFeatters 
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

And now, for something completely different, to borrow a phrase from Monty Python. The three earnest young men burdened with plastic bags came to the office bearing food. Pretzels with seeds. A snack bar. An energy bar. Tortilla chips.Never mind the caloric sin. We're talking serious evil here. Or so the government says.
Unless you are an avid reader of the Federal Register and perused the tiny print of almost undecipherable bureaucratese on pages 51,539 through 51,544, you might have missed it -- but the government has returned to normal.The Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Asa Hutchinson, the former GOP congressman from Arkansas, has announced rules to ban certain brands of a wide variety of foods -- "beer, cheese, coffee, corn chips, energy drink, flour, ice cream, snack bars, salad oil, soda and veggie burgers" -- if they contain trace amounts of THC.THC, as those who came to the age of majority in the 1960s know well, is tetrahydrocannabinols. As DEA succinctly explains: "That's the hallucinogenic substance in marijuana that causes the psychoactive effect or high."The THC found in certain brands of the above-mentioned food comes from hempseeds and hempseed oil, popular with some so-called "natural food" manufacturers because they are high in protein and serve as a fatty acid supplement -- "good fats" that doctors like. But DEA says such foods are now controlled substances illegal for everyone. Makers of foods with hempseeds or oil, with $5 million in annual sales, argue that the amount of THC is so infinitesimal that inhumanly high consumption of them would be required to get high. They liken it to getting a buzz from eating the opiate-containing poppy seeds on bagels or the alcohol in orange juice.But the Controlled Substances Act says that any consumption of THC is forbidden. And any food that contains it is no longer to be sold, distributed or eaten.Says the DEA: "If you wish to err on the side of caution, you may freely dispose of the product. As stated in the rules that DEA published on Oct. 9, 2001, anyone who has purchased a food or beverage product that contains THC has 120 days (until Feb. 6, 2002) to dispose of the product without penalty under federal law."After Feb. 6, it will be illegal to sell or import any hemp-containing foods.The DEA, in its wisdom, notes that bird seed with cannabis seeds, clothing such as hats, shirt and shoes, cosmetics, lotion, paper, rope, twine and, yes, shampoo and soap, which also can contain hemp, are not illegal. "Based on the information currently available, DEA believes that [such products] do not cause THC to enter the human body and are therefore legal."Confronted with the thought that the government's investing time, money and energy in such a campaign during a time of war is, possibly, ridiculous, Hutchinson says, "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."Not surprisingly, supporters of food with hempseed oil have gone to court, beseeching the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the DEA rule. DEA says it is permitted to issue the ban on THC-laced products without a formal rule-making procedure although the public may comment until Dec. 10. "It's like the judge announcing the verdict before the trial," complained John Young, a lawyer for the hemp-food lawsuit, to the National Law Journal.Groups which are applauding the DEA's action, such as the conservative Family Research Council, say food with hempseeds sends a pro-drug message to children and is camouflage for a campaign to legalize marijuana.The other day, confronted by a man in Florida who said the government was not responding to his needs, President Bush muttered, "I can't stand bureaucracy."Bush remembered the cameras were rolling and said that he appreciated "the hard-working people who care enough to work for the government. But what I don't like is systems that get so cumbersome that those who are trying to help you don't get the product out."In the course of writing this, I have munched on the 120-calorie corn chips, the 220-calorie pretzels and devoured the 170-calorie snack bar. In truth, I feel nothing but my waistband.And a curious desire to watch "Monty Python's Flying Circus."Note: The drug war blunders on: The DEA is cracking down on hempseed oil in tortilla chips. Ann McFeatters is National Bureau chief for the Post-Gazette and The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)Author: Ann McFeattersPublished: Sunday, December 9, 2001Copyright: 2001 PG PublishingContact: letters post-gazette.comWebsite: http://www.post-gazette.com/Related Articles & Web Site:FTE's Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmHemp Policy is Put To The Taste Testhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11516.shtmlProtesters Say Hemp is Food Not Drugshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11514.shtmlCannabis University Promotes Hemphttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11509.shtml 

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Comment #18 posted by goneposthole on December 10, 2001 at 07:52:45 PT

