"We want to give our money to American farmers," says David Bronner, head of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, which uses non-psychoactive hemp in its products. "Why are we continually handing it to Canadians?"
The answer? Because it's illegal to grow hemp in the United States. You can import hemp from other countries, but home-grown hemp—related to marijuana but lacking any ability to get you high—is strictly verboten in the Land of the Free. Indeed, the feds consider the plant—famously grown by George Washington and one of the most versatile natural substances known to manking—the equivalent of its euphoria-inducing relative.
Bronner supports lifting the ban on growing industrial hemp inside the United States. He was recently arrested outside the White House after protesting the current policy by locking himself in a metal cage with hemp plants. He sat down with Reason's Mike Riggs to discuss his arrest, the industrial applications of hemp, and the paths to legalization.
About 3 minutes.
Interview by Mike Riggs. Camera by Meredith Bragg and Joshua Swain; edited by Swain.
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