cannabisnews.com: Hemp Industry May Blossom





Hemp Industry May Blossom
Posted by CN Staff on October 17, 2004 at 08:10:29 PT
By Mark Sauer, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Source: Union Tribune 
'There's hemp oil in this? You're kidding! I've been buying this soap for years and never realized that," Tamra Miller said.She was at the Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Market examining the label of a gallon jug of "Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Pure Castile Soap." A key ingredient is hemp oil made from the first cousin of the marijuana plant.
"I buy it for the kids at my daughter's school. Maybe they're just a little bit happier washing their hands with this stuff," Miller said with a smile.Hemp is the highly versatile member of the cannabis-plant family that doesn't get you high. It remains a four-letter word as far as the federal government's war on drugs is concerned.But hemp's legal status in the United States has quietly undergone a dramatic change.Without comment, much less fanfare, the Drug Enforcement Administration last month let pass a deadline to appeal its case for banning consumable hemp products to the U.S. Supreme Court.A three-year effort to get hemp seed, hemp oil, lip balm, cereals, breads, frozen waffles and other consumable products made from imported hemp removed from America's markets ended when the government quit pursuing its ban.Hemp advocates, including hundreds of niche business and agricultural backers in more than a dozen states, note the plant is water efficient, soil-enriching, pest-resistant and a remarkably useful source of products from essential fatty acids in hemp oil to textiles and building products.Consumable hemp products contain trace amounts of THC, the psycho-active property in marijuana. That's why the DEA in October 2001 proposed to ban such products, which are imported from Canada and nations in Europe and Asia where cultivation and production of "industrial hemp" is legal even though marijuana remains outlawed.But the Hemp Industries Association – 250 U.S. companies offering products like protein bars, milk-free cheese, granola, bulk hemp seed, hemp oil and veggie burgers with trace amounts of THC from non-psycho-active cannabis plants – challenged the ban.The hempsters relied on the argument that the non-narcotic variety of poppy seeds contains trace amounts of opiates, yet are widely consumed and perfectly legal.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/blossom.htmSource: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)Author: Mark Sauer, Union-Tribune Staff WriterPublished: October 17, 2004Copyright: 2004 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.Contact: letters uniontrib.comWebsite: http://www.uniontrib.com/Cannabis News Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by runruff on October 17, 2004 at 14:58:38 PT:
FYI re-hemp
I have personally looked up and read for myself where the U.S traded away all hemp patends in the western hemisphere to Canada. I once heard a rep from the Canadian gov. on energy resorces say that Canada has a goal to become energy independent within the next 20 years. That was 10 years ago.I've heard also that France has the same goal and has been growing hundreds of thousands of hectors of hemp for about the last ten years. I've heard also that one main reason that France and Germany were not interested in going into Iraq for the oil is because they are going in an entirely different direction energy wise. Nepolean lost his army and his empire trying to capture the hemp fields in Russia. After Trafalgar he needed to rebuild his navy to beat England. You couldn't build a navy without hemp in those days. Hitler lost the war trying to take the hemp fields of russia. He needed the fuel, food, and fiber from the Russian hemp fields to win the war. History you won't find in your texted books.Hemp is mans campanion plant on this planet.Let freedom ring!!!!!
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 17, 2004 at 11:18:41 PT
Off Topic: Presidential Candidates
Sunday, October 17, 2004Bush: Pushed new law aimed at speeding thinning of Western forests to reduce fire danger and provide timber. Reversed Clinton administration rule protecting roadless areas, saying states should have more role in deciding what lands to put off-limits. Backs $150 million project to deepen Columbia River channel. Seeking court decision to overturn Oregon law allowing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. Seeking court action to halt medical marijuana laws in Oregon and other states. Kerry: Says that forest-thinning efforts should be concentrated near communities and that current law allows too much commercial logging. Backs roadless protections. Will work with officials on Columbia River channel deepening but is concerned about environmental effect. Personally opposes assisted-suicide law but says states should be free to make their own policy in this area. Says would not move against medical marijuana laws while studies are being conducted on the drug's value in pain management. Complete Article: http://www.oregonlive.com/metro/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1097236729178610.xml
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Comment #8 posted by The GCW on October 17, 2004 at 10:08:44 PT
CN BC: PUB LTE: Thanks for the Hemp Seed Oil
 
To the Editor, I enjoyed reading John Yim's column about hemp seed oil, ( Top up your omega 3 oil level, Oct. 9 ). There is one thing worth adding. Evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, borage and hemp seed oil share gamma linolenic acid ( GLA ). GLA is only found in five obscure locations on earth; the fifth is mothers milk. GLA is thought to contribute to a strong immune system. The daily recommended amount of hemp seed oil only supplies about four per cent of our needs. I am thankful I can buy imported Canadian hemp seed oil at my local health food store, since free American farmers are prohibited from growing hemp. Stan White Dillon, Colorado http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1459/a09.html?163337(I'd rather buy hemp seed oil from American farmers, but till then, thank You, Cannada.It is time to re-introduce hemp as a component of American agriculture.)