Government going, going, gone
"The time to speak up has passed. Now is the time for senseless bickering."
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Comment #17 posted by qqqq on December 10, 2001 at 03:02:58 PT

more..personal,off topic ramblings
...I cannot believe,,that we continue to bomb Afghanistan!.......Have we met any resistance?....NO....Are we somehow still justified in pummeling the SHIT out of possible "targets"??????...what,,is our "goal",to kill bin Laden,,with thousands of tons of bombs,at a cost of over SIX BILLION DOLLARS?????.....I think this is LUNACY at its finest!...It's like trying to kill a mosquito,,with a 12 gauge shotgun,,,,it's like trying to get rid of a housefly,with a sledgehammer,,,,and the US governments military persual of of some Arab,is nothing less than sheer IDIOCY!!!......I mean,,,GIMME A FREAKIN BREAK!!!!!!.....WAKE FREEKIN' UP!!!!..How long until some people start to open their eyes,and realize what is going on!...We have spent way over 6 billion dollars,in some sort of absurd retaliatory hunt for "bin Laden",,"Al Queada",,and "Taliban" ,,in what has been labeled a "War on Terror"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and,,much to my chagrinned amazement,apparently the entire populace of the US citizenry,has been successfully BRAINWASHED,,into thinking this is normal,justified,and necessary!.....flocks of sheeple have been convinced to rally around our new ASSHOLE government,as they pummel Afghanistan,like some neanderthal schoolyard bully beating the shit out of some wimp!....The longer it goes on,,,the harder it is to believe!,,,and there are still millions of American Sheeple,who continue to blindly accept all this as normal,and necessary.......I hope some government security asshole snooper-pig is reading this,,because if you are,,,go ahead and track me down,and lock me up!..I am a proud and strong,and true American Patriot,,and anyone who would be a part of trying to censor me,or try to incarcerate me,,is a TRAITOR!....just because uncle sam signs your paycheck,,doesnt mean you have anything to do with being an American!,,heck,come to think of it,if uncle sam wanted to cut me some nice beefy checks,I might even join the united we stand team,(Bush/Ashcroft/Bennett in 2004!)..yikes....The American government has little to do with patriotism nowdays! ....In fact,,,not many people know,,but the real Uncle Sam was born in Norway,and came to the states on a whaling ship,,and he met up with Betsy Ross in Nantucket,,and they had a cheap,rum induced,one night fling,,and spawned an illegitimate love-child son,,who grew up to be that familiar American icon,who later came to be known as Colonel Sanders,of Kentucky fried chicken fame...........
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Comment #16 posted by dddd on December 09, 2001 at 23:09:30 PT

Hi FoM
Wow...Corrie Ten Boom...I read her writings years ago,,and she is truly inspirational...when we read about stuff that people like her went through,,it makes having to hide to smoke weed,not seem that bad...there's always a bright side to almost everything,no matter how bad things may seem.....lol....dddd...Yes,,,I believe we are "headed for a fall",,,in fact,,I feel quite safe,in predicting that the coming year is going to be even stranger than this one..............Looking at the stars,can actually bring one down to earth,,like Corrie Ten Boom,,the main thing of life on earth,is how we treat people every day...Love is stronger than death,,,and niceness and goodness kicks evils' ass,,if not in this life,,then in the one that awaits.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 09, 2001 at 22:05:36 PT

Hi dddd
Glad you had a good time in the high desert. You said a lot in your comment. It is a sad state of affairs how it is going in the USA. I find peace going out and throwing the ball for the dog. At night looking at the stars and how in order everything seems up there. Peace is something that no one can take from you. Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian lady who hide the Jews and she was at peace in all she did even though her life was seriously jeopardised. I pray that our Nation might be Blessed but I don't think we have been good enough to deserve a Blessing speaking on a spiritual level. I hope no one minds. Why should we as a Nation not suffer like other people have? Why do some of our leaders think we are better then any other Nation or Country? I just don't know. Today an army helicopter flew over and what a strange feeling since we haven't seen many planes even though they practice out here doing maneuvers. They haven't since 9-11. There's an old expression. Pride cometh before a fall. I wonder if we are headed for a big fall.
PS: Good to have you back safe and sound.
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Comment #14 posted by dddd on December 09, 2001 at 20:51:57 PT

