By Elizabeth Semmelmann
Flagstaff Resident

Before the Buddha came into his spiritual inheritance, he meditated for five years. Every day he would eat a single hemp seed, nothing else, until the day of enlightenment. So the legend goes.  

But now the legality of this hemp seed is being taken away from U.S. citizens. On Oct. 9, 2001, in an extremely under-publicized move and for no apparent reason, the Drug Enforcement Agency decreed that edible hemp with any amount of THC, the psychoactive chemical also found in marijuana, is illegal, effective immediately. Without providing the public notice and comment period as required by the Administrative Procedure Act, the DEA issued an Interpretive Rule, classifying edible hemp as a Schedule I drug. Citizens have until Feb. 6, 2002 to dispose of their edible hemp products. Edible hemp can be found in beer, cheese, coffee, corn chips, energy drinks, flour, ice cream, snack bars, salad oil, soda and veggie burgers. The DEA press release states that edible hemp products containing THC "may not be manufactured, sold, or consumed in the United States." In its press release, the DEA says it is interested in "protecting the health and safety of all Americans."

Edible hemp and other hemp products have been steadily increasing in sales and popularity in recent years. In Flagstaff, local merchants found the nutritive value of hemp attractive. For instance, The Village Baker has sold hemp bread, and Morning Glory Café has offered hemp burgers, and other hemp treats. Health food stores such as Mountain Harvest and New Frontiers have also carried hemp foods. According to Gero Leson and Petra Pless's book, Hemp Foods and Oils for Health, "Hemp seeds are a rich source of essential amino and fatty acids ... Hemp is a strong rival to soy as a protein source." Furthermore, they state that edible hemp is successfully used for treating eczema, acne, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, Prementrual Syndrome and menopause.

Bill Gobus, former owner of Flagstaff Hemp Company (closed in December for unrelated reasons), can't get enough of it. "I eat hemp food. I plan on continuing to eat it for as long as I can find it, since it's my best source of nutrition."

 The DEA claims in their Interpretive Rule that "any material, compound, mixture, or preparation, which contains any quantity of THC is a Schedule I controlled substance," according to the Controlled Substances Act legislation of 1937 and 1970. The 1970 legislation, however, stipulated that "oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant ... or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination," is not to be classified as marijuana. In 1937 and again in 1970, Congress exempted edible hemp from the Schedule I classification because it was not marijuana, in the same way that they exempted poppy seeds because they were not opium.

The amounts of THC found in hulled seeds are less than 2 parts per million, or 0.0002 percent. Seeds are legally required to be sterilized before being brought into the United States. According to Leson and Pless, "A single dose of 5 milligrams of THC causes no acute intoxication or chronic detrimental effects in a person weighing 150" lbs. To become intoxicated, one would have to consume 1 pint of hemp oil containing 10 ppm THC or 5 (pounds) of hulled hemp seeds at 2 ppm THC. Seeds and other edible hemp products are too low in THC to have any narcotic effects.

 Local public reaction to DEA's decision spans the spectrum, from paranoia and fear, to casualness, to ignorance. Katie Harris, owner of Mountain Harvest, has had reassurance from her hemp food suppliers. "People are freaking out about this and it's not really a big deal," she says. The company she receives hemp products from, Hempnut, issued a letter. Harris summarized it as saying, "It's not really a big deal and people need to relax." Her impression of the DEA's ruling is "They don't want hemp with THC ... they want it all off the shelf. I have a hard time believing they're going to come to Flagstaff to enforce these laws."

Jim Molesa, Public Information Officer for the Phoenix DEA office, said the DEA would enforce the edible hemp laws like all other controlled substances. "When we find them with (hemp products), we arrest them," says Molesa.

Some local businesses are very concerned about the DEA decision, but declined to be quoted for this story. But Gobus is outspoken about the decision. "It's a little bit of absurdity on top of a big pile of absurdity," he says. "If edible hemp is outlawed, it would be like outlawing my hemp hat. As an adult, I resent being told what is allowed by the government."

 Molesa says that his department is simply "enforcing a law made by Congress" in the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Revealing possible reasons as to why the DEA decided to take this action, he acknowledges, "You cannot grow hemp without growing marijuana."

Meanwhile, the conservative Family Research Council has stated: "Food with hemp seed is sending a pro-drug message to children and is camouflage for a campaign to legalize marijuana."

Gobus is certain that hemp body products will be targeted next. Although the DEA specifies that hemp body products are not illegal in their Interim Rule (in effect until the Interpretive Rule takes effect Feb. 6), the legal status of hemp products is ambiguous at best, since many of them contain trace amounts of THC. According to Molesa, this isn't their intention. "Hemp is not illegal. Growing hemp, that's the illegal part."

 The future of edible hemp is uncertain. Gobus thinks the government "will require hemp food companies to sign up, get rid of it, or get certified." He refers to the tax stamp of 1937, saying the government will drive up the price of hemp and "manipulate the laws, to drive the hemp food people out of business." 

 Legal action has been taken by seven major hemp food companies, challenging the legality of the DEA action.

Concerned citizens can find information at www.votehemp.org, where they can send comments to Congress, and find pro-hemp politicians to vote for in the future. Other hemp Web sites:
Norml.org, Hightimes.com, Firstgov.gov, Levellers.org.

Elizabeth Semmelmann  enjoys all forms of ethnic dance, reading, cooking and running. She graduated from NAU with an English major in 1999. E-mail: stargoddess8@yahoo.com.