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
If you take this to extremes it gets stupid pretty quickly. Isopropyl alcohol (i.e. "rubbing alcohol") is one half of the binary to make Sarin nerve gas. I'll bet half the people on this list have "chemical weapon precursors" in their homes, a sure sign of criminal intent.
This doesn't seem to be the correct use of the term "straw man". You might want to check it out.
COMMITTEE (Com-mit-tee): A bureaucratic life form with 8 or more legs and no brain
Other countries, such as Canada, which has a growing hemp industry, are starting to move out in front on this issue. There they are developing markets for hemp. Strange to relate, but guess what? Capitalism rules! In a couple of years, this will look even dumber than it does now.
The DEA is becoming the plant Taliban here.
I've told myself that I won't fight this war while the "real" war is on, not the one against some of the American people. And I won't, outside of this post. Which is to convey my absolute scorn and ridicule on a government that chooses to ban a plant whose crime is to look like another plant. You have to smoke a joint the size of a freakin' telephone pole to get high off hemp.
There's a shooting war on. I've read that the government's drug warrior resources have recently been pulled off and put to the practical task of nabbing these terrorists among us. That's what the government should be worried about. I keep up with the news on this issue. Walters is having trouble getting through the Senate. Other countries have been moving forward.
I will continue my "cease fire" on this issue until bin Laden is dead, and the Taliban is run out of power. After that, it's no holds barred. I will put up a fanatical resistance to this type of stupidity.
Other countries, such as Canada, which has a growing hemp industry, are starting to move out in front on this issue. There they are developing markets for hemp. Strange to relate, but guess what? Capitalism rules! In a couple of years, this will look even dumber than it does now.
The DEA is becoming the plant Taliban here.
I've told myself that I won't fight this war while the "real" war is on, not the one against some of the American people. And I won't, outside of this post. Which is to convey my absolute scorn and ridicule on a government that chooses to ban a plant whose crime is to look like another plant. You have to smoke a joint the size of a freakin' telephone pole to get high off hemp.
There's a shooting war on. I've read that the government's drug warrior resources have recently been pulled off and put to the practical task of nabbing these terrorists among us. That's what the government should be worried about. I keep up with the news on this issue. Walters is having trouble getting through the Senate. Other countries have been moving forward.
I will continue my "cease fire" on this issue until bin Laden is dead, and the Taliban is run out of power. After that, it's no holds barred. I will put up a fanatical resistance to this type of stupidity.
So my hemp denim jeans are safe for now.
The obvious reason they ban the seeds is so people won't plant their own. It isn't because the seeds contain the controlled substance, it's just a bean. I reject that the hemp seed is special. Sure, it's probably a good source of protein, and made doubly so because it's a hardy plant that will grow in a wide range of areas.
At the very least I wish our government would give up the "refeer madness" and concentrate on opiates and cocaine. That would be a good "compromise" wouldn't it?
Also, I'm told by some INS friends here in DC that some ongoing investigations they were conducting with the DEA have been placed on indefinite hold and now they are only chasing down leads on potential terrorists.
I'm not sure what is really going on with the drug war, but I suspect the next few months will be light on the enforcement side.
Actually, I agree. There has been a pleasant lack of prohibition threads, recently.
Let this one fall...
Thanks US government! I don't use drugs, nor drink alcohol, but I sure as heck can spot a goon, and goon fascist laws when I see them, and these guys are at the top of the list along with the ESA interior enforcement officials, and some of the batfinks. but....we have to support our prezident, and all they do, because there's a war on ya know! Shrub and his employees can do no wrong, they are completely perfect in all regards! Yep, let's devote more resources to this huge "problem", while we got people getting infected with anthrax, we got another ten million illegals floating around, who knows how many are aztlan sleeper cells getting ready to put in their guerrila warfare two pesos worth, and maybe the chicoms to boot, they don't own any latest design small nukes, they wouldn't even think of smuggling in any blackmail material, would they? Let's concentrate on products that have .0000001% maybe four molecules of thc in them, it's a threat, a national security threat! Way to go executive branch! Hey, nice shiny black boots, real sharp looking with those nice black uniforms!
I agree. This is a stupid ban, and it is also stupid to treat hemp (or anything else) as a panacea for all the world's ills.
If it were legal, the market would find it's strengths and weaknesses in an impartial fashion, ASAP. Nothing like voting with cash to keep one honest.
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