From The Globe and Mail -- "Canada’s National Paper"
Page A1
www.globeandmail.ca
letters@globeandmail.ca
July 27, 1999

(Marijuananews note: The Globe and Mail is an excellent paper that opposes marijuana prohibition, but they missed a few points here.)
See
"Why not simply redefine legalization as a "nation-wide experiment designed to measure the long-term effect of the non-medical use of the drug?" -- Suggests Canada’s National Paper

Fancy a hemp burger? Be careful, report warns

Health Canada study says THC poses health risk

By ANNE McILROY

Parliamentary Bureau

July 27, 1999

Ottawa—New food products and cosmetics made from hemp—the marijuana plant—pose an unacceptable risk to the health of consumers, a report prepared for Health Canada says.

Hemp oil and seeds are available in some specialty stores, and Canadians can order hemp pasta, burgers, cheese and even beer over the Internet. The Body Shop sells lip balm and other products made with hemp, which is legal when it has been bred to be low in delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that makes people high.
See
Swedish Prohibitionists Denounce Body Shop And Anita Roddick:
"Demands for legalisation of cannabis is not an example of moral, ethical and social responsibility.
On the contrary, it shows a clear lack of moral, ethical and social responsibility."

The risk assessment done for Health Canada says hemp products may not be safe because even small amounts of THC may cause developmental problems. Those most at risk, the study says, are children exposed in the womb or through breast milk, or teenagers whose reproductive systems are developing.

Hazards associated with exposure to THC include acute neurological effects and long-term effects on brain development, the reproductive system and the immune system, the study says. "Over all, the data considered for this assessment support the conclusion that inadequate margins of safety exist between potential exposure and adverse effect levels for cannabinoids [the active ingredients] in cosmetics, food and nutraceutical products made from hemp."

(Marijuananews note: There are several problems here.
First, although marijuana has been widely used in North America for decades, there is no epidemiological evidence of any of these problems in users. On the contrary, even the IOM report specifically contradicted many of these points. For example, consider these two quotes from the IOM Report: "immunosuppressive effects are not well established but, if they exist, are not likely great enough to preclude a legitimate medical use." And, "it does not necessarily follow from this that marijuana use will interfere with human reproduction. With few exceptions, the animal studies are based on acute (i.e., single injections) or short-term treatments (i.e., THC injections given over a series of days). The results are generally observed for only several hours, or sometimes in females for only one ovulatory cycle."

See
Executive Summary Of The IOM Report, Marijuana And Medicine: Assessing The Science Base
Second, most of this data is derived from tests on either animals or cells which were injected with large doses of THC.
Third, their warnings are about the use of products in which there is virtually no THC.
Fourth, even if there were traces of THC in the hemp seeds, most of the cosmetic products do not have large amounts of hemp seed oil and only relatively small amounts are used on the skin. There is no evidence that the topical use of a product with hemp seed oil with minute traces of THC would deliver any THC to the bloodstream.
Fifth, synthetic THC is now a Schedule 3 drug in DEAland and there has never been a claim by the FDA that it causes any of these problems.
See
DEA Moves Marinol To Schedule Three,
But Leaves Marijuana in Schedule One. The Magic of Sesame Oil.
Finally, the real problem here is not in the hemp products, but in Health Canada.

This report should not have any impact on the Canadian hemp industry.

The real question is whether it will spur a badly needed house cleaning to replace reefer madness with real science. This is an intellectual and scientific scandal and a fraud on the Canadian taxpayers. -RC)

The study reviewed the results of existing tests on lab animals. It was obtained for The Globe and Mail by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin, and has not yet been reviewed by other scientists to make sure its conclusions are valid. Hemp producers say it is alarmist and speculative.

"It refers only to historical data and cites theoretical assumptions, rather than reporting the findings of actual product tests," says a statement released by the Body Shop, which says its hemp products are safe.

If the study stands up to scrutiny, Health Canada may require warning labels or new regulations that could stop some products from being sold, said Rod Raphael, director-general of the environmental-health program. He said the department is considering new animal studies to look at the effects of low-level exposure to THC over several generations.

"We are concerned," Mr. Raphael said, explaining that is why Health Canada ordered the risk assessment and is considering financing more research. But, he said, very few Canadians use or eat hemp products.

It became legal to grow hemp—Cannabis sativa—in Canada in March, 1998. Producers need a special permit, and federal regulations require that to qualify as industrial hemp, cannabis plants contain less than 0.3 per cent THC.
(Marijuananews note: This is in the female flowers, not the seeds, which will have far less THC, if any at all.)

Hemp growers say it is ridiculous to think it may pose a health threat.

"It is like saying you can’t eat poppy-seed bagels, because poppy seeds have a minute amount of the active ingredient in heroin," said John Roulac, a board member of the North American Industrial Hemp Council, which represents growers in Canada and the United States.

Mr. Roulac said the study didn’t look at the positive health benefits hemp products offer in terms of an improved diet, nor does it mention that in Japan and China, people have eaten hemp products for hundreds of years with no ill effects.

Paul Wilkes, a head of regulatory affairs for the Body Shop, said the company reviewed the same literature as the Health Canada study and came to very different conclusions. "We consider our products to be perfectly safe."

The Body Shop also issued a written statement, saying the report produced for Health Canada makes "unsubstantiated" and "speculative claims."

"The Body Shop has worked with Health Canada on product testing and has reassured itself through detailed research, extensive testing and the advice of leading dermatologists and toxicologists that the company’s industrial hemp-based products pose no risk to the health and safety of consumers. The Body Shop therefore stands by its hemp-based products."

The Body Shop does not do animal testing, and could not do its own experiments on low-level exposure over several generations, Mr. Wilkes said.

Mr. Raphael said Health Canada looked at the research done by the Body Shop and decided more was needed.

Many of the animal studies that have been done look at exposure to high levels of THC. They found long-term effects to offspring who were exposed to THC in the womb. Permanent effects included reduced sensitivity to morphine and reduced copulatory behaviour in males as well as abnormal estrus in women.

"The potential for these effects to occur is of great concern, since THC has been found to cross the placenta and to appear in the fetal brain within minutes of a maternal exposure."

Mr. Raphael said the internal and external peer reviews of the study should be finished by September. Until then, he said, Health Canada is not justified in issuing any warnings to consumers.

EDIBLE HEMP