back to reality
...I spent the weekend camping at Joshua Tree National Monument.It's a very special place in the high desert of Southern California.It was quite cold ,especially at night,(elevation 5000 ft),,,but it's so beautiful,that the cold doesnt matter.At night,the galactic shine of the stars is quite astoundingly awesome.You can see galaxies with the naked eye....seeing it,is enough to make even the bitterest of hardcore atheiests think twice about questioning the reality of God....and,speakin' of God,,,,,the four hour drive from LA to get out there,is mostly along the same 4 and 6 lane freeway that leads to Palm Springs.It is lined with billboards and perpetually clogged with traffic.....I am to the point of sheer disgust,in seeing the masses of brainwashed sheeple with flags in their cars,and "God bless America",,United we stand" bumper stickers,,, but what really enraged me,,was to see that uncle sam has been buying up billboard space to convey his bullshit of false unity....huge billboards with "United we stand,and "God bless America",line the freeway .....think about it.."God bless America",,,is that asking God to bless America,,or telling him to do so? ..Perhaps if God refuses to bless America,Bush,and Ashcroft will consider him a terrorist,and bomb him,,and seize his assets???....furthermore,,,why should God bless America?I cant think of too many things that the Amerika,as represented by its' government,has done that it would deserve to be "blessed" for..?In fact,,it would be a blessing,if God would topple the beastly republicrat Evil Empire,,but that wont happen.. ...The Amerikan government of today,is starting to look alot like a Charles Manson,,it has persuaded millions of innocent people rally behind its' murder and mayhem,under a created illusion that somehow god is walking around in a red white and blue robe,waving a flag. ..
...OK,,,to finally say a few things about the article....The absurdity of prohibition is really disturbing to begin with,,,but it really goes over the edge with the grotesque ban on hemp products.It's almost like they are seeing how far they can go,or what they can get away with,,,and it's becoming increasingly clear,,that they can get away with dam near anything nowdays.....after all,,the hemp ban issue appears somewhat insignificant,when compared to the brutal gang-rape of the Constitution.......and,,like I keep saying,,the only way they are able to pull all this shit off,,is because they control the press.......... And speakin' of the press,,,notice,,the latest silly ploy,is the false issue concerning;"The Liberal biased media"...What a pile of crap!...what a roose,,,what a masterful decoy,to further fake out the flocks.....dddd
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on December 09, 2001 at 20:33:13 PT

News Brief from The Associated Press
Topless Women Draw Attention to Issues

December 9, 2001, 10:00 AM
By AP Staff 

A group of women bared their chests in downtown Eugene to protest the effects of pesticides on their children and fight for legal hemp production. 

The four women, who called themselves Mother Bares, said Saturday they were also protesting against multinational conglomerates and U.S. military action in Afghanistan. 

"This is the mother energy that's coming out right now," said protester Eileen Erdelt. 

Police Sgt. Terry Fitzpatrick said state law does not specifically prohibit women from going topless in public. 

Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press
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Comment #12 posted by Elfman_420 on December 09, 2001 at 13:33:47 PT

Asa, Asa, Asa....
"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."No Asa!!!! Many Americans think that hemp and marijuana are the same exact thing and that it is possible to get high from a hemp plant.That is why all of the pro-hemp articles have to state every single time towards the beginning "The hemp plant is from the same family as the marijuana plant, but does not contain enough of the active ingredient THC to get a person high." 
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Comment #11 posted by boppy on December 09, 2001 at 08:22:49 PT

I should proof read more closely...
I meant to say "those who fought desegregation..." Sheesh! My apologies!
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Comment #10 posted by boppy on December 09, 2001 at 08:15:46 PT

It all reminds me of a time...
The DEA's attitude and the sheep who agree with them reminds me of the groups of people who fought segregation in the late 50's and early 60's. Their positions were absolutely indefensible and rooted simply in hate. That's exactly what we are encountering here. Blind, ignorant hate. In 1937 when Henry Anslinger who was head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics contended that cannabis caused users to commit violence and other aggressive crimes and maintained that it provoked black men to molest white women, what were those opinions based on? Facts or hate? The FBN offered no proof of these claims. Did he sound like he was well informed or just perpetuating rascism and class war? The DEA is not to far removed from the attitudes of 1937.
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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on December 09, 2001 at 05:38:16 PT

Would Jefferson, Kill these people responsible?
Thomas Jefferson is quoted: "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country."
 
