cannabisnews.com: Millionaire Puffs Up Hemp Uses





Millionaire Puffs Up Hemp Uses
Posted by CN Staff on October 21, 2008 at 08:22:58 PT
By Greg Turner
Source: Boston Herald
USA -- The Hemp Industries Association wants Andrew Lahde to put some of the millions he made as a hedge-fund manager where his mouth is. The trade group latched onto Lahde after he called it quits from the world of finance Friday in an eyebrow-raising letter in which he thanked “stupid” investors for enriching him and pushed for the legalization of marijuana.But Lahde also hyped hemp, the non-drug cousin of cannabis, as an untapped food and energy source.
“At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country?” Lahde wrote.U.S. law prohibits hemp farming, but products from the plant may be imported. Industrial hemp is used to make paper, textiles, food and fuel. Hemp milk - an alternative to dairy or soy milk - has become a staple at natural-food markets, and fibers from the plant are finding their way into building materials.The hemp trade group, which held its annual meeting yesterday in Boston, said Lahde could help finance its efforts to educate the public and lobby lawmakers to lift the hemp-growing ban.“We definitely could use some funds to raise awareness,” said David Bronner, the group’s president and the owner of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps in California, which uses hemp oil in its products.It’s unclear if Lahde, who made millions betting against subprime home loans, heard the plea. He did not return a message left yesterday at his firm, Lahde Capital Management in Santa Monica, Calif.At yesterday’s meeting, a British company described its “hemp-crete” product used to build “green” homes, while New Jersey-based Hain Celestial displayed its Hemp Dream milk now hitting stores.The trade group estimates that hemp food sales grew by 65 percent to $33 million for the 12 months ended in August, up from $20 million during the same period a year ago.“The industry is really poised to explode across all different sectors,” Donner said.Source: Boston Herald (MA)Author:  Greg TurnerPublished: Tuesday, October 21, 2008Copyright: 2008 The Boston Herald, Inc.Website: http://www.bostonherald.com/Contact: letterstoeditor bostonherald.comHemp Industries Associationhttp://www.thehia.org/CannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by tintala on October 22, 2008 at 09:32:31 PT:
Hemp is prevalent in Nepal
Nepal has vast fields of hemp as well, anyone who has trekked in Nepal has seen pot plants and hemp fields. It's basically legal in nepal and is a huge export. I always buy hemp products when in Nepal. Nepal borders N.india and china/tibet.
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on October 21, 2008 at 08:49:50 PT
Hemp prohibition is ANTI-American.
Communist Chinese farmers may grow hemp but not free American farmers.While at the same time,I understand the U.S. is in serious dept to China.Trillions...I wonder how much hemp prohibition may be involved.-0-There's also talk about how jobs are being lost to over-seas factories, which seems to often envolve petrolium based products.Hemp resin based products can replace petrolium based plastics & produced from hemp grown in the U.S. would help keep jobs at home because it would not be cost effective to grow hemp in America, ship it abroad and then ship it back to Ameirca as products.Allowing free farmers in America to grow hemp is a win, win, win ... America has lost factories in part because hemp farming is prohibited.-0-Hemp prohibition is ANTI-American.
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