DEA Backs Down in Face of Imminent Court Action
ARLINGTON, VA -- The Drug Enforcement Administration handed a victory
to the multimillion-dollar-a-year hemp food industry last night when
they told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit they will
extend the "grace period" for hemp food products that contain "any
THC." The extension reassures retailers stocking and selling hemp
food products that, for the next 40 days, the DEA will not commence
enforcement action. Ultimately, the hemp food industry expects to
prevail against the DEA's attempt to ban hemp foods because Congress
exempted nutritious hemp seed and oil from regulation (see 21 U.S.C.
§802(16)), and the trace infinitesimal THC in hemp seed and oil is
not psychoactive and does not interfere with workplace drug-testing
(see
http://www.TestPledge.com).
Lawyers representing the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and
several major hemp food companies went to court Wednesday when it was
apparent the DEA intended to enforce its October 9th "interpretive
rule" banning foods with "any THC." DEA told Whole Foods, the
largest natural foods supermarket chain in the U.S., to remove hemp
food products from store shelves even though there is no detectable
THC in the hemp seed and oil under the official Health Canada
protocol.
In a letter sent yesterday to the Court of Appeals, Daniel Dormont,
Senior Attorney for the DEA, wrote, "It is my understanding that the
Court of Appeals wishes to know whether the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) was planning to commence enforcement action
while the petitioners' motion for a stay is pending, given that the
grace period published in the interim rule ended yesterday (February
6). In the view of the Court's inquiry, DEA will extend the grace
period for an additional 40 days, through March 18, 2002. As we
discussed, this should allow the Court to rule on the motion prior to
the expiration of the grace period."
"We're pleased that DEA backed off from enforcement while the Court
takes a hard look at a rule we know is arbitrary and misguided," says
Eric Steentstra, President of Vote Hemp.
Hemp manufacturers are pleased that hemp foods will stay on store
shelves and expect to ultimately prevail in court. Environmental
activist Woody Harrelson, who invested over $200,000 in developing a
non-dairy "hemp milk" through his company Tierra Madre, said, "The
DEA is a rogue agency distorting the law to destroy the livelihoods
of hardworking Americans who have built a natural and sustainable
industry." (Non-dairy milk is one of the largest and fastest growing
segments of the natural food marketplace).
Hemp seed has a well-balanced protein content and the highest content
of essential fatty acids (EFA's) of any oil in nature: EFA's are the
good fats that, like vitamins, the body does not produce and which
doctors traditionally have recommended eating fish and flax to
obtain. Thus, hemp seed and oil are increasingly incorporated as
ingredients in a myriad of natural foods to boost their nutritional
profile. U.S. companies are currently manufacturing cereals,
waffles, pretzels, chips, salad dressings, bread and granola bars,
among other products, that contain hemp seed or oil. Hemp seeds are
harvested from non-psychoactive industrial hemp plants grown in
Canada and Europe under strict regulatory regimes and have no
potential psychoactive "drug" effect and do not interfere with drug
testing even when unrealistic amounts are eaten on a daily basis.
Poppy seeds, commonly consumed on bagels, contain harmless trace
opiates (that have historically interfered with workplace drug
tests), and DEA has sensibly not attempted to override the
Congressional exemption of poppy seeds from the statutory definition
of "opium poppy" in the CSA even though natural opiates in themselves
are controlled elsewhere in the CSA.
On October 9, 2001, without any public notice or comment, the DEA
issued an "interpretive rule" purporting to make hemp foods
containing non-psychoactive miniscule trace amounts of THC, the
active ingredient found in marijuana, immediately illegal under the
Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. In fact, the U.S. Congress
exempted non-viable hemp seed and oil from control under the CSA, 21
U.S.C. §802 (16), regardless of the presence of any trace miniscule
THC (just as poppy seeds are exempted from the CSA despite containing
trace opiates).
Internal Department of Justice (DOJ) documents obtained through the
Freedom of Information Act show that the DEA was instructed by the
DOJ (of which DEA is part) in March of 2000 not to restrict the
import of hemp seed and oil: "Hemp products intended for human
consumption have THC at levels too low to trigger a psychoactive
effect and are not purchased, sold or marketed with the intent of
having a psychoactive effect." The original memo from John Roth,
Chief of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section of the DOJ, to
Donnie Marshall, Acting Administrator of the DEA, is available upon
request (an identical letter was also sent to U.S. Customs by Mr.
Roth).
The 10-year-old global hemp market is a thriving commercial success.
Unfortunately, because DEA's drug-war paranoia has confounded the
biologically distinct non-psychoactive industrial hemp varieties of
cannabis with the psychoactive marijuana varieties, the U.S. is the
only major industrialized nation to prohibit the growing and
processing of industrial hemp.
Please visit
http://www.VoteHemp.com to read scientific studies and
see court documents.