Bush mutters.
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Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on December 09, 2001 at 00:00:31 PT

We are a population in captivity
That song resonates with me now. I guess the Old Testament makes a whole different kind of story when you experience it from the end of a campaign to wipe you out.There is a campaign to wipe out a certain culture in America, this is what the hemp food ban is all about, it's direct cultural and political warfare against citizens of a particular group.I mean, this is Berlin in the thirties and we are the Jews.Drug Free America -- that slogan doesn't worry people who are conscious of the Nazi dream of a Final Solution to the people whose culture bothered them so much?It's no surpise that Germany is deciding that marijuana prohibition is a waste of time. They understand the true cost of waging these kinds of wars. They taught themselves that the really hard way.But in America, we are in captivity, we are walking in bondage, and it's good to look to the history of people who survived a very long time in that beleaguered state.And we have to keep singing our songs of freedom in that strange land as we walk.Even in modern society, one can learn from ancient people.
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Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on December 08, 2001 at 19:34:31 PT

I don't know
who is red, white, yellow, brown or black and I don't care. I do know that green is the color we all support. Green green. It's green they say on the far side of the hillGreen, green, it's green they say where the grass is greener, still.Bob Seger:"Like a rock""And I stood arrow straight
 unemcumbered by the way of all these hustlers and their schemes"I stood proud, I stood tall, high above it all 
I still believed in my dreamsLike a rock"
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Comment #6 posted by MysticRevelation on December 08, 2001 at 17:22:22 PT

Had a thought.
Then sang that song.
There's no turning back.
I sang out loud.
I sang that song again.Thanks E Johnson.

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Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on December 08, 2001 at 15:50:45 PT

Music I'm playing today
By the rivers of Babylon, 
Where he sat down, 
And there he wept 
When he remembered Zion. Twas the wicked carried us away in captivity, 
Required from us a song, 
How can we sing King Alpha's song 
In a strange land? Twas the wicked carried us away in captivity, 
Required from us a song, 
How can we sing King Alpha's song 
In a strange land? Sing it out loud 
Sing the song of freedom brothers 
Sing the song of freedom sisters 
We got to walk in bondage 
We got to shout the song of freedom now So, let the words of our mouth 
And the meditations of our heart 
Be acceptable in Thy sight. 
Oh, verai! So, let the words of our mouth 
And the meditations of our heart 
Be acceptable in Thy sight. 
Oh, verai! We got to sing it together 
Everyone of us! 
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Comment #4 posted by Dark Star on December 08, 2001 at 14:41:37 PT

What if?
What if someone has a hemp hat, and breaks their Marinol capsule on it and licks their hat? Is their hat then illegal because it put THC in their body?If there is any justice in this world, or the next, there are going to be a great number of current politicians taking up space in hell.
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Comment #3 posted by Lehder on December 08, 2001 at 13:44:44 PT

Sink the Mayflower
Read today's editorial at Counter Punch, High-Tech Puritanism by John Chuckman, for a very good perspective on US history and current policies. Our international and domestic persecutions spring from the same mind set that impelled the hateful intolerance for others by the original American Puritans. America has never been a free or democratic country, and only time and massive immigration will bring change.http://www.counterpunch.org/
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on December 08, 2001 at 12:54:10 PT

In praise of our enemies
Between Ashcroft and Hutchinson, public respect for the DEA is going into the toilet as it never has before.Adding Walters to the mix is only going to make things get worse for them. The Republican leadership clearly has a very bad disconnect from the American public on drug policy, the Bush administration is clearly controlled by the tiny minority of Drug Free pressure group extremists left in America.By 2004, after two more years of the leadership of this Drug Free Triumvirate, I expect that the DEA will have almost no public respect left in America, and the Democrats will be free to run whole hog with that in the election.And then Washington will be a different place for the DEA than it has been in the last several decades.If the people in this agency cannot realize that they are on a mission of self-destruction with this hemp food ban, then God bless them and let them continue on their foolish prideful path.
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on December 08, 2001 at 12:43:29 PT

Agit prop theater by Mullah Ashcroft
If I had hired an agit-prop theater company to perform an absurdist drama on all of the potentially ridiculous consequences of marijuana prohibition, I could not have found any revolutionary agit-prop troupe in the WORLD that could have put together a more absurd and shocking performance this the one starring the DEA, directed by Mullah Ashcroft and his sidekick, Osama Bin Hutchinson.Their revolutionary performance of "Why the Schedule I status of marijuana is absurd" is breaking new ground in educatiing ordinary citizens about the Controlled Subsatcnes Acr and the power it has to intrude into human dignity and defeat the everyday instincts of basic morality and ethics in this country.
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