HIA Receives Final Victory in Hemp Food Battle

HIA Receives Final Victory in Hemp Food Battle

WASHINGTON--The Bush Administration will not appeal the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Feb. 6, 2004, decision in the case of HIA versus DEA protecting the sale and consumption of hemp food products in the United States.

This is a huge victory for the hemp industry, David Bronner, chair of Hemp Industries Associations (HIA) Food and Oil Committee and president of Alpsnack/Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps, said in a statement. The Bush Administrations decision not to appeal the Ninth Circuits decision from earlier this year means the three-year-old legal battle over hemp seed products is finally over.

After denying the Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) petition for an En Banc rehearing, the courts June 28, 2004 decision gave the Bush Administration until Sept. 26 to appeal to the Supreme Court. The denial for an En Banc rehearing came after a long court battle between HIA, representing manufacturers of hemp food products, and the DEA to keep hemp foods legal. HIA won the case on Feb. 6, 2004, permanently protecting sales of hemp foods in the United States provided the Bush administration not appeal by the Sept. 26 deadline.

The three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit unanimously ruled that the DEA ignored the specific Congressional exemption in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that excludes hemp fiber, seed and oil from control along with poppy seeds, Bronner said. The Court reasonably viewed as insignificant and irrelevant harmless trace amounts of THC in hemp seed, just like harmless trace amounts of opiates in poppy seeds.

Alexis Baden-Mayer, Director of Government Affairs for Vote Hemp, said more and more health foods containing omega-3 rich hemp nut and oil will be appearing on store shelves since the legal status is no longer an issue. We will now work to convince Congress it is time for the United States to again allow American farmers to grow industrial hemp and participate in this lucrative growth market, she said.

Bronner agreed, Removing the cloud the DEA put into the marketplace will spur a dramatic surge in the supply and consumption of healthy omega-3 rich hemp seed in America.
In celebratory response to the hemp industrys victory, several hemp food companies exhibited their hemp-containing products at the annual Natural Products Expo East, held in Washington in October.