Pubdate: Tue, 12 Oct 1999
Source: Ontario Farmer (CN ON)
Copyright: 1999 Ontario Farmer Publications
Page: Front Page
Contact:  Box 7400, London, Ontario N5Y 4X3 Canada
Fax: (519) 473-2256
Website: http://www.ontariofarmer.com/
Author: Patrick Gallagher
See: http://hempembargo.com/

CANADIAN HEMP SEED SEIZED AT U.S. BORDER

A Processing Spokesman Says The U.s. Action Stymies The Market For The Up
To 30,000 Acres Of Hemp

An Ontario hemp producer has found out what the U.S. war on drugs is all
about. The U.S. Customs Service seized a shipment of hemp seed at a
Windsor-Detroit border crossing that was bound from a Chatham company to a
California buyer in August. The U.S. said it was all part of its overall
clampdown on the drug trade. The 20 tonne load of sterilized hemp seed was
to be used for birdseed and had been processed from industrial hemp grown
in Ontario.

Kenex, a hemp producer which had as much as 2,000 planted acres in 1998, is
fighting with U.S. officials in order to get the trade embargo overturned
as soon possible. But company spokesman Jean Laprise said the U.S. has yet
to reconsider its decision to impound the hemp seed.

"It's truly harassment. There’s no ground for this action at all," said
Laprise from his Chatham farm last week.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and U.S. Customs took the action in August
in part because the U.S. government rarely recognizes any distinctions when
it comes to marijuana and commercial hemp. While smoking marijuana can
produce a high, smoking hemp has no effect on the user.

"Far from enforcing the law the U.S. is making up the law, the U.S. is
making up the law," says Laprise. "Clearly under U.S. law, sterilized hemp
seed is exempted from the list of controlled substances. The seizure makes
no sense at all."

Laprise said the confiscated load of birdseed is worth as much as $40,000
Canadian. The U.S. is also threatening Kenex with $500,000 in fines if the
company does not recall 17 previous shipments.

Canada declared hemp a legitimate crop more than a year ago and production
has sprung up across Canada with as much as 30,000 acres planted. Hemp
produces a number of byproducts including birdseed, edible and cosmetic
grade oil, animal bedding and fiber for a number of industrial applications.

Laprise said it was an important viable crop for Canadian farmers and
border disputes are the last thing that Canadian exporters need as the
industry tries to get off the ground.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency issued a statement saying it defines hemp
as marijuana. It said the hemp seed could be contaminated with THC, the
psychoactive component of marijuana that gives a high to a smoker.

Laprise said Kenex tried the low-key administrative route to see if the
U.S. would reverse its decision. "We first thought it was a mistake and it
would work itself out quietly. That has not been the case."

He said there was lots of lobbying taking place on both sides of the border
to get the issue resolved. The Canadian government is now pressing the
matter as a trade issue with the U.S. government.

It the issue in not resolved quickly, Laprise said the hemp industry in
Canada could be seriously curtailed. "Right now it has basically shut us
down."

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