T
The420Guy
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SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court Monday overturned a Drug
Enforcement Administration ban on the sale of food containing the marijuana
relative hemp, saying the agency failed to give adequate public notice.
The 2-1 ruling by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not
address the merits of the ban itself, but merely determined whether the
government followed proper procedure when it announced the rule in October
2001.
Separately, the hemp industry is challenging the ban itself, and the rule
is on the hold in the meantime.
Hemp is an industrial plant related to marijuana. Fiber from hemp plants
long has been used to make paper, clothing, rope and other products. Its
oil is found in lotions, soap and cosmetics and in a host of foods,
including energy bars, waffles, milk-free cheese, veggie burgers and bread.
In 2001, the DEA declared that foods containing even trace amounts of
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC - the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana
and sometimes in hemp - are banned under the Controlled Substances Act.
DEA attorney Daniel Dormont told the appeals court that the agency banned
food made with hemp because there is no way of knowing whether some of the
products may get people high.
Hemp food sellers insist their products do not contain enough THC to get
anyone high.
DAVID KRAVETS
Associated Press
Enforcement Administration ban on the sale of food containing the marijuana
relative hemp, saying the agency failed to give adequate public notice.
The 2-1 ruling by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not
address the merits of the ban itself, but merely determined whether the
government followed proper procedure when it announced the rule in October
2001.
Separately, the hemp industry is challenging the ban itself, and the rule
is on the hold in the meantime.
Hemp is an industrial plant related to marijuana. Fiber from hemp plants
long has been used to make paper, clothing, rope and other products. Its
oil is found in lotions, soap and cosmetics and in a host of foods,
including energy bars, waffles, milk-free cheese, veggie burgers and bread.
In 2001, the DEA declared that foods containing even trace amounts of
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC - the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana
and sometimes in hemp - are banned under the Controlled Substances Act.
DEA attorney Daniel Dormont told the appeals court that the agency banned
food made with hemp because there is no way of knowing whether some of the
products may get people high.
Hemp food sellers insist their products do not contain enough THC to get
anyone high.
DAVID KRAVETS
Associated Press
