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From: Eric S.
Date: 10/11/99
Time: 5:16:16 PM
The debate is on whether or not the hemp seed, hemp seed oil or other seed by products are controlled substances. If they are, the DEA has the authority to require registration. According to the Federal Regs. (21 CFR 1312.11), any importer of a controlled substance needs to register and obtain a permit prior to importing. BUT...if they are not controlled substances, the DEA has no authority.
In the US Code definition of marijuana (21 USC 802:16), the sterilized seeds, seed oil and seed cake are all exempted and it is clear that the intent of the congress was not to make these legitimate hemp products illegal. The DEA is also has stated in court affadavits that the sterilized seed is not a controlled substance. It seems they have changed their mind and the problem now is that the DEA claims that organic THC is also a controlled substance. The DEA claims that hemp seed shells and by products contain trace amounts (almost unmeasureable) of THC, and that if they have any measurable THC then they are controlled substances.
Their claim is highly questionable. The US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) states that "tetrahydrocannabinol" is a controlled substance but goes on to define it as "synthetic equivalents of the substances contained in the plant". And furthermore, if congress really intended to make hemp seeds or by products illegal, why didn't they just amend the definition of marijuana to include them as a controlled substance?
The DEA is over stepping their authority now and claiming that the reason is because they found out that people are consuming the seed. This is not even their area of concern. The frigging seeds are either controlled substances or not! Their argument is like saying that its okay to grow cannabis as long as only birds are eating it. If humans start smoking it then its illegal? They are dead wrong on this one but they know that they can inflict damage on the industry by making us fight them. They have unlimited time a resources to keep going and figure they can keep fighting us until they put us out of business.