cannabisnews.com: Hemp Industry Revived With Victory Over DEA 





Hemp Industry Revived With Victory Over DEA 
Posted by CN Staff on February 07, 2004 at 08:11:00 PT
By Bob Egelko and Kathleen Seligman, Staff Writers
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
The Bush administration's attempt to expand the nation's drug wars to foods and oils containing hemp was shot down Friday by a federal appeals court, which said hemp doesn't get people high and hasn't been outlawed by Congress. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed sales of hemp foods to resume in March 2002, five months after the Drug Enforcement Administration announced an abrupt nationwide ban. On Friday, the court said the DEA had no authority to reclassify hemp as a dangerous drug without first showing that it has a "high potential for abuse.'' 
The DEA hasn't tried to prove hemp is dangerous but instead argued that consumption of hemp seeds and oil can be outlawed because they contain traces of THC, the active substance in marijuana. But the court said that under federal law "nonpsychoactive hemp is explicitly excluded from the definition of marijuana.'' DEA spokesman Bill Grant declined comment on the ruling, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. For now, it's a relief for the hemp food industry, which saw stores pull its products off shelves in 2001 and is struggling to regain lost ground. "The market is going to blow wide open,'' said David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in Escondido (San Diego County) and chairman of the Hemp Industry Association's food and oils committee. His company makes a snack bar that Bronner hopes will now find its way into mainstream stores. Note: Bush push to expand drug wars shot down by Ninth Circuit ruling. Snipped: Complete Article: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/07/MNGR34RAO51.DTL   Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Bob Egelko, Kathleen Seligman, Chronicle Staff Writers Published:  Saturday, February 7, 2004Copyright: 2004 San Francisco Chronicle - Page A - 4 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Sites:Cannabis News Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmHIA Vs. DEA Hemp Ruling in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hempruling.pdfAppeals Court Limits Ban on Hemp Products http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18313.shtmlBakery Breathes Easier with Looser Hemp Policy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18312.shtmlMakers of Hemp Foods Win Legal Victoryhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18311.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 12, 2004 at 11:42:20 PT
Press Release from U.S. Newswire
Landmark Court Decision Saves Jobs, Nutritious Foods Made With Hemp Seed; Hemp Industry Demands Apology from DEA for Years of HarassmentFebruary 12, 2004Contact: Adam Eidinger, 202-232-8997 or 202-744-2671, or Eric Steenstra, 703-729-2225; both for Vote Hemp, http://www.votehemp.comWASHINGTON, Feb. 12 /U.S. Newswire -- Manufacturers and consumers of nutritious hemp food products are thrilled about the legal battle they won on Feb. 6 when a three judge federal panel ruled unanimously that hemp foods are perfectly legal and safe to consume. The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), representing over 200 hemp companies in North America, won their 2 and a half- year old lawsuit, HIA vs. DEA, invalidating the Drug Enforcement Administration's misguided attempt to rewrite the definition of marijuana to include nutritious and safe hemp seed."Health-conscious consumers of hemp waffles, bread, cereal, vegetarian burgers, protein powder, salad dressing and nutrition bars can finally relax that these foods are going to stay on store shelves," David Bronner, Chair of the HIA Food and Oil Committee. "The decision in HIA vs. DEA is a huge boost to the hemp food market, and we expect to see many more hemp food products on store shelves. The three judge panel agreed with our main argument that the DEA's 'Final Rule' ignores Congress's specific exemption in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) under the definition of marihuana that excludes hemp seed and oil from control along with hemp fiber. Based on the decision, the court reasonably views trace insignificant amounts of THC in hemp seed in the same way as it sees trace amounts of opiates in poppy seeds," says Bronner.Fighting the DEA ban cost leading hemp companies roughly $200,000 (money that might be recoverable) and resulted in some retailers' temporarily pulling hemp products from store shelves. "The public and media should question the motives of the DEA," says Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. "We have uncovered documents through the Freedom of Information Act that prove the DEA's own attorneys at the Department of Justice as far back as March 2000 knew they lacked the authority to ban hemp food products." See http://www.votehemp.com/PDF/roth_letter.pdf "The DEA owes over 200 companies and every American an apology for wasting taxpayer money pursuing a ban on hemp foods."Hemp Food Was Victim of Drug War Hysteria"The truth is that the DEA, at the direction of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the urging of the Family Research Council, attempted to kill the legitimate, burgeoning hemp foods industry not because hemp is harmful to the human body, but because they see it as a 'stalking horse' for the marijuana movement," says Patrick Goggin, an attorney for the HIA. "The damages this egregious policy have caused are widespread to say the least. The industry is fully considering its options for recovering these damages and the cost of defending against this underhanded governmental action." See ONDCP memo on Hemp foods, April 2000, http://www.votehemp.com/PDF/jurith_robles.pdfComplete Article: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=142-02122004
Cannabis News Hemp Links & Hemp Food Ruling
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on February 07, 2004 at 08:39:24 PT
Dancin' in the Fields
Kucinich’s plantform includes, decriminalizing cannabis and regulating it like alcohol. This is more relevant today in light of the Friday February 6, 2004, 9th Federal Circuit Court ruling, (finally) Rejecting the DEA’s attempt To Outlaw Hemp Food products.If Kucinich’s plantform allows citizens to grow a few cannabis plants with THC, then it stands to reason American farmers may grow hemp with out THC. It is time to reintroduce hemp as a component of American Agriculture. This issue is important when we consider that cannabis prohibition is the Biblical root of many problems facing earth today. Biblically discredited cannabis prohibitionists must be controlled like the plague and Kucinich is the true grass roots effort to do just that.
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