After years of legal wrangling and posturing, the feds have finally given up their quest to ban food products containing hemp seeds and oils. On Sept. 28, the Hemp Industries Association claimed victory after the feds declined to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals protecting the sale of hemp-containing foods.
Farmers export the seeds and plant fibers to the United States, where manufacturers use it to make goods such as flour, bread, cheese, butter, birdseed, clothing, and personal care products. High in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, hemp foodstuffs appeal to those looking for an alternative to fish, which can contain mercury. The Hemp Industry Association estimates annual sales of U.S. hemp food products is $40 million.
Two well timed industry conferences over the next month will position producers, processors, marketers, and researchers for urgent opportunity emerging in industrial hemp.
For eight years, businessman Kim Hough lobbied Western Australia (WA) governments for approval of an estimated $1 billion-a-year industry that would boost local farming. The only problem was, it was illegal. Then, on May 19, the Industrial Hemp Act of WA came into effect. It allowed the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp with less than 0.35 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient of cannabis or marijuana.