HEMP IN NEW YORK

This month hemp has been making news in New York City. After Anya Hindmarch sold her bags to lots of people lined up outside of Whole Foods, a hemp bag was seen on the shoulders of some women in New York, and it casually stated: "REAL ECO BAGS ARE MADE FROM HEMP". Having the real thing, none of these ladies wasted any time on the line for the Anya bag. Ironically, people buying the Anya bag, supposedly to to something green, were asking the shop for plastic bags to put them in. Then they went and sold them on Ebay. A limited edition of how many million? The REAL ECO BAG was made in an edition of less than 200, and sold exclusively to Ecologist and Positive News readers. John Vidal, environment editor of the Guardian, suggested (jokingly) we send one to Posh, but sorry ma'am, we ran out. Next time we do a run we'll keep you in mind...

On Saturday, 21 July, the New York Times put a story on the front page about the struggle for hemp in North Dakota. NORML posted it on their site in its entirety, save for the photo, click here to view. It is a well written piece, the author, Monica Davey, obviously took the time to get the facts. Technical details and irony give her piece the character of a good front page piece, and I would hope that more pieces like this appear in the press.

The bag on the shoulder of this young woman was made from Romanian hemp, 100% organic, and manufactured in the UK by Bobby Pugh of The Hemp Shop. It and similar bags will be carried by Minawear in the US. Hopefully, however, the hemp can be made in the USA and grown in the USA. American farmers are getting sick of the DEA and its red tape, and some of them, like Dave Monson, are taking the government to court.

Later next month, on 21-23 August, there will be a public event in support of hemp called Lakota Hemp Days, click here to be taken to site. While that event promises to much of a young, music driven, 'leftie' event, Dave Monson and other hemp activists are very much 'right-wingers'. What we are seeing is that hemp rises above politics, and has broad support. Americans really want a profitable crop that does not require pesticides, and as hemp can be used for food, paper, textiles, medicine and energy, there is great demand for it.