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 17, 2004 at 09:52:00 PT
Related Article on Hemp
County Board Committee Seeks Support of Hemp CultivationMike Neumann - Staff ReporterOctober 15, 2004Farmers desire new cash crop with many industrial applications.DeKalb officials and farmers want to grow industrial hemp in addition to the usual corn and soybeans. Currently, industrial hemp is illegal to grow in Illinois, even for research purposes. Julia Fauci, a DeKalb County Board member, said that is the first hurdle that stands in the way of bringing the versatile crop to Illinois. “We’re asking first that laws are passed at the state and federal levels that will allow research on [industrial hemp],” Fauci said. Industrial hemp can be used to produce paper, textiles, oil for food and a number of other products. It also could help revitalize nutrient-depleted soil that results from a lack of crop rotation, said Eric Pollitt, owner of Global Hemp, an Internet store and information center on industrial hemp based in Peoria. DeKalb County farmers grow mostly corn and soybeans. Adding hemp to the rotation could increase farmers’ productivity. Fauci and another board member, Steve Faivre, drew up a resolution that recently passed through the public policy committee. Fauci said that making a strong case for a possible bill is all that can be done at such a low level of government. One of the main objectives is to differentiate industrial hemp from marijuana based on the THC content. “In no way are we saying we believe marijuana is OK,” Fauci said. Marijuana users typically look for a THC content between 6 and 20 percent while industrial hemp has a THC level of less than 0.3 percent, Pollitt said. Industrial hemp would be beneficial to Illinois because it would help all areas of society, including agriculture, manufacturers and consumers, Fauci said. Greg Milberg of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau agreed and said more than 30 countries are seeing the benefits of it. “It has a variety of uses. Its fiber content is particularly strong. It is a very practical crop and could be a potential income for farmers,” Milberg said. The Illinois Farm Bureau also has supported research on industrial hemp. Pollitt said Illinois has come close to getting research permits for industrial hemp. “A few years ago, a bill passed through the Senate and the House to [former Gov. George Ryan],” Pollitt said. “His first intention was to sign it, but in the end, it was vetoed.” The bill would have given the University of Illinois and Western Illinois University permission to do research on industrial hemp. Pollitt said the Illinois Drug Education Alliance was the only group opposed to the bill and that it had ties to Gov. Ryan’s wife, Laura Ryan. Pollitt said he feels this was the reason for the bill’s demise. One of the main arguments against industrial hemp is that legalization of it may be misinterpreted by a teenager as an acceptance of marijuana, which Pollitt said is an insult to teenagers’ intelligence. “Grapes are legal for kids to consume, but they know that they shouldn’t be going into their parents’ wine cabinet,” Pollitt said. In Canada, industrial hemp was grown without any fences surrounding the fields, Pollitt said. He said that in the first year of growing, there were some minor problems with people stealing some of the crop, but that it dropped off almost immediately. “They found out [industrial hemp] won’t do anything but give you a headache,” Pollitt said. 
 Copyright: 2004 Northern Starhttp://www.star.niu.edu/articles/?id=975
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on October 17, 2004 at 09:07:03 PT
TroutMask 
Yes it could be a while but if we get a new administration they more then likely will be into the environment and might look at Hemp closer then any administration has ever done I think. Save the Earth -- Dump Bush:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2003/11/19/bobbykennedyjr/index_np.html
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Comment #5 posted by TroutMask on October 17, 2004 at 08:51:22 PT
Eating hemp != growing hemp
It'll be quite a while until it's legal for the average farmer to grow hemp in the US. We can eat all the poppy seeds we want but it is still illegal to grow Papaver Somniferum in the US, from which most cooking poppy seeds are derived. -TM
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 17, 2004 at 08:40:55 PT
Max Flowers 
While I was setting up this Hemp article we were talking about growing Hemp on our property. Hemp has so many uses the skies the limit and ideas are endless. I assume that growing Hemp will soon have to be legal too.
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Comment #3 posted by Max Flowers on October 17, 2004 at 08:31:34 PT
Hemp farming
Can anyone tell me how this latest development relates to the "legality" of growing hemp? I've been looking around but can't find anything that talks about the two issues at once, or about the legal implications for hemp farming at all.From the standpoint of legal theory, I don't see how they can say it's okay to buy sell and use hemp-containing products and still ban the farming of industrial hemp.
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Comment #2 posted by 13th step on October 17, 2004 at 08:25:43 PT
Wastes of lives, money, and minds
E_Johnson , that *is* absurd.The thought that someone is banning hemp granola, a plant, a mushroom, a cactus, or actively engaged in said process, for *years* of their lives, it's just unfathomable.It's so disgusting.And an "informed" populace that keeps giving quotes such as :"I buy it for the kids at my daughter's school. Maybe they're just a little bit happier washing their hands with this stuff," Miller said with a smile.Makes me want to just...unprintable...Yep. It's all just a cute smile, a laugh, until it's your life lived behind bars for something you used to just wink at...AGH!
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on October 17, 2004 at 08:17:21 PT
How much did this cost our government?
In terms of money, and the self respect and dignity of the legal experts who were involved?I just can't imagine someone wasting a fancy legal education on trying to ban hemp granola, but someone did, for three long years. What a waste of money and education that was!
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