Article: FDA's Hemp Ban Goes Up In Smoke

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FDA's Hemp Ban Goes Up in Smoke

Laurie Budgar

 

4/1/2004 2:32:05 PM

 

In a landmark decision Feb. 6, a three-judge federal panel overruled the

DEA's ban on using hemp in foods.

 

For years, a tug of war has been brewing between the U.S. Drug

Enforcement Administration and those who believe that hemp has a

rightful place in foods. Now, the DEA has let go of its end of the rope.

In a landmark decision Feb. 6, a three-judge federal panel overruled the

DEA's ban on using hemp in foods.

 

The DEA issued an " interpretive rule " in October 2001, and a final rule

in March 2003, which sought to ban the use of hemp seed or oil in foods,

out of concern that consumers might become intoxicated after consuming

hemp-based foods. THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, is

present in concentrations of less than 1 percent in hemp.

 

The Hemp Industries Association fought a two-and-a-half-year battle

against the ban, achieving a stay on each of the DEA's rules and

culminating in February's ruling. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the

Ninth Circuit ruled that in its ban, DEA had improperly placed naturally

occurring THC, from nonpsychoactive parts of the cannabis plant, on

Schedule I of controlled substances. " The DEA has no authority to

regulate drugs that are not scheduled, and it has not followed

procedures required to schedule a substance, " the panel wrote.

 

Because of HIA's interim victories, " hemp foods were never made

illegal, " said David Bronner, chairman of HIA's Food and Oil Committee

and president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in Escondido, Calif.

 

Because of hemp's taste and nutritional profile-the seeds are seen as a

rich source of protein, essential fatty acids and amino acids-observers

like Bronner expect consumer demand to be " pretty phenomenal. " Even

while its legal status was threatened, hemp foods raked in more than $10

million last year, according to nutraingredients.com, a Web site for the

food industry.

 

Nondairy milks made from hemp nuts could join more traditional hemp

products, such as granola and breads. " I really believe that the hemp

seed has the potential to be as big as the soy industry, " said Eric

Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp, a nonprofit advocacy group in

Washington, D.C.

 

Not everyone agrees. Richard Rose, a hemp seed importer, thinks Vote

Hemp did more harm than good. " Ironically, Vote Hemp's suit and

injunction against DEA to stop the rule actually re-criminalized hemp,

and caused the most severe sales and credibility slump in modern hemp

food history, " he said in a recent e-mail exchange from his Amsterdam

office. " It was a pure publicity stunt, from start to finish. "

 

Rose hinted that hemp food activists had as an ulterior motive the

legalization of marijuana, and merely rode the legitimate coattails of

the hemp food industry into the courtroom. " A few hemp activists not

actually in the hemp food business saw it as their last chance to build

a bigger hemp activist organization. "

 

If the industry can overcome such obstacles, and separate " the rope from

the dope, " opportunities are great. " The potential market as a vegan,

organic source of omega-3, GLA and ultra-efficient protein is over $500

million, " Rose said. Once the novelty wears off, manufacturers won't use

a food's hemp ingredients as a marketing strategy. " The four-letter

H-word won't be on labels as prominently anymore, and 'hemp companies'

will transform into 'omega-3 companies,' " Rose predicted. That's

already happening in Canada, where hemp foods have been legal since

1998. An example is Toronto-based Natural Emphasis, which markets its

Fuel Bars as a " delicious and nourishing " source of energy. The only

place you'll find mention of hemp is in its ingredient statement.

 

Bronner looks to Canada for a road map of where the industry could go.

" In dollars, the market [in the two countries] is roughly the same,

which means it's about 10 times bigger per capita " in Canada, where hemp

has a supportive regulatory environment, he said.

 

While possession or use of hemp has never been illegal in the United

States, many retailers refused to carry products with hemp after the DEA

issued its rulings. " We still find resistance, " said David Neuman, vice

president of sales and marketing for British Columbia-based Nature's

Path, which makes cereal and waffles with hemp, as well as non-hemp

foods. " They put enough scare in that big chains question the legality

of hemp-what if it does show trace amounts of THC? What if DEA does

enforce a ban? "

 

Here, Rose agrees. " No wholesale buyer wants to be the idiot that got

fired for bringing in hemp foods and getting the company in trouble. "

 

Even among natural foods stores, retailers seem to be taking a

wait-and-see approach. " We're not seeing an overwhelming movement toward

the hemp products, " Neuman said. He hopes that with education, retailers

will come around. " There has never been any action against any retailer "

who carried hemp products.

 

Besides, " It's a really clean ruling, " said Bronner, emphasizing that

the judges, including noted conservative Alex Kozinski, voted

unanimously. " It can't be characterized as liberal vs. conservative,

just common sense vs. absurdity. "

 

" I don't think it's the consumers that are worried, " Neuman added. " It's

the retailers that have a paranoia. "

 

Bronner predicted that big manufacturers will show interest in hemp

foods once they feel a little more secure in the ban's defeat. Neuman

agreed. " I think you'll see a lot of other companies step up to the

plate. "

 

Natural Foods Merchandiser volume XXV/number 4/p. 7, 16