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Feb. 9th, 2004 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheCourt Win Opens Doors for Hemp Food
[L]ate last week a federal appeals court ruled that the Drug Enforcement Administration cannot prevent sales of hemp foods, dismissing the government's argument that it has the right to regulate food that contains traces of tetrahydrocannibinol (THC). THC is the compound that gives marijuana its psychoactive effects and is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, thus illegal for consumption.
[...] The court said hemp seeds and oil used in food were naturally occurring and weren't considered marijuana, and as such fell outside the definition of a Schedule I drug.
Moreover, the court concluded, the DEA tried to change the definition of THC to include food products without following precise federal requirements for reclassifying a drug.
"The DEA has no authority to regulate drugs that are not scheduled, and it has not followed procedures required to schedule a substance," wrote Judge Betty Fletcher.
[...] Hemp advocates believe it is unlikely the DEA will appeal, in large part because the judges' decision was unanimous and one judge on the panel, Reagan appointee Alex Kozinski, is a well-respected conservative jurist whose opinions hold sway even with conservative Supreme Court justices.
During a Sept. 17, 2003, hearing, Kozinski asked how the DEA's efforts would differ from an attempt to outlaw poppy-seed bagels. The seeds can contain trace amounts of opiates.
[L]ate last week a federal appeals court ruled that the Drug Enforcement Administration cannot prevent sales of hemp foods, dismissing the government's argument that it has the right to regulate food that contains traces of tetrahydrocannibinol (THC). THC is the compound that gives marijuana its psychoactive effects and is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, thus illegal for consumption.
[...] The court said hemp seeds and oil used in food were naturally occurring and weren't considered marijuana, and as such fell outside the definition of a Schedule I drug.
Moreover, the court concluded, the DEA tried to change the definition of THC to include food products without following precise federal requirements for reclassifying a drug.
"The DEA has no authority to regulate drugs that are not scheduled, and it has not followed procedures required to schedule a substance," wrote Judge Betty Fletcher.
[...] Hemp advocates believe it is unlikely the DEA will appeal, in large part because the judges' decision was unanimous and one judge on the panel, Reagan appointee Alex Kozinski, is a well-respected conservative jurist whose opinions hold sway even with conservative Supreme Court justices.
During a Sept. 17, 2003, hearing, Kozinski asked how the DEA's efforts would differ from an attempt to outlaw poppy-seed bagels. The seeds can contain trace amounts of opiates.