THE NEW YORK TIMES October 3, 1999 By Christopher S. Wren What do 40,000 pounds of birdseed have in common with America’s war on drugs? Nothing, says Jean Laprise, an Ontario farmer who shipped the birdseed to his American customers, only to have it seized when it crossed the U.S.-Canadian border. Everything, say the U.S. government and its critics, but for altogether different reasons. The birdseed, nearly 20 tons of it, has been locked in a Detroit warehouse since Aug. 9, when it was impounded by the U.S. Customs Service. The reason: the seed consists of sterilized seeds processed from industrial hemp. Laprise has found himself mired in one of the more bizarre episodes of Washington’s campaign to curb illicit drug use. Hemp and marijuana […] Read More