SmokeDog420
New Member
Makers of hemp foods, who waged a 2 1/2-year fight with the federal
government, won a major victory Friday when a federal appeals court
ruled unanimously that their beers, bread, cereals, granola bars,
waffles and other products can stay on supermarket shelves.
Nowhere was the decision by San Francisco's 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals more hailed than in California, home to more hemp-food
manufacturers than any other state.
"It's a great day for us, and I'm looking forward to offering hemp
foods without having the shadow of government trying to slow us
down," said John Roulac, a plaintiff and founder of Nutiva, a
Sebastopol company that makes hemp-food bars and hemp chips.
The three-judge panel overturned a federal rule that would have banned
the sale of foods made from sterilized hemp seeds and oil, which
contain trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the
hallucinogenic substance found in marijuana.
The Hemp Industry Association, an Occidental-based group representing
hemp-product manufacturers, maintained that the trace amounts of THC
in hemp foods cannot cause psychoactivity or a positive urine test for
marijuana, even if unrealistically high levels of hemp seed and oil
were consumed. Moreover, health-food manufacturers touted hemp seed
and oil as a near-miracle nutrient that's high in vitamin E and
essential fatty acids, and richer in protein than meat and fish.
The manufacturers argued they were unfairly singled out by the
government. After all, they noted, poppy-seed bagels contain a trace
amount of opiate from poppies, and they're not banned.
But Congress exempted poppy seeds from substance-abuse laws in 1970,
while both THC and marijuana remain under the Controlled Substances
Act.
In October 2001, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a new
rule in the Federal Register banning from food any hemp seed and oil
containing traces of THC. The Hemp Industry Association went to
federal court in January 2002 to overturn the rule. DEA
representatives Friday declined to comment on whether they would
appeal the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.
Hemp has been grown for at least 5,000 years in China, where it is
used as an anti-inflammatory, emollient and diuretic, according to the
association. But hemp foods didn't begin to appear in U.S. stores
until about 1992. Today, they account for about $5 million a year in
sales.
Lynn Gordon, part-owner and founder of French Meadow Bakery, which
makes the top-selling hemp bread in the country, couldn't be more
pleased about the court's decision. During the legal fight, many
stores pulled her bread from their shelves because of the uncertainty
about hemp foods.
"It really impacted us," Gordon said. "Retailers were reticent
about bringing the product back because the legal issue was still
ongoing. The time and labor that went into trying to convince them was
unbelievable. I'm just glad it's over now, and we can move forward,
and bring out new products that we've been waiting to
introduce."
Pubdate: Sat, 7 Feb 2004
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2004 San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: BayArea.com
government, won a major victory Friday when a federal appeals court
ruled unanimously that their beers, bread, cereals, granola bars,
waffles and other products can stay on supermarket shelves.
Nowhere was the decision by San Francisco's 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals more hailed than in California, home to more hemp-food
manufacturers than any other state.
"It's a great day for us, and I'm looking forward to offering hemp
foods without having the shadow of government trying to slow us
down," said John Roulac, a plaintiff and founder of Nutiva, a
Sebastopol company that makes hemp-food bars and hemp chips.
The three-judge panel overturned a federal rule that would have banned
the sale of foods made from sterilized hemp seeds and oil, which
contain trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the
hallucinogenic substance found in marijuana.
The Hemp Industry Association, an Occidental-based group representing
hemp-product manufacturers, maintained that the trace amounts of THC
in hemp foods cannot cause psychoactivity or a positive urine test for
marijuana, even if unrealistically high levels of hemp seed and oil
were consumed. Moreover, health-food manufacturers touted hemp seed
and oil as a near-miracle nutrient that's high in vitamin E and
essential fatty acids, and richer in protein than meat and fish.
The manufacturers argued they were unfairly singled out by the
government. After all, they noted, poppy-seed bagels contain a trace
amount of opiate from poppies, and they're not banned.
But Congress exempted poppy seeds from substance-abuse laws in 1970,
while both THC and marijuana remain under the Controlled Substances
Act.
In October 2001, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a new
rule in the Federal Register banning from food any hemp seed and oil
containing traces of THC. The Hemp Industry Association went to
federal court in January 2002 to overturn the rule. DEA
representatives Friday declined to comment on whether they would
appeal the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.
Hemp has been grown for at least 5,000 years in China, where it is
used as an anti-inflammatory, emollient and diuretic, according to the
association. But hemp foods didn't begin to appear in U.S. stores
until about 1992. Today, they account for about $5 million a year in
sales.
Lynn Gordon, part-owner and founder of French Meadow Bakery, which
makes the top-selling hemp bread in the country, couldn't be more
pleased about the court's decision. During the legal fight, many
stores pulled her bread from their shelves because of the uncertainty
about hemp foods.
"It really impacted us," Gordon said. "Retailers were reticent
about bringing the product back because the legal issue was still
ongoing. The time and labor that went into trying to convince them was
unbelievable. I'm just glad it's over now, and we can move forward,
and bring out new products that we've been waiting to
introduce."
Pubdate: Sat, 7 Feb 2004
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2004 San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: BayArea.com
