"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.
Scroll down for downloadable versions, and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel to receive immediate updates when new material goes live.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?