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The420Guy
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Frozen waffles are the latest targets of the War on Drugs. This news may come as a surprise to consumers, unless of course they've read pages 51,539 through 51,544 in the Federal Register. The Drug Enforcement Agency now views a variety of hemp food products containing trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinols--or THC--as Schedule I narcotics under the Controlled Substances Act: in other words the same as heroin.
The newly outlawed foods are all commonly available at local health food stores and include veggie burgers, pretzels, salad oil, beer, cheese, chips, soda--in short, any food that contains hemp seed and tests positive for even small amounts of THC.
The official hatchet fell on Oct. 9, 2001, when the DEA announced that "anyone who has purchased a food or beverage product that contains THC has 120 days (until Feb. 6, 2002) to dispose of the product without penalty under federal law." The DEA has just extended that deadline, granting a 40-day grace period to purveyors of food products containing hemp.
The DEA claims that THC causes a "psychoactive effect or 'high.'" But while the cannabis varieties used for procuring wacky weed can have as much as 30 percent THC, hemp food products are made from industrial hemp that generally has less than 1 percent THC--not nearly enough to cause a high.
Those waffles may contain trace amounts of THC because "there's no such thing as a zero in nature," says John Roulac, president of Nutiva, a Sebastopol [actually Ojai CA] manufacturer of hemp bars, chips and seeds. "For instance, orange juice has minute traces of alcohol, but we don't ban orange juice for children. There's also no such thing as zero arsenic in water."
Roulac says that smoking the marijuana portion of the industrial hemp plant results in a headache, not a high. He also notes that hemp used for food is subject to a cleansing process and that the amount of THC remaining afterward is infinitesimal, no more than say, the amount of opiates in a poppy seed bagel.
Unlike the Canadian government, the United States has no official system for measuring levels of THC in foods. However, according to Canadian protocol, the hemp foods such as those manufactured by Nutiva contain no THC.
Just as poppy seeds are exempt from laws governing heroin, Congress exempted hemp products from substance abuse laws when it made marijuana illegal in 1937. However, last October the DEA enacted what is known as its "interpretive rule" in regards to hemp, saying that the agency is interpreting and enforcing an existing rule and therefore doesn't require formal rule-making procedures. Through this interpretation, those nonfood items containing hemp, such as shampoo, lotions, twine and clothing can remain on the market--at least for now.
So, should consumers thaw out their waffles and dump the hemp-seed salad dressing down the drain, for fear of a DEA-initiated food raid? DEA spokesperson Rogene Waite was vague about how the agency would enforce the rule and what the penalties might be, deferring all questions to the DEA's website instead. "As a law enforcement organization, we never talk about how we enforce things. We would never discuss our plans," she said.
David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps and chairman of the Hemp Industries Association's food and oil committee, was more forthcoming.
Bronner called the ruling "drug war paranoia," adding that it exhibited "an unbelievable arrogance on the DEA's part that they can override congressional exemption."
But for many government officials, the relationship between hemp food products and reefer is troubling. According to DEA boss Asa Hutchinson, a former GOP congressman from Arkansas, "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."
Rep. Sam Farr (D-Santa Cruz) is crooning the same tune as pretzel-prohibitor Hutchinson. Farr said he too is opposed to all hemp food, including pretzels and soda, "since they all contain a small amount of THC and since THC is an illegal drug."
That sort of attitude bewilders Melissa Minton, general manager at Community Market in Santa Rosa, a health food store that sells a wide variety of products containing hemp.
"It's hard to know what the government is thinking sometimes," Minton says. "I'd say buying a beer has a lot more negative effect on you than buying a HempNut Bar. Enforcing this kind of regulation is a waste of government money."
Because of the grace period, Community Market hasn't yet pulled any hemp products off the shelves. And even when the ban does take effect, customers will still be able to find some of their favorite products. Nutiva items will have to be pulled, Minton says, but products from another major supplier, HempNut, Inc., will still be on the shelves.
That's because HempNut, a Santa Rosa company, has managed to create products that have zero detectable THC, even by DEA's standards.
