cannabisnews.com: Harrelson Helps Hemp Get Its Day in Court










  Harrelson Helps Hemp Get Its Day in Court

Posted by FoM on December 01, 2001 at 16:38:48 PT
By David Horrigan, The National Law Journal  
Source: Law.com  

Industrial hemp may be a boon to the environment, but it hasn't done much for the teaching career of Donna Cockrel. Industrial hemp is one of two varieties of the hemp plant, the other being marijuana. In 1996, Cockrel gave her Shelby County, Ky., fifth-grade class a presentation in which the use of industrial hemp fibers as an alternative to cutting trees was discussed. As part of the presentation, actor Woody Harrelson addressed Cockrel's class about the relative benefits of hemp. 
He was accompanied by an entourage that included representatives of the Kentucky Hemp Museum, the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association, hemp growers from overseas and, inevitably, a CNN news crew. However many millions of TV viewers enjoyed Harrelson in his role as Woody on Cheers, some residents of Shelby County did not enjoy his role as teacher for a day. Several parents and teachers wrote to complain about the visit, the fact that it occurred on the same day as the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program "graduation" and because Cockrel allowed hemp seeds -- illegal in Kentucky -- to be passed around the room during the presentation. On the recommendation of Cockrel's principal, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Leon Mooneyman fired Cockrel on July 15, 1997, citing "insubordination, conduct unbecoming a teacher, inefficiency, incompetency, and neglect of duty." On June 4, 1998, Cockrel sued, claiming that she was fired in violation of her First Amendment free speech right to discuss the potential environmental benefits of hemp. While not deciding Cockrel's state law breach-of-contract claim, the trial court granted the school board's motion for summary judgment on the First Amendment retaliation claim, holding that Cockrel's presentation was not protected speech. Specifically, the court held that Cockrel's speech was private speech by a teacher in her role as an employee, not as a citizen speaking on matters of public concern, and that she did not have a constitutional right to discuss industrial hemp in her classroom. But Cockrel may get her trial after all. On Nov. 9, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the Kentucky court and remanded the case for trial. The appellate court held that the issue was, in fact, one of public concern, citing the trial court's own opinion, where it said that "the issue of industrial hemp is politically charged and of great concern to certain citizens." The court acknowledged that Cockrel's speech had led to some problems, but it also observed that school officials told CNN that there was "educational value" in teaching about industrial hemp and that, more important, school officials had given prior approval for the visits. Cockrel v. Shelby County Sch. Bd., No 00-5259 (6th Cir. Nov. 9, 2001). Trial dates are pending. Source: Law.com (CA)Author: David Horrigan, The National Law Journal Published: December 3, 2001 Copyright: 2001 NLP IP CompanyWebsite: http://www.law.com/Contact: http://store.law.com/feedback_form.aspRelated Articles & Web Sites:FTE's Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml  Kentucky Hemp Museum Celebrates Crop's Past http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5134.shtmlTeacher Fired In Hemp Controversy Wins Appealhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11329.shtml

