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Newsbrief:
Canadian
NAFTA
Suit
Over
Hemp
Restrictions
Enters
Arbitration
8/9/02
Kenex, Ltd., the Canadian
hemp exporter that sued the US under NAFTA over the DEA's effort to ban
hemp seed foods, filed its NAFTA Notice of Arbitration with the US State
Department August 2. Kenex is seeking at least $20 million in compensation
from the US government for losses suffered because of US Customs and DEA
actions to hinder hemp seed food imports. Following NAFTA procedures,
the company and the US will now select a three-member arbitration panel
to attempt to settle the suit. "We met with the US government in
March in the hope of avoiding a protracted trade dispute, but the Bush
administration failed to recognize that Kenex's products are legal under
current law," said Joe Sandler, a Kenex attorney, in a press release this
week. "Our client has no choice but to seek compensation under NAFTA."
In 1999, the DEA seized a
Kenex shipment and threatened the company with $500,000 in fines, arguing
that the foods violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) because they
contained traces of naturally occurring THC. The DEA argued that
hemp seed foods could trigger positive results in drug tests, a proposition
refuted by numerous international studies. After Kenex successfully
argued that that hemp products were exempt from the CSA, the DEA backed
off, but by then Kenex had already suffered damages in the form of lost
customers.
Under NAFTA, companies from
a member company can sue the governments of other member countries for
damages due to unfair or discriminatory trade policies.
Visit http://www.votehemp.com
for further information.
-- END --
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Issue #249, 8/9/02
Nevada Marijuana Initiative Endorsed by State's Largest Police Group | DC Board of Elections Rejects Medical Marijuana Petitions -- Admits One of Seven Valid Signatures Ignored but Refuses to Correct Error | Democratic Governor Candidate Calls for Repeal of NY Rockefeller Laws | Switzerland Defends Cannabis Decrim, Tells UN Narcocrats to Buzz Off | Which War Am I In? DEA Meth Offensive Continues as US Pilots in Afghanistan Gobble Speed | Libertarian Party Launches TV Ad Campaign Targeting Rep. Bob Barr on Medical Marijuana
| Drug Czar Picks Beer-Promoting NASCAR Hot Rodder to Carry Anti-Drug Message | School Anti-Drug Programs Get Failing Grade, Study Says | Drug Dog Terrorizes Native American Kindergartners in South Dakota, Lawsuit Filed | Newsbrief: South Dakota Lakota Successfully Harvest Hemp Crop | Newsbrief: Peru Backs Off on Coca Eradication, Again | Newsbrief: Radical Party Moscow Activists Go to Trial for Marijuana Legalization Rally -- Free Speech at Heart of Case | Newsbrief: Federal Judge Deems Utah Asset Forfeiture Initiative Constitutional | Newsbrief: Canadian NAFTA Suit Over Hemp Restrictions Enters Arbitration | Newsbrief: More than One Million in Drug Treatment in US, SAMHSA Says | Newsbrief: Budget Woes Close Detox, Treatment Facilities in NC, Iowa | Newsbrief: Stiffer Ecstasy Penalties Would Hit Penn State University | Newsbrief: Study Finds THC-like Chemicals Useful for Certain Disorders | Newsbrief: Archeological Evidence of Bronze Age Drug Trade | Web Scan: Narco News, Nature, Cato | Legislative Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | The Reformer's Calendar
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