A bitter food fight has broken out between the U.S. government and manufacturers of certain beers, bread, pretzels, cereals, granola bars and butterlike spreads that contain hemp.
For years, health food manufacturers have touted the plant's seeds and oil as something close to a miracle nutrient, high in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, and richer in protein than meat and fish.
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS.
In Wednesday's Good Eating section, a story on foods containing hemp stated that retailers faced a March 18 deadline from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to remove such items from their shelves. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay that prevents the DEA from enforcing its rule until the court decides the case. Oral arguments are scheduled for April.
But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says hemp is on a par with marijuana. Not only is hemp part of the same plant, but it also contains small amounts of the same psychoactive substance that gives a joint its jolt.
The debate has landed before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which may determine as early as next month whether hemp foods can continue to be sold.
The decision will have strong repercussions in California, home to more hemp food manufacturers than any other state. Already, the issue has caused rifts within the small but vocal $5 million hemp food industry, confusion among retailers and anxiety among consumers who fear they might not be able to buy the products much longer.
"The United States is the only country that refuses to make a distinction between industrial hemp and the marijuana drug," says David Bronner of Escondido, Calif. He is president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, which contains hemp oil, and chairman of the Hemp Industry Association's food and oils committee. "What the DEA is doing is ridiculous."
But DEA officials say they are merely interpreting existing drug laws, not expanding them to encompass products once considered acceptable.
The ruckus started Oct. 9, when the DEA issued a new rule on industrial hemp products in the Federal Register, which publishes federal regulations, executive orders, proclamations and proposed rules. The rule banned from food products any hemp seed and oil containing any trace of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active substance found in marijuana.
Manufacturers and retailers initially were given until Feb. 6 to stop making and selling the products, but that deadline has been extended to March 18 to give the appellate court time to rule. (Hemp clothing and cosmetics, such as Bronner's soap, already are exempt because they do not cause THC to enter the body.)
No taint to test
The Hemp Industry Association says studies have shown that the trace amounts of THC in hemp foods cannot cause a high or result in a positive urine test for marijuana, even when unrealistically high amounts of hemp seed and oil are consumed.
The amount of THC in industrial hemp oil, according to the association, is 0.0005 percent; in shelled hemp seed, it is 0.00015 percent. In comparison, it's about 10 percent in the illegal street drug, according to the Hemp Industry Association.
Hemp has been grown for at least 5,000 years in China for its health properties, which include use as an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, emollient and a diuretic, according to the association. But hemp foods didn't start appearing on U.S. store shelves until about 1992. Hemp seeds resemble sesame seeds with a taste described as similar to pine nuts or sunflower seeds. Some people say that certain hemp foods leave a strong, medicinal aftertaste.
Manufacturers argue that their products are being singled out. Poppy-seed bagels, they note, contain a trace amount of opiate from poppies. Decaffeinated coffee contains a minuscule amount of caffeine. Nyquil lists alcohol as its first ingredient. And kava kava, an herbal supplement, is used as a mood-altering drink by Pacific Islanders and has been linked to liver toxicity cases in some European countries.
But Congress specifically exempted poppy seeds from substance-abuse laws in 1970. And caffeine, alcohol and kava kava are not covered under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.
"The act doesn't just name marijuana. It also names THC. That is the key difference," says DEA spokesman Will Glaspy.
The fight for hemp
In January, the Hemp Industry Association went on the counter-attack, filing an appeal in federal court to overturn the new DEA rule. Additionally, Kenex Ltd. of Canada, the largest exporter of hemp seed to the United States, has filed a notice of intent to sue the government under the North American Free Trade Agreement for impeding its access to U.S. markets. (U.S. laws already prevent hemp from being cultivated here.)
Although the DEA began studying hemp foods before George W. Bush took office, some hemp proponents believe the timing of the new rule is not a coincidence. A few have even accused the DEA of purposely waiting until after Sept. 11 in hopes the new rule would be overlooked by a nation preoccupied with terrorism, a charge the DEA calls preposterous.
Hemp products accounted for about $25 million in sales in 2000, mostly for clothing and cosmetics. Only about 20 companies make hemp foods, but food is considered the fastest-growing sector.