-Caveat Lector- ACTION ALERT -- December 30, 2000 U.S. to Outlaw Hemp Products On November 30, 2000, the Drug Enforcement Administration published its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (Unified Agenda) in the Federal Register. Included in this agenda is the intent of the DEA to outlaw currently legal hemp products through changes to their administrative regulations. Administrative rules or regulations (these are interchangeable terms) are promulgated by governmental agencies and have the force of statutory law. Federal administrative regulations are first published in the Federal Register and later codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. Once proposed rules are published in the Federal Register, the public generally has 30 days to comment on the rules before the agency makes its final decision. Under the title "Use of Marijuana for Industrial Purposes" in the Unified Agenda published in the Federal Register on 11/30/00, the DEA describes its intent to publish three proposed rules regarding hemp products. http://www.levellers.org/dea/unified.agenda.html 1) Interpretive rule: The DEA will formally state its interpretation of existing law with respect to THC. According to the DEA's interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act, any product containing any amount of THC is considered a Schedule I controlled substance, even though such products are made from portions of the cannabis plant that have been excluded from the federal definition of marijuana since 1937. http://www.levellers.org/dea/thcdefn.html 2) Proposed rule: The DEA will revise the wording of their own regulations so that both naturally-occurring and synthetic THC will be considered Schedule I controlled substances. Right now, DEA rules only prohibit synthetic THC, not the naturally-occurring THC that is contained in trace amounts in industrial hemp products. 3) Interim rule: This rule will exempt some hemp products that are not intended for human consumption (paper, rope and clothing). However, sterilized seed for human consumption (used to make cookies, tortilla chips, pancakes, etc.) will be banned. Highly nutritious hemp seed oil will also be banned. Hemp personal care products (soap, shampoo, lip balm, lotion, etc.) are still in question. The DEA would like to outlaw them as well and is still looking for evidence that THC can be absorbed through the skin when these products are used. If they find (or invent) this evidence, then they may also ban hemp clothing, which is also in contact with the skin and hemp rolling papers which are consumed when burned! These proposed rules have been reviewed and approved by the U.S. Justice Department, DEA and Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). A July 10, 2000 letter from Barry McCaffrey (ONDCP) to Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink shows where the federal government is coming from. In this letter, McCaffrey states that hemp used for human consumption is "confounding our Federal drug control testing programs". http://www.hempembargo.com/topstories/1010.htm Apparently, this is in response to soldiers and transportation workers blaming hemp consumption for THC- positive urinalysis tests. Instead of enacting a behavioral testing program to weed out employees that are impaired by a wide range of conditions, be it cannabis use, stress, lack of sleep or use of other substances, the government has decided to make it a felony to possess hemp products that have been safely consumed by humans for over 10,000 years! The next step is for a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making to be published in the Federal Register. At that point, the public will have 30 days to comment on the proposed rules, but at that point, it may well be too late for hemp. The only time we may have to save hemp products in the U.S. is now! CONTACT CONGRESS NOW!!! We need to contact our federal Senators and Representatives to put pressure on the DEA to NOT officially publish these proposed rules. Please call, fax, write and email your federal representatives. Time is of the essence since we do not know when the DEA will officially publish its proposed rules. Make sure you ask your congressmembers to strongly oppose this proposed rule- making, not just inquire about it. To date, the DEA has received over 200 "inquiries" from congressmembers, but those inquiries weren't logged as opposition to the matter. PHONES: Capitol Switchboard: Senate: (202) 224-3121 House: (202) 225-3121 FAX CONGRESS FOR FREE! The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is providing a free service to send a fax to your members of congress. 1) Go to http://congress.nw.dc.us/norml/ 2) Fill out your name and contact information and click next. 3) A list of your federal representatives (based on your zip code) will appear. 4) Select the "Stop the DEA from Banning Industrial Hemp" button and click next. 5) You can either use the text that NORML has provided, the text that CO-HIP provides below, or compose your own message. Then click SEND FAX. It's fast (takes less than 3 minutes), easy and FREE! CONTACT INFO: Of course, personal letters and phone calls are the best. For the direct phone, fax, or email address for your members of Congress, do a search from the WorldNetDaily's Legislative Action Center. http://congress.nw.dc.us/wnd/ -------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- ---- OTHER OFFICIALS: If you can, send copies of your letters to the following list of officials who have been identified by Hawai'i state representative Cynthia Thielen as being influential in this issue: Raymond Kelly, Commissioner U.S. Customs 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20229 (202) 927-1000 (phone) (202) 927-1380 (fax) Jacob J. Lew, Director Office of Management and Budget Old Executive Office Bldg. Washington DC 20503 (202) 395-4840 (phone) (202) 395-1005 (fax) Lawrence H. Summers, Secretary Department of the Treasury Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20220 (202) 622-2000 (phone) (202) 622-2599 (fax) Norman Mineta, Secretary Department of Commerce Herbert Hoover Bldg. Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues NW Washington DC 20230 (202) 482-2000 (phone) (202) 482-2741 (fax) Send copies of any letters you write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please act now!!! -------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- ---- SAMPLE LETTER: Dear ________, I am writing you regarding the intent of the DEA to outlaw legitimate hemp products through proposed rule-making. The DEA published its intent to change their rules regarding hemp products under the title "Use of Marijuana for Industrial Purposes" in the Unified Agenda published in the Federal Register on 11/30/00. The DEA proposes to make hemp products containing any amount of THC a Schedule I Controlled Substance. The DEA is worried that soldiers and transportation workers are blaming positive urinalysis tests on consumption of hemp products. There is no evidence that the minute traces of THC contained in hemp food products will cause a positive urinalysis test. Most hemp products are imported to the U.S. from Canada, which has strict regulations for THC content in their products (less than 10 ppm of THC). http://www.naihc.org/hemp_policy/canadian_regulations.ht ml A July 2000 report on hemp products and drug-testing confirms that quantities this small will not result in a positive urinalysis test. http://www.naihc.org/hemp_information/content/THC_emp_dr ug_testing.html Congress enacted the federal definition of marijuana in 1937 to outlaw marijuana, but to protect the legitimate hemp industry. The federal definition does not mention THC. Any action by the DEA to outlaw legitimate hemp industry is contrary to the intent of Congress and will endanger legitimate hemp industry. I urge you to contact the DEA immediately and stop them from publishing these proposed rules in the Federal Register. I look forward to your response on this issue. Sincerely, Your Name ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Other Resources: Background on DEA vs Hemp: http://www.levellers.org/dea Hemp Foods FAQ http://www.levellers.org/cohip/faqs/hempfoods.faq.html Federal Register: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html -- The homicidal state shares one trait with the solitary killer--like all murderers, it trips on its own egoism and drops a trail of clues which, when properly collected, preserved, and analyzed are as damning as a signed confession left in the grave. - Forensic Anthropologist Clyde Snow <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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