For the past few years, legalization proponents have fostered a virtual explosion of hemp shops – places that sell clothing, paper, rope, and other products made from hemp that has been imported from those countries in Europe and Asia which permit its cultivation."

(Ed. note: Whoa! Excuse me. These countries permit hemp cultivation? Is marijuana legal there? No, the US is the only major industrial country that does not permit the cultivation of hemp. Why is that hemp cultivation is not a problem in these countries? Do the prohibitionists understand their own propaganda? Apparently not.)

"As hemp products grow in popularity, proponents build support for legalizing the cultivation of hemp in the U.S., and they are sponsoring initiatives or bills to do precisely that.

"...and a definitive statement supporting legalization was formulated when the newly elected board (Hemp Industries Association), convened for the first time." (Desert Showdown, High Times, April 1995)"
(Ed. note: The "legalization" referred to here is for industrial hemp only. The HIA disassociates itself from marijuana reform.)

"The really great thing about both industrial hemp and medical marijuana is that they serve to deconstruct the stigma that’s been built around marijuana. If the first way we can convince people that cannabis is a good plant is through medical marijuana, then let’s go with that. If the first way is with industrial hemp, fine, let’s do that." (Steve DeAngelo, The Rope is Dope, High Times Magazine, June, 1997)"
(Ed. note: Stevie D’ of Ecolution is a good friend and completely honest. He wants cannabis legalized, but he sincerely believes in the importance of hemp, independent of its other uses. This is the real question.)

"Says professor of pharmacology Billy Martin, a leading marijuana researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University, ‘It’s obvious that hemp is a facade to give marijuana a better name.’
(Ed. note: Billy Martin is a NIDA funded researcher, but just how that makes him an expert on the motives of the hemp industry is unclear.)

"Nevertheless, hemp products, such as wallets, jeans, and hats, have proliferated, and their popularity is evident among teens. For example, when German shoe manufacturer Adidas asked young Americans for new athletic-shoe ideas, the result was a shoe made of hemp." (Drugs are Back Big time, Reader’s Digest, February 1996)"

"‘A serious law enforcement concern is that a potential byproduct of legalizing hemp production would be de facto legalization of marijuana cultivation.’ McCaffrey’s office said in a statement. ‘The seedlings are the same and in many instances the mature plants look the same.’" (U.S. Farmers Ask for Financial High, Washington Magazine, March 30, 1998)"
(Ed. note: If the mature plants look the same you have some really bad marijuana or some very expensive hemp!)

"The Agriculture Department, however, questions how profitable hemp might actually be: It is labor intensive and cheaper alternatives already exist for many of its uses. For instance, hemp linen costs $15 a square yard, compared with only $7.50 for flax linen." (U.S. Farmers Ask for Financial High, Washington Magazine, March 30, 1998)"

"Jill and Mitch Cahn are annoying not because they are hucksters, but because they insist on believing that they are something more, that they’re saving the earth by doling out hemp hats at Phish concerts. In the end, a head shop is just a head shop." (The Return of Pot, by Hanna Rosin, The New Republic, February 17, 1997)
(Ed. note: Hannah Rosin’s article in the New Republic was disgraceful. She didn’t like the way sick people dressed at Dennis Peron’s Buyers Club. Limousine liberalism at its absolute worst.)

"Matthew Cheng and Alex Shum, importers of hemp fabric, feel that the way to legalize marijuana is to sell marijuana legally. When you can buy marijuana in your neighborhood shopping mall, it’s legal. So they are going to produce every conceivable thing out of hemp." (Hemp Clothing is Here, High Times, March 1990)

"Maybe if we throw hemp products in peoples faces, they’ll begin to think differently." (Desert Showdown, High Times, April 1995)

"We’ve had a few kids come in and ask if they can smoke the shirts, but that would only make you sick,’ says Cassandra Thommen, proprietor of Spokane’s first boutique devoted to the much maligned wildwood weed. ‘Unfortunately none of it is smokeable.’ (Hemp boutique makes a dubious political statement, Spokesman Review, November 18, 1997)

"It’s hard to believe all this stuff comes from the demon weed. There are hemp jean jackets, baseball caps, stationery, backpacks, beer can cozies, chalk bags for mountain climbers and luggage bags to carry snowboards. There’s a hemp backed rocking chair and a hemp blend of coffee and candles and bike chain oil and twine and even a hemp vegie burger mix. Shampoo, soap, cookies, lip balm, perfume ..." (Hemp boutique makes a dubious political statement, Spokesman Review, November 18, 1997)

"...I didn’t want to sell something just to make money, says Thommen - 48, who advocates legalizing the marijuana plant." (Hemp boutique makes a dubious political statement, Spokesman Review, November 18, 1997)

"Politics is the secret ingredient in hemp products like Hempzels, the hard hemp pretzels that come with a little marijuana leaf pictured on the label. Hempsters hype their magic herb with the fervor of George Washington Carver crusading for the peanut. But all the save-the-planet hoopla is a smokescreen. Making hemp respectable strikes me as a calculated step to the ultimate goal: legalizing wacky weed." (Hemp boutique makes a dubious political statement, Spokesman Review, November 18, 1997)

"NORML receives funds from eclectic sources. In addition to grants from DPF and private contributions, (musical) groups such as Sacred Reich, Blues Traveler, and Cypress Hill, that perform under labels owned by Sony and Time Warner, are forwarding to NORML the proceeds from the sales of their joint album Hempilation (Capricorn Records), suggesting that because hemp is marijuana, this will further the marijuana legalization efforts." (The quote appears on the liner of the album along with a NORML membership application.) The collection of songs is devoted to the ‘wonders of weed." (Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, The Movement to Legalize Drugs in the United States: Who’s Behind It?, Organizational Trends, May 1996)
(Ed. note: The new Hempilation will be out soon. It will be announced on Marijuananews.com)

"These groups often display the marijuana leaf on their albums, at their concerts, and on their promotional posters, T-shirts and hats. Some of this merchandise is made of hemp, which NORML promotes as an environmental-friendly source for paper. (Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, The Movement to Legalize Drugs in the United States: Who’s Behind It?, Organizational Trends, May 1996)