U.S. Hemp Industry Wins Battle with DEA

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U.S. Hemp Industry Wins Battle with DEA

 

by Ron Chepesiuk

 

The fight concerning whether byproducts of the hemp plant

can be used for food and other consumables has drawn to a close, with the

Drug Enforcement Agency's rules costing the federal government $21k.

Feb. 16, 2005 – The US hemp industry?s

three-year battle with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ended

early this month when a federal court in San Francisco delivered a final

blow to the government, ordered it to pay $21,265 in legal expenses to

Dr. Bronner?s Magic Soaps. The California-based company has used hemp oil

-- an extract from a plant similar to that which produces the drug

marijuana -- in its soap products since 1998, and has largely financed a

fight by the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) to overturn DEA efforts to

ban the sale of foods containing hemp byproducts.

 

The ruling came about a year after the same court found that the DEA does

not have jurisdiction to regulate products made from hemp, and it

affirmed the hemp industry?s argument that the position held by the DEA

on hemp products was never justified. The ruling awarded reimbursement of

partial legal fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which allows

for awards to litigants when they prevail over the government when the

government?s position is deemed not to have been " substantially

justified. "

" It?s a sweet victory and certainly an embarrassment to the

DEA, " said David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner?s Magic Soaps, in

an interview with The NewStandard. " It proves that the DEA?s

attempt to ban hemp never had any legal merit. "

Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp, an advocacy body for the US hemp

industry, said, " The court ruled that the DEA had overstepped its

authority, and its decision reaffirms the legal status of hemp as a food

ingredient. "

The DEA?s war on hemp began in 2001 when it claimed

jurisdiction over hemp products under the controlled substance

statutes.The 9th Circuit ruled in February 2004

that the DEA had ignored Congress?s exemption to the Controlled Substance

Act (CSA), which specifically excludes hemp seed, fiber and oil from

government regulation, and agreed with the HIA that hemp seeds contain

just minor traces of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in

marijuana -- much like poppy seeds contain insignificant amounts of

opiates.

 

 

" Nobody has ever been able to block the DEA in court from

interpreting the law the way it wanted, " said Adam Eidinger, Vote

Hemp?s communications director. " The court decision was

three-to-zero, and even the Reagan appointee on the court agreed with us.

It was a reality check for the DEA. "

The DEA?s war on hemp began in 2001 when it claimed jurisdiction over

hemp products under the controlled substance statutes. Because hemp

contained THC, the DEA said it had the right to regulate hemp products.

The move generated a large public outcry, and in 2002, 25 members of

Congress wrote a letter to the DEA telling the agency that its

interpretive rule attempting to ban edible hemp seed or oil products

containing any THC was " overly restrictive. "

Its battle with the DEA put tremendous strain on the hemp

industry, which devoted resources, as well as time and energy, to the

legal fight. For its part, the HIA, a trade group

representing the interests of hemp businesses and working to encourage

research and development of new hemp products, fought back aggressively.

It held two so-called " DEA Hemp Food Taste Tests, " one in

September 2001 and the other in April 2002, the day the DEA?s rule on

hemp was to take effect. The association gave away free hemp food

products -- margarine, energy bars and pretzels, for example -- at DEA

offices located in 65 US cities.

" I figured out a way to get a list of the DEA office locations

nationwide, " Bronner confided. " It wasn?t easy because the

locations are classified and the offices operate very secretively. We put

a notice on the Internet and made many phone calls asking activists

around the country to help us give away hemp food. Then we called the

media and asked them to cover what we were doing. We were trying to show

that hemp products should be legal. If the DEA wanted to arrest us, so be

it. We got tremendous press coverage. "

The DEA?s arbitrary interpretation of the CSA, however, was shot down in

federal court, first in March 2002, when the court granted a temporary

restraining order over DEA action on its ruling, and then when the 9th

Circuit granted a permanent injunction.

But the battle with the DEA put tremendous strain on the hemp industry,

which devoted resources, as well as time and energy, to the legal fight.

The HIA spent nearly $200,000 on the legal battle, Bronner revealed.

" There was no guarantee of winning in court, and many stores began

taking hemp products off the shelves, lest it appear that they were

selling illegal drugs, " he said. " Many companies in our

industry faced the real possibly that they would go out of

business. "

" We wasted three years in court, " added Johanna Schultz, the

Albion, California-based public relations director of the Hemp Industries

Association. " It?s time we could have spent growing our

industry. "

In making its case to ban hemp, the DEA claimed that the use of hemp

products could cause a false positive reading on drug tests. Hemp

activists maintain that companies in the hemp industry voluntarily

observe reasonable THC limits similar to those observed by hemp

businesses in Canada and European countries, and that these limits

protect consumers with a wide margin of safety from workplace drug

testing interference.

Manufacturers of hemp nut and oil products in North America also

participate in a TestPledge program, hemp activists pointed out.

Manufacturers pledge to hold the THC in hemp nut and oil at levels that

render failing a drug test extremely unlikely, even when a person

consumes large amounts of those products on a daily basis.

As for personal care products made with hemp seed oil, Eidinger said,

" In recent years, a handful of people have alleged that they failed

workplace drug tests because of using hemp oil products on the skin. Such

allegations were routinely proven false, and there has yet to be a case

in which someone was excused [from work] due to the use of hemp oil

personal care products. "

Additionally, the hemp industry trumpets the nutritional value of the

plant, parts of which are high in protein, vitamins and essential fats.

 

On July 2, 2004, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the

DEA?s petition for a re-hearing of the case. The DEA had the option of

appealing the decision to the US Supreme Court, but the allotted time for

an appeal expired on September 28, 2004. " There is no turning

back, " Steenstra said. " The court decision is now the law of

the land, which makes it difficult for the DEA to try a new tactic to ban

hemp. "

The hemp industry is excited about the future now that the DEA-generated

cloud hanging over its head has been removed. " We can now focus on

developing programs that educate consumers about hemp and work towards

legalizing the production of industrial hemp in this country, "

Schultz said.

In a press release, the HIA noted: " The recently revived global hemp

market is a tremendous commercial success. Unfortunately, due to drug war

paranoia, the DEA confuses non-psychoactive industrial hemp varieties of

cannabis with psychoactive varieties, and the US is the only major

industrialized nation to prohibit the growing of industrialized

hemp. "

The HIA has been lobbying members of the House and Senate agricultural

committees to change the situation and is working with Representative Ron

Paul (R-Texas) to draft an industrial hemp bill. The HIA?s goal is to see

the bill introduced into the current congressional session. " We want

American farmers to have the opportunity to grow industrial hemp without

being harassed by the DEA, " Eidinger said.

Dr. Bronner?s Magic Soaps will give some of the money it is awarded from

the DEA to this legislative effort. The rest will be used to help finance

industrial hemp studies in Canada. " A lot of big corporate players

are interested in launching hemp products, but were reluctant to do so

because of the DEA ruling, " Bronner revealed. " The court ruling

is going to really open up the hemp market. "

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http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/1485

[Guest guest]

IT'S ABOUT TIME......HEMP HAS OVER TWENTY -FIVE THOUSAND KNOWN INDUSTRIAL,

COMMERCIAL AND AGRICULTURAL USES!......READ CHRIS CONRAD'S BOOK, " HEMP,

LIFE LINE TO THE FUTURE " , AT CHRISCONRAD.COM! KRAIG

Kraig Carroll

Environmental Damage Repair

 

 

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