Until the Farm Bill of 2014 passed, hemp products were considered illegal in the U.S. Since the bill’s passing, however, there has been an increase in demand for products that contain hemp. With the demand growing, a pilot program has granted several states permission to begin growing hemp.
Hemp, however, remains largely misunderstood—most people still associate hemp with its still-illegal cousin, marijuana. In fact, the DEA and US military have yet to remove hemp from Schedule 1 drug status. Hemp seeds and oil have not been taken off the military’s restricted substances list, which has been in place since the 1990s. One of the main reasons hemp remains on this list is due to concerns over regularly required drug tests.
The military is wary of changing its policy despite evidence from an independent study showing that consuming half a pound of hemp seeds is unlikely to result in a positive drug test.
Recently, there has been some contention about lip balm that contains hemp oil, a few hundred tubes of which were confiscated at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
The recalled lip balm is just one of many hemp products that have raised flags at military bases over the years. There have also been concerns over hemp seeds present in some varieties of Chobani yogurt and Kind bars.