Indeed, company president Richard Rose is something of a rebel in the industry. He says all responsible food companies should be complying with the DEA Rule and creating THC-free products. "It's not expensive, and it's not difficult," Rose says. "It's just a basic cleaning process."
Rose believes even trace amounts of THC pose some risks to consumers, including a small chance of testing positive for drugs. "It's a nonapproved food additive and a controlled substance," Rose says. "We have a sacred pact with the consumer to have no contaminants in our foods."
There may be debate over the effects of trace amounts of THC. But the upside of hemp food products is increasingly clear. According to nutrition guru and popular author Dr. Andrew Weil, hemp oil's essential fatty acids boost the immune system, reduce the risk of heart attacks, promote healthy skin, hair and nails, and are useful in treating arthritis and other inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Advocates also say that hemp is second only to soybeans as a complete protein yet is more easily digestible than soy.
However healthy hemp may be, the Family Values [Research] Council, an ultra-conservative D.C.-based advocacy group, believes the products send an unhealthy, pro-drug message to children and indicate a trend toward drug legalization. The FVC [FRC], along with some who claim that ingesting hemp food products has caused them to test positive for drugs, impelled the DEA's mandate.
But Roulac doesn't think that the ban has any connection with "the usual suspects" in Big Business who might feel threatened by the growth of industrial hemp.
Hemp foods, currently a $5 million a year industry, have the potential to become the next biggest things since soy milk and tofu, Roulac said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bronner's deep sudsy pockets are providing much of the funding for the hemp industry's legal battle against the DEA. The Hemp Industries Association has filed a lawsuit in the 9th District Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
And Kenex Ltd. of Canada, the largest exporter of hemp seeds to the United States, is seeking $20 million in compensation under the North America Free Trade Agreement due to the DEA's action.
"If they [the DEA] lose they'll be in really deep shit if they go around seizing products," said Bronner. "Certainly as far as various crises for real drug abuse going on, it's amazing the DEA is devoting funds and resources to outlawing hemp seed and oil."
By Rebecca Patt
HempNut, Inc.
Fine "zero THC" hempseed foods since 1994.
Ask about our amazing "The HempNut Health and Cookbook"
richard@TheHempNut.com The Hemp Nut
Visit our online store at Ecommerce by Yahoo | Build Your Online Store quickly. 24/7 support.
Buy wholesale, 1 case minimum
The newly outlawed foods are all commonly available at local health food stores and include veggie burgers, pretzels, salad oil, beer, cheese, chips, soda--in short, any food that contains hemp seed and tests positive for even small amounts of THC.
The official hatchet fell on Oct. 9, 2001, when the DEA announced that "anyone who has purchased a food or beverage product that contains THC has 120 days (until Feb. 6, 2002) to dispose of the product without penalty under federal law." The DEA has just extended that deadline, granting a 40-day grace period to purveyors of food products containing hemp.
The DEA claims that THC causes a "psychoactive effect or 'high.'" But while the cannabis varieties used for procuring wacky weed can have as much as 30 percent THC, hemp food products are made from industrial hemp that generally has less than 1 percent THC--not nearly enough to cause a high.
Those waffles may contain trace amounts of THC because "there's no such thing as a zero in nature," says John Roulac, president of Nutiva, a Sebastopol [actually Ojai CA] manufacturer of hemp bars, chips and seeds. "For instance, orange juice has minute traces of alcohol, but we don't ban orange juice for children. There's also no such thing as zero arsenic in water."
Roulac says that smoking the marijuana portion of the industrial hemp plant results in a headache, not a high. He also notes that hemp used for food is subject to a cleansing process and that the amount of THC remaining afterward is infinitesimal, no more than say, the amount of opiates in a poppy seed bagel.
Unlike the Canadian government, the United States has no official system for measuring levels of THC in foods. However, according to Canadian protocol, the hemp foods such as those manufactured by Nutiva contain no THC.
Just as poppy seeds are exempt from laws governing heroin, Congress exempted hemp products from substance abuse laws when it made marijuana illegal in 1937. However, last October the DEA enacted what is known as its "interpretive rule" in regards to hemp, saying that the agency is interpreting and enforcing an existing rule and therefore doesn't require formal rule-making procedures. Through this interpretation, those nonfood items containing hemp, such as shampoo, lotions, twine and clothing can remain on the market--at least for now.
