cannabisnews.com: Santa Cruz Festival Showcase Hemp Plants Many Uses Santa Cruz Festival Showcase Hemp Plants Many Uses Posted by FoM on May 13, 2001 at 11:04:36 PT By David L. Beck, Mercury News Source: San Jose Mercury News What the fourth annual Industrial Hemp Expo in Santa Cruz is not about: Marijuana, medicinal or otherwise. What it is about: Clothes, furniture, candles, candies, lip balm, diesel fuel, building insulation, art, carpets, bags and packs, hemp-flavored chocolates and edible seeds, construction materials -- even boats and skateboards. All blended with politics, passion, environmentalism and -- hemp-hemp hurray! -- puns. The Expo, which continues today, took over the Civic Auditorium, the city council chambers (for panels on legislation, marketing and other subjects related to the ``reintroduction'' of a plant effectively banned in the United States in 1937) and the street in between. Bob Lamonica, who produces the event, thought the most significant aspect of this year's expo was ``the mere fact that it has survived,'' even though attendance has declined slightly since the first expo. Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin was the keynote speaker Saturday, talking over the shoppers and browsers in the main hall of the Civic about the need to put pressure on politicians. ``I think a lot of people here are true believers or they wouldn't be here,'' she said. Strom-Martin, D-Santa Rosa, is the sponsor of a bill to legalize the growing of industrial hemp in California. She gives it about a 60-40 chance of reaching the Assembly floor when it comes up for a vote in the Agriculture Committee on May 23.Hemp, a.k.a. Cannabis sativa, grows in closely planted rows of woody, 9-foot stalks. The stalks provide fiber and building materials; the seeds contain an oil that can be used in anything from food to fuel. Industrial hemp contains almost no THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, which comes from the leaves and blossoms of a different strain of Cannabis sativa. Contact David L. Beck at: dbeck sjmercury.com Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Published: Sunday, May 13, 2001Author: David L. Beck, Mercury News Copyright: 2001 San Jose Mercury News Contact: letters sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Santa Cruz Industrial Hemp Expohttp://www.cruzexpo.com Hemp Us Flag http://www.hempusflag.comHemp Flag Display Presentation At 2001 Expohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9048.shtmlHemp Bill Would Legalize Growing http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8779.shtml2001 Expo Panels To Be Cablecast Livehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8707.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by D.A. Sevilla on May 21, 2001 at 23:51:47 PT: Hemp Now! Please forward as able:Dear Elected represenative,Please support the efforts to re-legalise the production of Hemp in California.If in fact there is no market for the commodity then it wont be grown.If otherwise, and a market does exists then to keep citizens from being able to grow the crop is not democratic or supportive of the free enterprise we have been constitutionaly guarenteed.Please support democracy and free enterprise.Thanks for reading,Don A. Sevilla [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: