cannabisnews.com: Hemp Imports Run Afoul of DEA Rule





Hemp Imports Run Afoul of DEA Rule
Posted by FoM on January 16, 2002 at 07:48:49 PT
By Melinda Fukmer, Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times
The hemp industry is taking on the establishment, seeking to prevent the U.S. government from crushing the small, but rapidly growing, hemp food and beverages industry.Canadian hemp supplier Kenex Ltd. on Monday signaled its intent to sue the U.S. government for $20 million under provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Kenex claims that a ban on foods that contain hemp, instituted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in October, violated its rights under NAFTA.
Kenex and several other food companies also have filed suit against the DEA in federal appeals court, seeking to overturn the rule. Hemp oil and seeds increasingly have been used in processed foods in the U.S., showing up in everything from corn chips to beer to salad dressing and cereal. Hemp seeds are considered beneficial because of their high protein content and because they are rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins.Like poppy seeds, these products until recently were considered exempt under the Controlled Substances Act of 1971.However, under a new rule issued by the DEA that takes effect next month, these foods are considered illegal. The agency claims all hemp products contain minute traces of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), the hallucinogenic substance found in cannabis.Hemp can still be used under the new rule in products consumers don't ingest, such as shampoo, soap, clothing, lotion and birdseed.Kenex contends the rule is discriminatory to Canadian producers, who provide the bulk of hemp products to the U.S. because Americans are banned from growing the plant."Our company has invested a significant amount of money in Canada and the U.S. to develop these markets for the past three years, and it has been one stumbling block after another," said Jean Laprise, Kenex president. "They're squashing an emerging industry."The Kenex case adds more heat to a debate over the provision of NAFTA that allows private investors to sue governments for taking actions that restrict trade. Since NAFTA was enacted, 15 such cases have been filed.Critics argue the provision gives companies too much power and undermines the ability of governments to protect their citizens.But Laprise says it's necessary to protect companies' rights when the law is discriminatory.DEA officials refuse to comment on the issue because of the pending litigation. But DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson put forward the agency's position recently when he said that "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."The DEA says consumers have until Feb. 6 to dispose of these items or be subject to penalty.Although hemp and marijuana come from the plant species, cannabis, the variety grown for industrial hemp contains much lower amounts of THC, a point the DEA acknowledges.The burning issue for the DEA is: When can cannabis legally be sold as hemp, and when is it still a drug?Hemp oil and seeds can't make people high, but they do contain minuscule amounts of THC, much as poppy seeds contain trace amounts of opium."The leaves and flowers on industrial hemp, when you smoke them, it gives you a headache," said John Roulac, president of Nutiva in Sebastopol, Calif., which makes snack bars and chips out of hemp. "If you smoke more, you just get a bigger headache."If there weren't a cloud hanging over the industry from this regulation, manufacturers say, it would grow exponentially over the next several years as demand for functional foods grows.However, confusion over the new rule, and high-profile seizures of hemp-containing products such as birdseed, should keep many companies from using the controversial ingredient, Roulac said.Many, however, say they plan to continue to sell their products.Food companies that use hemp ingredients hope that the industry and government can come up with guidelines that will allow the industry to grow as it was expected to before the rule was published.Without them, they say, the DEA's ambiguous standards will make that difficult."Their whole intention is to just put a cloud on the marketplace so it disintegrates and goes away on its own," said David Bronner of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in Escondido, which has helped fund the industry's litigation. We as an industry are going to proceed and continue selling it."Note: Trade: Canadian supplier, claiming the ban violates NAFTA provision, threatens to sue the U.S. government.Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Melinda Fukmer, Times Staff WriterPublished: January 16, 2002Copyright: 2002 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Kenexhttp://www.kenex.com/FTE's Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmCanadian Company Will Sue http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11762.shtmlHemp-Food Makers Fight U.S. Ban http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11745.shtmlHemp Industry vs. The DEA in U.S. Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11703.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 16, 2002 at 18:10:42 PT
mayan
You're welcome!
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on January 16, 2002 at 17:51:53 PT
Oh Yeah...
thanks for the related article FoM! That is what I was responding to.
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on January 16, 2002 at 17:47:11 PT
Good For Hemp...Hemp For Good
This is good news for the hemp industry! With the DEA making the rules as they go, this industry needs to adapt to the unfortunate situation it has been put in. Let's hope the hempsters can keep hemp-food products legal in the United States. 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 16, 2002 at 17:25:07 PT
Related Hemp Article
HempWorld To Reach New Highs With eCorp
By Michael Singer 
Published: January 16, 2002
Direct Link: http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article/0,,3531_956451,00.html
 
OK, let's get the formalities out of the way. Industrial-grade hemp comes from the cannabis plant family, but it is not the THC laden variation known as marijuana. 
That biology lesson aside, hemp distributors that have a hard time convincing people that the plant has widespread commercial uses have been turning to the Web to pitch their products. 
Case in point, Santa Barbara, Calif.-based HempWorld, Inc., which runs hemp-related eCommerce sites like HempWorld.com -- http://www.hempworld.com/ -- HempCyberFarm.com -- http://www.hemp-cyberfarm.com/ -- and HempWorldHotels.com -- http://www.hempworldhotels.com/
The company Wednesday says it has inked an exclusive marketing agreement with Indianapolis-based eCorp -- http://www.ecorp.com/ 
Previously the company did much of its marketing in-house or through word of mouth. 
"Deploying HempWorld's warehousing, distribution and marketing has made it easier to get established in the world-wide hemp marketplace," says eCorp president and CEO Chad Folkening. "Together, eCorp and HempWorld can deliver a higher volume and lower cost solution for getting hemp products into USA from Canada and other hemp producing countries and we can start fulfilling orders on the European continent." 
The goal now is to get the word out there that hemp products are not only safe but also financially and ecologically sound. 
Worldwide sales of hemp and hemp-based products totaled $150 million in 1999, with American consumers buying more than 60 percent of the total amount according to a report by research firm Strom-Martin. Mainstream stores like The Body Shop, Macy's and Nordstrom's regularly carry hemp-based products. 
The age-old plant has been cloth and rope for over 10,000 years. The original Levi Strauss jeans were made from a hempen canvas. Even Old Glory was made from hemp fiber. Hemp also uses fewer pesticides and fertilizers than other crops. 
But is the world ready for things like hemp candy? -- http://www.hempcandy.com/
"We needed to step up our working relationship to provide the North American market with the sustainable hemp products people want," says HempWorld founder, president and CEO Matthew Huijgen. "The potential market is huge among the internet shoppers of roughly a 150 million people on the North American continent alone and about 200 million in Europe. We are now extending our presence to Europe and the rest of the world because of key domain names we now possess and control last but not least with HempStore.com and HempShop.com We are positioned to grab the bulk of all hemp related traffic via internet world-wide." 
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