[420 Girl]

WOODSTOCK -- It may look and smell just like marijuana, but there's a good chance it's not.

Police say several hemp plants stolen from a Stratford-area research plot have been recovered in Woodstock.

Gordon Scheifele, a plant breeder and retired University of Guelph researcher, said thieves this week raided his legal 0.8 hectare (two-acre) plot licensed by Health Canada.

Although it was labelled hemp, Scheifele, a former president of the Ontario Hemp Alliance, said thieves still stole about half a garbage bag of hemp tops.

"They just went in thinking it was marijuana -- thinking it was too good to be true," he said. "It was obvious it was not marijuana.

"It's absolute foolishness -- it's absurd the trouble they're getting into."

While there's no way to distinguish the two crops, smoking hemp reaps no benefit and can make you sick.

"It has virtually no THC," Scheifele said. "But it has high levels of other cannabinoid chemicals.

"They can make you sick or sleepy. You're better off smoking rope or a newspaper -- it would be safer."

Oxford Community Police say they found the hemp plants after responding to a disturbance at a Dundas St. apartment in Woodstock. Police have charged an 18-year-old female and a young offender with possession of property obtained by crime.

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