So, should consumers thaw out their waffles and dump the hemp-seed salad dressing down the drain, for fear of a DEA-initiated food raid? DEA spokesperson Rogene Waite was vague about how the agency would enforce the rule and what the penalties might be, deferring all questions to the DEA's website instead. "As a law enforcement organization, we never talk about how we enforce things. We would never discuss our plans," she said.
David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps and chairman of the Hemp Industries Association's food and oil committee, was more forthcoming.
Bronner called the ruling "drug war paranoia," adding that it exhibited "an unbelievable arrogance on the DEA's part that they can override congressional exemption."
But for many government officials, the relationship between hemp food products and reefer is troubling. According to DEA boss Asa Hutchinson, a former GOP congressman from Arkansas, "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."
Rep. Sam Farr (D-Santa Cruz) is crooning the same tune as pretzel-prohibitor Hutchinson. Farr said he too is opposed to all hemp food, including pretzels and soda, "since they all contain a small amount of THC and since THC is an illegal drug."
That sort of attitude bewilders Melissa Minton, general manager at Community Market in Santa Rosa, a health food store that sells a wide variety of products containing hemp.
"It's hard to know what the government is thinking sometimes," Minton says. "I'd say buying a beer has a lot more negative effect on you than buying a HempNut Bar. Enforcing this kind of regulation is a waste of government money."
Because of the grace period, Community Market hasn't yet pulled any hemp products off the shelves. And even when the ban does take effect, customers will still be able to find some of their favorite products. Nutiva items will have to be pulled, Minton says, but products from another major supplier, HempNut, Inc., will still be on the shelves.
That's because HempNut, a Santa Rosa company, has managed to create products that have zero detectable THC, even by DEA's standards.
Indeed, company president Richard Rose is something of a rebel in the industry. He says all responsible food companies should be complying with the DEA Rule and creating THC-free products. "It's not expensive, and it's not difficult," Rose says. "It's just a basic cleaning process."
Rose believes even trace amounts of THC pose some risks to consumers, including a small chance of testing positive for drugs. "It's a nonapproved food additive and a controlled substance," Rose says. "We have a sacred pact with the consumer to have no contaminants in our foods."
There may be debate over the effects of trace amounts of THC. But the upside of hemp food products is increasingly clear. According to nutrition guru and popular author Dr. Andrew Weil, hemp oil's essential fatty acids boost the immune system, reduce the risk of heart attacks, promote healthy skin, hair and nails, and are useful in treating arthritis and other inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Advocates also say that hemp is second only to soybeans as a complete protein yet is more easily digestible than soy.
However healthy hemp may be, the Family Values [Research] Council, an ultra-conservative D.C.-based advocacy group, believes the products send an unhealthy, pro-drug message to children and indicate a trend toward drug legalization. The FVC [FRC], along with some who claim that ingesting hemp food products has caused them to test positive for drugs, impelled the DEA's mandate.
But Roulac doesn't think that the ban has any connection with "the usual suspects" in Big Business who might feel threatened by the growth of industrial hemp.
Hemp foods, currently a $5 million a year industry, have the potential to become the next biggest things since soy milk and tofu, Roulac said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bronner's deep sudsy pockets are providing much of the funding for the hemp industry's legal battle against the DEA. The Hemp Industries Association has filed a lawsuit in the 9th District Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
And Kenex Ltd. of Canada, the largest exporter of hemp seeds to the United States, is seeking $20 million in compensation under the North America Free Trade Agreement due to the DEA's action.
"If they [the DEA] lose they'll be in really deep shit if they go around seizing products," said Bronner. "Certainly as far as various crises for real drug abuse going on, it's amazing the DEA is devoting funds and resources to outlawing hemp seed and oil."
By Rebecca Patt
HempNut, Inc.
Fine "zero THC" hempseed foods since 1994.
Ask about our amazing "The HempNut Health and Cookbook"
richard@TheHempNut.com The Hemp Nut
Visit our online store at Ecommerce by Yahoo | Build Your Online Store quickly. 24/7 support.
Buy wholesale, 1 case minimum
