Pubdate: Thu, 01 Nov 2001
Source: Wired Magazine (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Wired Digital Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wired.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/505
Author:  Kristen Philipkoski

HEALTHY HEMP IN HOT PERIL

In a move that worries makers of hemp products, the Drug Enforcement Agency 
said it intends to make any foods containing the high-inducing chemical in 
marijuana illegal substances.

The recent announcement was an "interim decision" that will be finalized at 
the end of this year. In the meantime, manufacturers and sellers of hemp 
products are concerned about repercussions if the decision is made 
official, even though most hemp foods contain no traces of 
tetrahydrocannabinols, or THC.

Hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant, but most food 
products made out of hemp don't contain THC, the chemical in marijuana that 
creates a "high" feeling. But over the past several years, hundreds of 
people who failed drug tests said that they had not used marijuana, but 
instead had eaten food made with hemp and that's how the THC got in their 
bloodstream.

That's unlikely, according to at least one study, but some won their cases 
anyway. Now, the DEA is on the lookout to make sure no one is ingesting THC 
without their knowledge.

"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," 
said DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson, in a statement announcing the 
interim decision.

But manufacturers say that doesn't mean hemp is a drug, and hemp food 
products have never contained THC.

Cool Hemp ice cream is labeled "THC: 0 percent."

The head brewer at Humboldt Brewing Company in Arcata, California -- 
http://www.humbrew.com/ -- said the company's Hemp Ale has been tested for 
THC by Maxxam Analytics in Canada and came up negative for THC. -- 
http://www.maxxam.ca/

The brewery has been contacted in the past by folks who tried to blame 
their failed drug tests on Hemp Ale. Lesterlud said he faxed them the lab 
report and never heard from them again.

The hemp plant can be used to make products including biodegradable carpet, 
clothing, paper, and oil for both cooking and fuel. Advocates say hemp is a 
more sustainable plant than cotton or soy, and can help reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions.

Hemp foods include cooking oil, ice cream, beer, cheese and others. It's 
high in protein as well as omega-3 fatty acids. Advocates say it's easier 
to digest than soy. Brewers say it helps beer retain a healthy head.

Still, if the move by the DEA is finalized, industry representatives say it 
could hurt a fledgling industry.

Echo Organics of Christina Lake, British Columbia, doesn't fall under the 
DEA's regulations per se. But the DEA move has already impacted Echo 
Organics' business, said company president Jodi Koberinski.

Echo Organics -- http://www.echo-oils.com/ --  which sells organic products 
and also has a processing plant -- signed a $30,000 deal with a hemp seed 
seller to process the seeds into oil. The oil was then to be sent to a 
company in California.

But when the California company heard the DEA's notice, they cancelled the 
order, leaving Echo without income it had expected and the hemp seed seller 
with surplus grain in a saturated Canadian market.

"Until people get a clear legal definition of what's going on there will 
definitely be concern on the retailer end," Koberinski said. "That was a 
huge amount of business for us. It would take us two to three months to 
come up with that income in direct sales."

Fear of THC was already preventing a viable hemp seed industry from 
emerging, says the Hemp Food Association.  -- http://www.hempfood.com/

"For such a small market (hemp seed product sales are well under $2 million 
annually in North America at retail), many companies are now in a fragile 
predicament, desperate for increased revenues in order to even achieve 
break-even and keep their doors open," said Richard Rose, president of the 
Hemp Food Association, in a statement.

A spokeswoman from Whole Foods -- http://www.wholefoods.com/ --  a chain of 
organic food stores that sells some hemp food products was unfazed.

"At this time it's not going to have any effect on us," said Kate Lowery, a 
spokeswoman for Whole Foods. "We monitor our products to make sure (they 
don't) contain any (THC)."

Koberinski worries that future technologies to detect THC could become 
increasingly sensitive, spotting traces of THC where there once seemed to 
be none.

"There's no detectable amount now, but there might be in two or four 
years," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom