The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) has filed a motion against the DEA, challenging the agency’s handling of hemp foods as Schedule I drugs.

On February 6, the HIA filed a motion to find the DEA in contempt of court for failing to comply with a 13-year-old court injunction, prohibiting the agency from regulating hemp food products as Schedule I controlled substances. A 2004 ruling, made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, determined that the DEA had violated the Controlled Substances Act by designating hemp stalk, fiber, sterilized seed, and oil as “marijuana.”

Hemp contains trace amounts of naturally occurring THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The versatile crop be used in a variety of ways, from making rope and fabrics, to food and fuel. In December 2016, the DEA and North Dakota Department of Agriculture halted the export of Healthy Oilseeds’ hemp products grown under the state’s hemp pilot program and Congress’ Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill), claiming it was prohibited “because industrial hemp is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Federal Controlled Substances Act.”

“We will not stand idly by while the DEA flouts the will of Congress, violates the Ninth Circuit order, and harasses honest hemp producers trying to make a living with this in-demand crop,” said Colleen Keahey, Executive Director of the HIA, in a press release.

The motion comes nearly two months after the DEA added a new code to its Federal Register that reclassifies CBD oil and other marijuana extracts, like hemp oil, as Schedule 1 drugs. DEA officials argued that the code would allow the agency to track quantities of CBD and other marijuana extracts imported and exported to and from the U.S. separately from quantities of marijuana, but marijuana advocates have labeled the move as federal overreach.

Classifying marijuana–and its derivatives, such as hemp–in the same category as “hard drugs” like heroin and bath salts continues to baffle weed advocates; the drug is praised for its medicinal properties, and no deaths from a marijuana overdose have ever been recorded.

“Hemp is a healthy superfood with vital nutrients such as Omegas 3 and 6, protein, fiber and all 10 essential amino acids that are ideal for today’s family,” said Keahey. “The DEA must stop treating hemp, hempseed and hempseed oil, which is a nutritious ingredient, as something illicit.”

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Next year could be the year that South Carolina establishes a legal medical marijuana program. Representative Todd Rutherford, a Democrat, recently pre-filed the “Put Patients First Act,” or H. 3128, which would allow people suffering from certain diseases to be prescribed medical cannabis by their doctors.

H. 3128 would permit marijuana to be provided to patients with cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, and potentially other medical conditions such as cachexia, severe pain or nausea, seizures, and muscle spasms. Patients could possess up to two ounces of marijuana and, while waiting for dispensaries to open, could grow up to six plants in their homes.

The most recent legal movement for marijuana in South Carolina came in 2014, when the state passed a bill that permitted hemp farms, and allowed children to use cannabidiol for medical trials. But the last time the state legislature took up a medical marijuana proposal was in 2007; that bill failed to pass.

“The time has come to put aside archaic misconceptions of medical marijuana and put patients first,” Rutherford said in a statement to Columbia-based news outlet WLTX. “I hear devastating stories every single day from people who are battling epilepsy or suffering from a brain tumor who desperately need medical marijuana to treat the debilitating symptoms.”

Rutherford pre-filed another medical marijuana bill, House Bill 3162, which would allow veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to use marijuana. In order to reach a House vote, both bills would need to pass a committee vote. If the House passes the bills, they would move to the Senate, and finally, to the governor’s desk.

Cannabis remains illegal in much of the South, save for Florida, which passed a medical marijuana bill on Election Day, and Louisiana. The legalization flurry on November 8, when eight states legalized marijuana in some form, passed over South Carolina. And as 2016 comes to a close, more than a quarter of Americans live in a state where pot is at least medically available.

South Carolina, if Rutherford’s bill can garner enough traction and support, could join the legion of states whose marijuana laws are rapidly changing. South Carolinians are ready for a change in the law: in a poll conducted in October, 78 percent said they support medical marijuana.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Walk around some pet stores in the U.S., and you might stumble upon a deceiving product: wishbone-shaped treats, that look like any other dog treat, but are made with CBD, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid in the cannabis plant. No, adding the treat to your puppy’s Iams or your kitty’s Meow Mix won’t have them watching Planet Earth while debating the answers of the multiverse, but it might help relieve their anxiety, or other physical ailments like inflammation and pain. As more states legalize medical or recreational marijuana, pet owners are increasingly turning to pot-for-pet edibles to alleviate their furry friends’ maladies and discomforts.

Some pet stores and dispensaries in states where recreational or medical marijuana is legal offer pot-based products for pets; not just for dogs and cats, but pigs, horses, and other small mammals as well. Pet edibles come in different forms, and are made with different ingredients. Some only contain CBD, which lacks the psychoactive effects of THC, an ingredient that is dangerous for animals to consume. Others contain traces of both CBD and THC, and can only be administered if the owner obtains a medical marijuana license in a state where medical marijuana is permitted.

Regulators have not approved these products, and the federal classification of marijuana as an illegal substance has some stores and owners reluctant to sell or buy pot-based pet treats. And while there is no scientific, data-based evidence for the positive effects of pot on pets, there are plenty of anecdotes that are enough to have some buyers reaching for cannabis’ curative properties.

Some products have found ways around federal and state laws to allow people to purchase pot-based pet treats and oils even without a medical marijuana license. Hemp, which is increasingly being legally cultivated in at least 30 states, is sometimes used. Products made with hemp, which contains less THC than marijuana, do not require medical marijuana licenses for purchase.

Unfortunately, some statistics also show that since marijuana legalization, there has been an uptick in pets getting ill from unwittingly sneaking edibles from their owner. From 2012 to 2015 the Pet Poison Helpline saw a fourfold increase in calls from people whose pets became intoxicated with marijuana. In 2014, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received over 200 more calls related to pets poisoned by cannabis than in 2013.

At least one state has tried to pass a law allowing veterinarians to prescribe marijuana to people’s pets. A law in Nevada that would allow vets to administer medical licenses to pets was struck down in 2015. So while the dream of getting high with your dog is potentially dangerous and should largely remain a dream, the market for animal edibles is one that will probably continue to grow.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Hemp. It’s a word you have probably heard more than once, and probably had some questions about at the time. Is it marijuana? Is it legal? Why does my vegan friend preach its health prowess? In short, hemp is cannabis, but it is not marijuana, though marijuana is also cannabis. Confused? Read on to find out the details.

Endless Potential

Cannabis is a plant genus with two sub-species, indica and sativa. Both contain THC, the psychoactive chemical that results in a “high,” though they differ in appearance and effect. The fault line between hemp and marijuana is the THC content of an indica, sativa, or hybrid strain. If the THC concentration in a plant of any strain is under 0.3 percent, then it is classified as hemp (with the exception of West Virginia, which defines hemp as having a THC level below 1 percent). If it’s above that threshold, then it is classified as marijuana. The classification largely exists for legal purposes, as marijuana laws are much harsher than hemp laws.

Hemp grows around the world, most abundantly in Pakistan and China. China is also the crop’s largest exporter. An estimated 25,000 products are made from hemp, spanning nine different product markets. Its fibers are spun into a variety of goods: socks, shirts, pants, strong plastics, rope, and paper; a company in France even prints the Bible on hemp paper. Hemp seeds boast a nutritional profile unlike any other miracle seed (like chia or flax), with its perfect omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids ratio and a host of vital vitamins and minerals. 

Persisting Taboos

In the U.S.–where marijuana taboos persist but are slowly crumbling–hemp is a nascent industry, even though its sturdy, long-lasting fibers are woven into the nation’s past. Colonial farmers cultivated the crop, including some famous ones: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and George Washington all grew hemp and sang its praises. The ropes of the Mayflower were made of hemp fiber.

But the abundance of hemp in colonial times soon became a siren for the demonizing of Mexican immigrants, and their supposed proclivity for the other side of the cannabis equation: marijuana. Marijuana–traditionally spelled “marihuana,” the modern spelling is a dig at Spanish-speaking Mexicans–became associated with all things evil and naughty, and of course, was banned. Hemp could not rid itself of the stigma of its more potent (and polarizing) cousin. That began to change in 2014.

A New Era

The Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the 2014 Farm Bill, allowed states to pass legislation for the cultivation and study of hemp, with a requirement that growers must partner with researchers from a university to ensure cooperation between the scientific and commercial fields. As of this year, 16 states have passed laws that legalize industrial hemp for commercial purposes; 20 states are dipping into hemp more cautiously, allowing pilot programs that allow for collaborative research between growers and researchers.

One entrepreneur in New York is jumping on the state’s recently passed legislation allowing for hemp pilot programs. Aidan Woishnis is a part of an educational hemp outfit called WhatCannaDo. Aiming to educate prospective growers and consumers alike, Woishnis is passionate about the hemp movement, the importance of educating people on its potential powers, and deconstructing its marijuana-drenched stigma.

“In order to get any movement properly, people need to be educated and know what’s going on,” Woishnis, who dropped out of Prescott College in Arizona to stake his claim in hemp trade, told Law Street in a phone interview. His aim is to “build an educational platform, giving them a source of actual knowledge that’s been researched by a lab, not by someone taking something from the internet.”

State legislatures are showing a greater willingness to embrace hemp. But Woishnis said the greatest barrier to hemp taking off the way he thinks it could is competing private interests. Wealthy and powerful material industries–like plastics and timber–have pushed back on the young and frightening (for them) potential of hemp.

Some see hemp as an all-purpose answer to a green-conscious society’s infrastructure woes, a fix for the typical carbon-emitting materials that make up today’s cities and towns. Woishnis thinks hemp has the ability to remove the guilt from a culture built on consumption, but that is increasingly concerned with the longterm effects consumption will have on the environment. With hemp, people “can still be consumers and be in a capitalist system while not harming anything,” he said. “[Hemp] is a much better option.”

Editor’s Note: this piece has been updated to change the spelling of “WhatCannaDo.” 

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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