Hemp-food ban attempt fails

SAN FRANCISCO — Food products made with hemp will remain legal after the Justice Department declined to challenge a ruling that overturned a Bush administration ban, lawyers for the hemp industry said.

Monday night was the deadline for the government to challenge a federal appeals court’s February decision that the United States cannot ban the domestic sale of hemp foods.

The appeals court decision was a victory for more than 200 companies that make products including energy bars, waffles, milk-free cheese and veggie burgers with the plant that contains only trace amounts of THC, the key ingredient in marijuana.

Patrick Goggin, a San Francisco lawyer representing the Hemp Industries Association, said the government had informed the group’s legal team that it would let Monday’s deadline expire.

“They don’t see this as a battle they can win,” Goggin said.

Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller declined comment.

Hemp is an industrial plant related to marijuana. Fiber from the plant long has been used to make paper, clothing, rope and other products.