Hmm. That doesn't seem to be what the Department of Agriculture was saying back in 1942...
I tried to like Iron Maiden but never quite managed. They have neat album covers though. Pink Floyd rules...
Posted on 10/15/2001 9:04:33 AM PDT by MadameAxe
This week, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration banned all food manufactured with hemp grain, delivering a shocking blow to consumers and producers of hemp foods. According to DEA notices published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2001, any product that contains any amount of THC is, and always has been, a Schedule I controlled substance.
The DEA published this notice as an "interpretive rule", not as a new rule, thereby bypassing the usual requirement for public notice and comment. The DEA is stating that hemp food products have always been illegal and that they are just clarifying that fact with this new interpretive rule. The DEA justifies their decision only by saying that it is to "protect the public health and safety", but the DEA does not provide any evidence that THC in any amount is harmful.
"For the first time in U.S. history, the federal government is outlawing a whole class of food products", says Kathleen Chippi, co-founder of the Boulder Hemp Company, who was forced to suspend business last year when investors became nervous about rumors that the DEA was going to outlaw hemp. "It's the same as if the DEA outlawed wheat or corn."
Hemp grain, while not as commonplace as other grains, is touted by health food experts as being "the most nutritionally complete seed on the planet for human consumption."
THC may appear in trace amounts in some products made with hemp grain, just as opiates may appear in trace amounts in poppy seeds. Hemp food has been produced and safely consumed in the U.S. since the founding of the country and has been used worldwide for over 10,000 years without any adverse health effects ever.
The DEA notice in the Federal Register states that it is illegal to consume "any food or beverage (such as pasta, tortilla chips, candy bars, nutritional bars, salad dressings, sauces, cheese, ice cream, and beer) or dietary supplement". Consumers and hemp food manufacturers have until Feb. 6, 2002 to destroy any hemp food products they currently possess.
EXEMPTIONS: The DEA does exempt hemp products that "do not cause THC to enter the human body", such as paper, cloth, and rope. Sterilized seed remains legal for birds, but not humans. Sterilized seed will be exempt only if it is intended for bird seed and combined with some other seed or material that is "not derived from the cannabis plant". Raw hemp fiber is legal, but (strangely) unprocessed hemp stalks are illegal.
Personal care products, such as lotions, soap, shampoo, and lip balm are legal for now, while the DEA searches for evidence that these products can cause trace amounts of THC to enter the body.
There have been rumors for over a year that the DEA was going to ban hemp products. It's unfortunate for citizens that they chose to do this now, while the entire country is focused on terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan. You'd think they'd have more urgent things to do right now, like protecting us from bioterrorism, but such is the absurdity of our federal government and its War on Drugs.
This article from the Colorado Hemp Initiative Project. Edited for publication by Sierra Times.com
Hmm. That doesn't seem to be what the Department of Agriculture was saying back in 1942...
I tried to like Iron Maiden but never quite managed. They have neat album covers though. Pink Floyd rules...
Until the DEA weighs in on the epidemic of "behavior drugs" and "diet" speed and sets its priorities, it has no credibilty regarding hemp.
Defund the DEA until it gets it right.
...Idiots don't think.
...uppp,bump...
This is probably true, although the research is more convincing to users of marijuana than to the majority of us- however, that is NOT the point I was refuting. Please go back and read the original posts.
This is similar to the "hemp paper is better" push. Any paper engineer can tell you that soft fir pulp is superior for a large number of reasons, and that hemp was replaced with other fibers for good reason (after all, hemp was used for a time).
I don't have anything against hemp, but it is highly over-rated as an industrial plant.
You sound extremely ignorant of the facts.
But then William Randolph Hearst and his yellow paper journalism did their work well.
If the DEA edict is as described, I find it the most distressing development to have emerged after September 11. Not because I have any particular interest in hemp products, but rather because it represents such a clear example of the government seeking to expand its power for purposes which so ovbiously have nothing to do with the legitimate goal of stopping terrorism.
Never fear. We've hired this guy to protect against contraband hemp.
I feel safer already...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.