Hemp Legalization

Hemp Is Not Pot: It's the Economic Stimulus and Green Jobs Solution We Need

By Dara Colwell
AlterNet (original article)March 26, 2009

While Uncle Sam’s scramble for new revenue sources has recently kicked up the marijuana debate — to legalize and tax, or not? — hemp’s feasibility as a stimulus plan has received less airtime.

But with a North American market that exceeds $300 million in annual retail sales and continued rising demand, industrial hemp could generate thousands of sustainable new jobs, helping America to get back on track.

“We’re in the midst of a dark economic transition, but I believe hemp is an important facet and has tremendous economic potential,” says Patrick Goggin, a board member on the California Council for Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading industrial hemp-farming advocacy group. “Economically and environmentally, industrial hemp is an important part of the sustainability pie.” [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

U.S. Ban of Hemp Foods Is Rejected

Los Angeles Times
By Eric Bailey

The ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opens the door for the domestic sale of bread and other food products made from the plant.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday rejected a government effort to ban the sale of bread, protein powders and other food products made from hemp, the psychoactively benign botanical cousin of marijuana.

The decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals undercuts a dogged attempt to halt domestic consumption of hemp launched by the Drug Enforcement Administration in October 2001.

Although it opened the door for unfettered sale of hemp foods, Friday’s court decision left unresolved the bigger battle over the federal government’s prohibition on domestic agricultural production of hemp, which can be used for everything from paper production to car parts. Currently, hemp products and foods are produced from seed, oil or fiber imported from other countries, such as Canada, where harvest is not prohibited.

Unlike smoked cannabis, hemp contains only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that produces the intoxicating high sought by pot users. But drug enforcement officials have long argued against hemp farming out of concern that the plant could be mistaken for its close relative, marijuana. A commercial hemp farm could provide cover for illegal pot production, some drug enforcement officials have argued – a contention hemp advocates dispute.

The 9th Circuit ruled that the DEA maintains regulatory authority over smoked marijuana and synthetically derived THC, but not over food that contains hemp. The court concluded that it is impossible to get high from products that contain only tiny amounts of THC.

Officials at the DEA and Justice Department declined to comment on the ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit. Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, said government attorneys want to conduct a more thorough review before deciding whether to appeal.

Entrepreneurs in the hemp industry heralded rejection of the ban, which for a time appeared to have put their fledgling businesses in jeopardy.

“I’m jazzed. It’s a great day for the Constitution,” said John Roulac, founder and president of Nutiva, a Sebastopol, Calif., firm that makes hemp protein powder. “We can focus on building one of the fastest-growing natural food industries versus trying to skirmish with the DEA.”

“Nobody is getting high from any of this,” said Eric Steenstra, president of VoteHemp.com, a nonprofit advocacy group for the hemp industry. “It’s just not happening.”

Steenstra expressed hope that the ruling would not only reignite the hemp food industry, but also nudge efforts to legalize agricultural production anew in the United States.

Buoyed by imported seed and fiber, the hemp industry has managed to grow from nothing to more than $200 million in the last few decades. Hemp advocates herald its potential use in making paper, clothing, rope and other products. Its oil is used for a variety of body-care products such as lotion, soap and cosmetics. Foods include energy bars, waffles, milk-free cheese, veggie burgers and bread.

After the DEA restrictions were announced, hemp products were pulled from shelves at health-food stores and supermarkets across the nation. Manufacturers saw sales slump. The Hemp Industries Assn., which represents about 250 companies, immediately challenged the ban in federal court.

The industry won several early skirmishes, but federal drug enforcement officials continued to push for a strict hemp prohibition, putting a damper on the industry’s growth. Some manufacturers delayed making forays into new product lines, and a few stores refused to restock hemp foods out of concern the DEA might prevail.

Lynn Gordon, president of French Meadow Bakery, a firm in Minneapolis that produces a top-selling hemp bread, said Friday’s decision meant she would finally go ahead with the national marketing of several new bakery products she had shelved while the court fight raged.

“It’s a great day for all of us who believe that the little hemp seed is a mighty wonder crop,” Gordon said. “I’m thrilled, but there is so much more to do.”

Gordon said the cost of importing hemp seed and oil from Canada could be slashed if a local grower could produce those commodities for her, but DEA regulations continue to prohibit any hemp harvest in the United States.

Once used to make ropes and sails for ships that brought settlers to the new world, hemp was grown in America in the early 1600s. By the 19th century it was the nation’s third-largest agricultural commodity. California farmers cultivated hemp into the 1930s.

But during the Depression years a federal crackdown against marijuana had the concurrent effect of undercutting pot’s genetic cousin.

Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times

{ 0 comments }

Press Release: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules to Keep Hemp Foods Legal

Sebastopol, CA – The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a “stay” on the DEA’s proposed March 21, 2003, “final” rules. Along with the March 2002, ruling on the “interim” rules, the Court has now twice rejected DEA’s attempt to ban hemp foods. “It’s a great legal victory that affirms Americans’ rights to enjoy hemp foods and oil,” says John W. Roulac, hemp author and founding president of hemp food manufacturer, Nutiva. “Hempseed is the most nutritious seed in the world. The hemp foods industry is now poised to fulfill its promise of creating a billion dollar industry in the coming decade,” he adds. America’s leading hemp food brand, Nutiva, offers certified-organic hemp and flax food bars, organic hemp oil and shelled hempseed.

Congress exempted non-viable hemp seed and oil from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA – see 21 U.S.C. 802(16)) because it recognized that trace concentrations of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in hempseed are insignificant (at a few parts per million) and non-psychoactive. The hemp exemption was provided in the same manner that Congress exempted poppy seeds from the CSA, despite the fact that they contain trace opiates otherwise subject to control. The 9th Circuit Court will hear the entire case of the “final” DEA rules sometime in the coming year. “We are optimistic, as the Court has now ruled twice against the DEA based on hardships to the hemp foods industry, and expect a final decision in our favor,” notes Roulac. Depending on the final court ruling, either the DEA or the industry can appeal the case to the US Supreme Court as a last recourse. Imagine the specter in 2005 or 2006 of the Supreme Court deciding on the fate of hemp foods-which by then will be sold in tens of thousands of stores and in use by millions of Americans? To download a hardcopy of the court ruling, please visit VoteHemp.com.

Nutiva – Nourishing People and Planet
Nutiva sales are increasing at a rapid clip and the company is on track to achieve close to $1 million in sales in 2003. Nutiva demonstrates its mission to nourish people and planet by using healthy organic ingredients, enriching the soil and supporting just and sustainable causes. Nutiva donates 1% of sales to groups that promote sustainable agriculture. Founded in 1999, Nutiva offers nutritious organic hemp as well as flax food bars, hemp oil and oil capsules, and shelled hempseed nationwide at more than 1,600 natural food retailers. For more information, call (800) 993-4367, or write Nutiva, P.O. Box 1716, Sebastopol, CA 95473

{ 0 comments }

Press Release: DEA Issues Final Rules on Cannabis Products

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced today two final rules which address the legal status of products derived from the cannabis plant. These cannabis products, which are referred to by some members of the public as “hemp” products, often contain the hallucinogenic substance tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). THC is the primary psychoactive chemical found in the cannabis (marijuana) plant.

The rules are being issued in accordance with the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which appears in Title 21 of the United States Code, sections 801-971. DEA is the agency primarily responsible for enforcing the criminal and regulatory provisions of the CSA. As part of its statutory duties, DEA must maintain the schedules of controlled substances and publish any revisions to the schedules in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, part 1308.

When questions arise as to whether a particular substance is controlled under the CSA, DEA is obligated to answer the questions and advise the public accordingly. The rules published today answer this question when it comes to “hemp” products that contain THC.

Under the CSA, THC is a Schedule I controlled substance. Schedule I consists of those controlled substances that have not been approved as medicine by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some examples of Schedule I drugs are heroin, LSD, marijuana, and MDMA (“Ecstasy”). Because these drugs have not been approved by the FDA as medicine, human consumption of them is strictly prohibited outside of FDA-approved scientific research.

When Congress wrote the CSA in 1970, it provided that anything that contains “any quantity” of a Schedule I hallucinogenic controlled substance is, itself, a Schedule I controlled substance, unless it is an FDA-approved drug product. Thus, the CSA prohibits human consumption of any non-FDA-approved product that contains any amount of THC. Today’s rules reiterate this long-standing aspect of federal law.

In some cases, a Schedule I controlled substance may have a legitimate industrial use. The CSA allows for industrial use of Schedule I controlled substances, but only under highly controlled circumstances. The rules announced by DEA today create an exemption in the law that removes all CSA regulatory restrictions for legitimate industrial products made from cannabis plants.

Some examples of these exempted industrial products are paper, rope, and clothing (which contain fiber made from the cannabis plant) and animal feed mixtures, soaps, and shampoos (which contain sterilized cannabis seeds or oils extracted from the seeds). DEA is exempting these types of industrial cannabis products from control because they are not intended for human consumption and do not cause THC to enter the human body.

When it comes to cannabis products that are intended or used for human consumption (foods and beverages), however, today’s rules make clear that if such a product contains THC, it remains prohibited. This approach is consistent with the long-standing rule under federal law disallowing human consumption of Schedule I controlled substances outside of FDA-approved research.

DEA published the rules in proposed form in October 2001. In today’s Federal Register, DEA explains the comments it received from the public following publication of the proposed rules. Today’s Federal Register (68 Fed. Reg. 14113 and Fed. Reg. 14119) also contains the full text of the rules, along with a detailed legal explanation. The rules become effective April 21, 2003.

For more information, please visit www.dea.gov or contact the DEA Office of Public Affairs at (202) 307-7977.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

{ 0 comments }

Next Entries →