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U.S. hemp food case thrown out of court
The Western Producer |Thursday February 19, 2004

By Karen Briere
Regina bureau

Hemp proponents say a recent court victory in the United States will open that country to Canadian hemp seed products.

Arthur Hanks, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, said the Drug Enforcement Administration in the U.S., where it is illegal to grow hemp, attempted to ban imports of hemp foods because of trace tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, content.

Those foods included waffles, vegetarian burgers, salad dressing and nutrition bars.

Hemp Industries Association, which includes more than 200 North American hemp companies, launched court action against the DEA 21Ú2 years ago.

The case was resolved in a San Francisco U.S. Court of Appeal earlier this month.

Hanks said the court viewed the trace amounts of THC in hemp the same way it views the opiates in the poppy seeds on a bagel.

In Canada, trace THC would be less than 10 parts per million, he said.

"The court basically threw out the DEA's argument."

But he said Canadian hemp growers and companies are working to keep the THC content even lower than the standard because some people were falsely testing positive for marijuana use. That was a problem for those who underwent routine tests at work.

[zombienote: They have to protect the lucrative drug testing industry as well as maintain reefer madness. Drug testing owes it's existence to reefer madness. With cannabis legal, drug testing becomes a very small market with a very limited use.]

"There were cases of hemp seed foods which had relatively higher content of THC," Hanks said.

"We want to keep our trace contents down so urine tests are not going to be a false positive. No one is getting high from these foods."

He predicts that the Canadian hemp industry will grow faster now that the U.S. market is open, although the DEA could appeal to a higher court and the Food and Drug Administration may decide to get involved.

Canadian hemp acreage grew to 6,700 acres last year from 3,200 acres in 2001. The trend for many growers is toward organic production. They may be limited by the amount of certified seed available this spring, Hanks said.

About 10 Canadian hemp companies are heading to Natural Products Expo West, a major trade show in Anaheim, California, in March.

"The opportunity and timing are just excellent," Hanks said.

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Torture Good, Healthcare Bad, Marijuana Evil.

There's no money for your issue so long as we're squandering $50 billion a year on the DrugWar. Ben Masel