Hemp seeds are the seeds of the cannabis plant (be it hemp or high THC cannabis). Now you might wonder, why would even seeds of high THC cannabis are called as hempseeds? Hemp is a type of cannabis with low THC right? Then some hemp seeds that come from High THC cannabis will have high amounts of THC as well and should not even be classified as food!
Well, not quite. Irrespective of the type of cannabis, cannabinoids are found on trichomes (hair like structures) that appear primarily on the surface of flowers, leaves and stems of the plant. Thus the seeds being devoid of any trichomes only have traces of THC and other cannabinoids like CBD on the surface due to the proximity of seeds from the flower / leaves etc. If cleaned and stored appropriately the THC almost drops to 0.
The seeds of cannabis contain only minute traces of THC on the surface and thus are classified as hemp seeds as hemp is synonymous to low or no THC. It is also due to this very reason, that seeds of cannabis are excluded from the NDPS act of 1985 and do not get classified as narcotics. All the hemp seeds available in the market today are collected from cannabis growing in the wild and probably not hemp. Commercial cultivation of any type of cannabis is yet to be permitted in the county.