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Comment #8 posted by goneposthole on December 02, 2001 at 15:51:11 PT
buy hemp products
My Hemp jeans have lasted about four times longer than the ol' cotton Levi's. They are well worth purchasing.Eat hemp granola, it is good.Buy hemp waffles, they're great. Buy hemp products. There is plenty of them.
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Comment #7 posted by Jose Melendez on December 02, 2001 at 15:34:33 PT:
Natural Selections
from:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ofPepjsEd8g:www.newsday.com/features/home/ny-feat-homeside01.story%3Fcoll%3Dny-homegarden-headlines+armani+hemp&hl=enMaking Natural Selections
November 1, 2001
THESE DAYS, it's easier than ever to be green. But it helps to know what you're looking for.
To a lot of mainstream marketers, the very idea of environmental correctness still carries considerable baggage, including stereotypes of restricted choices that are less attractive and less comfortable, but often more expensive. So even as they roll out earth-friendly products, they don't necessarily plug them as such.
For instance, while Danny Seo cites Restoration Hardware as an environmentally aware retailer, the company's director of marketing, Dave Glassman is modest on the topic. "I don't want to take credit we may not deserve," he says. "If we can source a product that meets our standards and is green-friendly, we'll run after it. But we don't go out of our way to make green the primary driving force. So we don't want to claim the green title. We don't want to run from it. We just want to be truthful."
As Organic Style founding editor Maria Rodale sees it, "there's some tentativeness on the part of manufacturers and designers. All the evidence points to the fact that the world will require these products, but they're still hedging their bets."
Given the lack of a big green label on every earth-friendly product, what's a responsible consumer to do? Seo's solution: "You've got to do your homework. You can't just go out and be environmentally friendly," That's why he calls his approach "Conscious Style."
Fortunately, he adds, getting started is not that difficult. Ask questions, read labels (products using recycled materials must by law be labeled as such) and do some light online research.
Plug keywords like "organic" or "eco" into an online store's search engine - that's how Seo found the solar-powered Eco-Drive watch, for instance. The investor relations pages of any public company's site will typically offer a wealth of information about environmental policies. For that matter, you can just "go onto AOL and type in hemp," Seo says, and you'll find plenty of options for products made with a plant "that requires no fertilizer, no insecticide and no care," yet which produces a fiber
"that is one-and-a-half times stronger than cotton."
Seo cites Armani Casa and Ikea as two very different examples of home design companies that he believes have already made this green transition. The high-end Armani "doesn't tout it, but he has introduced a lot of environmentally friendly ideas to his company," says Seo, who notes the hemp clothing and nontoxic denim finishes that have been used for years in Armani Jeans. Now, with the Armani Casa home collection that recently set up shop in SoHo, the designer has extended these concepts to a wide
range of housewares, including hemp bedding and bath towels, along with other natural selections due for spring, such as rattan furniture and decorative boxes constructed from woven cloves.
"What's great is that he's such a tremendous influence" on the overall market, explains Seo.
Likewise, as a global leader in home furnishings for the masses, Ikea makes design and purchasing decisions that impact production standards all over the world - and it has used this power to promote less harmful practices in everything from material sourcing to design, finishes, packaging, shipping and waste management.
As one example of this approach, Ikea spokesman Clive Cashman cites new construction techniques used in making the Bonde and Docent wall systems. The units use a "board on frame 'sandwich' construction to end up with good-looking wood veneer panels that require one-third less materials than a solid panel," he says. The frame and surfaces are made from wood scrap materials, the core of the sandwich is made from recycled paper products, minimizing waste, and the resulting product is extremely
lightweight, reducing the shipping costs and fuel usage required for transport. The product comes with these benefits, even if consumers don't know it (though if you want to, Ikea's Web site provides a pretty thorough rundown of its environmental policies. "Being environmentally responsible isn't an issue for Ikea," says Seo. "It's mandatory. It's simply who they are."
In the end, Seo believes, it's easier to change product materials than to "change the way people buy things. But you can make it from the right materials, and if it's made well, and it's priced right and it's beautiful, they'll buy it."
- Dan Feinstein 
Copyright © 2001, Newsday, Inc. 
 
arrest Prohibition
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Comment #6 posted by goneposthole on December 02, 2001 at 13:21:29 PT

oh well
you will find it at google search engine. Type in hemp oil.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 02, 2001 at 13:20:58 PT

goneposthole 
I don't think you copied it wrong because I checked and cut out all but http://www.gov.ca/ and it didn't work. It should work when they get their site fixed.
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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on December 02, 2001 at 13:19:30 PT

correction
Hope it works this time.
http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/hort/hemp/info-hempoileffect.htm
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Comment #3 posted by goneposthole on December 02, 2001 at 13:09:03 PT

link is bad
Must have copied it wrong. Sorry.
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Comment #2 posted by goneposthole on December 02, 2001 at 13:05:57 PT

How can hemp help?
The information at the link given will tell you how much hemp oil is yielded from test crops in Ontario.A gallon of crude oil weighs 7.2 pounds by standard wieghts and measures. 27% of the yield of hemp seed is hemp oil. The seed yield is about 1000 kg per hectare, or 2206 lbs. (long ton). 27% of 1000 kg is 270 kg of cold processed hemp oil per hectare.
2.2 lbs is what a kg weighs; 2.2 times 270 kg is 594 lbs. 594 lbs. of oil divided by 7.2 lbs per gallon is 82.5 gallons of hemp oil per hectare. That is close to 2 barrels of crude oil. 10,000,000 hectares would have a land area of 39,687.5 square miles. The oil yield would be 
19,642,857 forty-two gallon barrels of hemp oil per growing season.It would help to have that much 'extra' oil for all kinds of uses. It is possible.
http://www.gov.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/hort/hemp/info-hempoileffect.htm
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Comment #1 posted by mayan on December 01, 2001 at 19:24:05 PT

Time For Hemp!
These fools look so silly fighting their war against this amazing plant. History will not be kind to those who supress industrial hemp!
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