Oral Arguments in Hemp Foods Case

Via Hit and Run…

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – U.S. COURT of APPEALS for the NINTH CIRCUIT – The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), representing over 200 hemp companies in North America, is predicting victory in a major legal battle to prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from banning nutritious hemp foods such as waffles, bread, cereal and snack bars. A decision in HIA v. DEA is expected within six months. “Retailers and manufacturers of hemp foods should be confident that we will win this case,” says David Bronner, a board member of both the HIA and Vote Hemp, and Chair of the HIA Food and Oil Committee. “The three judge panel seemed in agreement over our main argument that the DEA’s ‘Final Rule’ ignores Congress’ specific exemption in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) under the definition of marihuana that excludes hemp seed and stalk from control. Based on the questions posed to the DEA, it appears the court reasonablyviews trace insignificant amounts of THC in hemp seed in the same way as it sees trace amounts of opiates in poppy seeds,” says Bronner.

A transcript of Monday’s oral arguments is available here (pdf). The Justices asked tough questions of both sides, but seemed unconvinced by the government’s reasoning for the sudden ban on food products (several times asking why they haven’t outlawed poppy seed bagels). The government admitted that the trace amounts of THC in hemp food products have no effect.
Due to a court-ordered stay of the DEA’s “Final Rule,” hemp foods remain perfectly legal to import, sell and consume while the Court considers arguments and renders a decision.

This means you can get your delicious and nutritious hemp food products, like those pictured from Ruth’s Hemp Foods, where they have hemp bars, hemp oil, tortilla wraps/chips/pasta, hemp milk and more. Hemp cannot be legally grown in the U.S., but hemp foods can be imported from Candada, and at Ruth’s it’s easy to order online and have it shipped here.
Disclaimer: I do not work for Ruth’s Hemp Foods, nor have I received any consideration for promoting their products. However, if Ruth’s Hemp Foods appreciates this product placement, and wants to thank me… I particularly like the Cranberry Almond SoftHemp bars and the SoftHemp seeds (a case of each would be great!)