>Sender: >To: >X-Original-Message-ID: <0b4d01bf3230$077a7c70$9acf69cf@pacbell.net> >From: "Peter McWilliams" >Subject: DEA 0 -- HEMP 1 >Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 17:47:25 -0800 >X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 >X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 > > >HIA NEWSWIRE >A Service of the Hemp Industries Association > >For Immediate Release > >November 18, 1999 > >Hemp Industries Association Succeeds in Pressuring DEA to Release Captive >Birdseed > >Pain Court, Ontario. In a major victory for the hemp industry, the DEA has >backed-off from its demand to recall Canadian hemp seed products and has >instructed US Customs agents to allow shipments of seed products containing >trace amounts of THC to freely enter the United States. Since THC is >considered a Controlled Substance, the agency took a hard line on hemp seed >products containing as low as 14 parts per million THC. > >The deal, brokered on November 4th by the Canadian Embassy in Washington >DC, resolved US Customs August 9th seizure of a load of hemp grain >originating from Kenex farms in Southern Ontario, and DEA's demand that >Kenex recall 17 loads of previously shipped hemp seed under the threat of >penalty. > >Kenex owner, Jean Laprise called the agreement a guarded win. "An issue has >been resolved for the entire industry," he said. "Getting the Canadian >government involved was a major factor. DEA didn't suspect we had so many >friends in politics and the industry." > >The Hemp Industries Association played a major role in lobbying >congressional representatives, launching an informational website, and by >alerting the media to the situation. DEA's action posed a threat to the >Association's members, many of whom use the hemp seed for food, body care >and pet products. > >"We weren't going to let the DEA push Kenex around without a fight because >we knew this was a test case for how DEA approaches hemp in the future," >said HIA president Cindy Biggers. "Sterilized hemp seed is a perfectly >legal product and it's time the DEA accepted that." > >Although Kenex recently sent a load of hemp seed to Baltimore, the load >seized in August remains in Detroit under Customs storage. Consequently, >Kenex has no idea of the condition of the seeds nor the environment they >are stored in. At this time, the company has not ruled out the option of >suing DEA to recover legal and other expenses. > >"We got the Zero Tolerance policy reversed, and basically got DEA to abide >by US law," said Jean Laprise. "We accomplished our goal and are looking >forward to doing a bigger business in the future." > > >================================================================ > >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: