Jill Stein in New York outside Trump Towers

Jill Stein came to New York today and made more money for her recount project. Which is very good news for companies like Exxon Mobile, Lockheed Martin, etc. She has already $8,500,000 in such firms, so she is a loyal investor. Many in the GOP no doubt approve.

And since she raised over $6,000,000 for the recount of the votes this November in the US, she is going to have a lot more. Which some people think was going to be spent on the recount. In fact that was the premise of her solicitation.

But that is not where the money went. She could have had a recount in Pennsylvania, but she did not want to pay the state fee of $1,000,000 to pay for their workers. Maybe she expected them to do it for free. And keep the money she raised.

Arriving in New York at 10am, she headed for the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, across from which she made her speech. The press was there in great force, but only to listen to her. When I showed them the information about her, they rudely ignored it. They know she has lots of money and makes an easy story just showing up to ask for more money.

Most of the passersby knew that too. While the press was rude, the crowd reached out to me, and when I told them the facts about Stein were easy to check - and FREE - they wanted to know why the journalists were acting like petulant brats. Lots of disgust from both Democrats and Republicans on this. I ridiculed them for hours - and told one fool who wanted only an easy scoop that I could face every single American in the face after having done my bit They acted bored and stupid. They did squirm as I pointed them out, and had to endure my honest criticism for their dishonest and sloppy work.

CNN was especially rude, and this after assaulting me on 9 November when I asked them why they were only reporting one side to the story. I had to threaten them with arrest. CNN treats American with contempt by not telling the whole story, ignoring issues like hemp, Clinton's sexual abuse of Cathy O'Brien, etc.

Other outlets are also full of stupid lazy hacks. Just look at the lack of articles on hemp - compared to the multitude of articles on Kim Kardashian. Or dope. Written by dopes.

So while I am not against a recount, Jill Stein is NOT the person to be trusted with it and lots of money. Who knows what she is really doing with it. And how many fools there are in the Green Party to allow someone with the kind of investment she has to be their candidate.

That said, in case someone wants to accuse me of being some kind of right wing activist, go on this very blog and see how many times I supported Cynthia McKinney when she was the Green  Party presidential candidate. A black woman FYI. The press ignored her since she went after Bush, and did not just allow hypocrisy in the Democrat party.

So there. Let's see what Trump will do with the hemp issue, bear in mind that two top Republicans were mor in support than either Greens or Democrats, I am referring to Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, both Senators from Kentucky - and let's not forget Ron Paul, retired Congressman from Victoria, Texas, the town in which my sister runs Minawear ( www.minawear.com ).
And of course, I was wearing Minawear hemp clothing - Jill Stein was not. Very few in the Greens really support hemp now with her as their candidate, maybe they smoke dope. Must be to be giving her money.

Hemp History Week 6 June- 12 June

 

Hemp History Week in Victoria, TX!

hemp history week

During Hemp History Week June 6th through the 12th of 2016,  hemp activists will come together to co-create events around the country to promote education, awareness and activism.
From Hawaii to North Dakota, Vermont, and Kentucky things are heating up for the legalization of hemp farming.  So far at least 26 states have successfully introduced hemp legislation and at least 6 are growing test plots.

June 9th at 7 PM in Victoria, TX where Minawear Luxury Hemp Loungewear is based, the Guerrilla Gourmet restaurant will be hosting a Hemp History Week event.  See the movie Bringing It Home about the modern hemp industry while sampling Chef James Canter's hemp menu items.  At 7:15 join the Skype conversation with the creator of the Cannabis Car, Bruce Dietzen.

Along with free product samples from Manitoba Harvest,  and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, attendees will also be eligible for a chance to win a copy of Hemp for Victory, browse the hemp library, check out other hemp uses and products, and shop one of a kind tie dyes from Minawear Luxury Hemp Loungewear.

The best way to support the legalization of hemp farming in the United States is to purchase and use hemp products as often as you can, and tell every one you know about this plant and all of it's 25,000 applications.

We will discuss the current legislature while making available several petitions to sign.

Sign today!  Legalize Hemp Farming

Participate in Hemp History Week by creating your own event,  educating yourselves, and using hemp in one of it's 25,000 applications in your every day lives!


Guerrilla Gourmet
311 E. Constitution St. Victoria, TX
June 9th, 2016 7 PM to 10 PM

Admission by donation to pay for the Screening

Letter to Texas paper about hemp in Texas

This is a letter published in the Victoria Advocate on 7 February, 2014, from Mina Hegaard, owner of Minawear, who lives in Victoria:

Editor, the Advocate:
I am a clothing designer here in Victoria, and the main material used in my clothing, Minawear Luxury Hemp Loungewear, is hemp and organic cotton. The reason I only design with hemp and organic cotton is that I believe our environment is in grave danger of becoming severely imbalanced by the overuse of chemicals, which affects humans on many levels - whether it be a rise in illnesses from water contamination or air and soil pollutants.
Unlike conventional cotton that requires one-third of a pound of chemicals per T-shirt, hemp is grown without the use of harmful chemicals, and that is profitable to farmers as well as beneficial to the health of the planet.
Hemp has more than 25,000 applications, including fuel, textiles, building materials, food, paper, batteries and more.
Texas recently introduced a HB 84 (R) to legalize hemp farming on the state level, while H.R. 525, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015, was introduced by Representative Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, on Jan. 21 to allow American farmers to once again grow hemp to the extent that it is allowed under state laws.
Forty-two states have introduced pro-hemp legislation and twenty-eight have passed pro-hemp legislation as a resolution, hemp study bill or other.
In order to legalize growing industrial hemp, we need to first educate ourselves, and then take action. Please visit votehemp.com/write_congress.html and follow the links to find your legislators and send them email letters.
There are also many informative publications available including "Hemp For Victory," a book that my brother wrote about the uses, history, processes and financials of hemp. Woody Harrelson wrote the foreword, and I wrote the textile chapter. See link at minawear.com/shop/general/hemp-for-victory-by-kenyon-gibson.
Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself.
Mina Hegaard, Victoria

Hemp article in Your True Colours

This is the article I wrote that appeared in the latest issue of Your True Colours Magazine:

http://www.yourtruecolours.biz

Hemp is today a hard to get item. The consumer that once purchased items made from it now can get  clothes made from cotton, paper made from trees, medicine  made from manmade chemicals, and oil sourced from fish livers. Textiles, paper, medicine and edible oils are but a few of the products that hemp provides; it is a simple-to-grow plant that can be cultivated on all continents save the Antarctic. Part of the whole enigma is that hemp is a plant of great varietal variability, lending itself even to experimentation as the great Russian plant geneticist Vavilov proclaimed. Thus it can produce tall slender stems with high cellulose fibre, or it can grow short and branched with many flowers which can contain high levels of THC and other cannabinoids. These compounds make some strains valuable to medicine and also appealing to marijuana smokers; most strains do not provide much in the way of medicine of drugs, but there is such a volume of literature on the marijuana culture that the general public at times associates all hemp with marijuana. There is also a large body of literature on hemp as an industrial plant, spanning centuries.

 

In the not too distant past, entire nations, empires to wit, depended on its availability; Russia, the chief supplier in the 17th-19th centuries, sold to both the British and the American navies.  Britain and America themselves grew at that time no small amount, and both nation's legislators expressed alarm at the rate of expenditure on foreign hemp for their military. The superior quality and price of Russian hemp, however, ensured that Western powers relied on Russia's. Thus it was once the world's most traded commodity and cultivated nearly worldwide not only for its commercial value, but for the fact that many of its products, in addition to rope and sails, were necessary to survival; Thomas Jefferson, for instance, exhorted it be grown for the wealth and defense of the colonies. Over a century after his advice, the United States was eager to cultivate this crop and produced a film in WWII titled "Hemp for Victory." The threat to rope supplies in the Pacific prompted the legislature to make sure that American farmers were able and willing to plant hemp.

With the advent of metal ships running on steam and petroleum sails became almost obsolete, and abaca from the Philippines replaced hempen cordage on modern ships. Despite a dramatic downturn in demand in the maritime industry, this plant continued to be grown into the 20th century, providing a range of products from paper to food. It excelled in both of these categories, as its long and strong fibres interlocked perfectly for long lasting paper (the oldest existing fragment of paper is 2,000 years old and contains hemp) and its Omega 3,6 & 9 rich seeds full of all essential amino acids were excellent for food. Farmers also found the plant not only easy to grow in most countries of the world, but it acted as a natural pesticide (with one US cotton farmer sowing it on one third of his land at a time to rid the soil of pests).

Many changes in the law, however, in the 1930s to the 1960s in the US and other nations made hemp illegal, as these laws mistakenly lumped all forms of Cannabis sativa
in with high THC producing strains known as marijuana. A few nations continued to cultivate hemp; mainly China, which today profits from its policy. Western nations have
had a reawakening due to activists who struggled to make hemp not only legal but in some countries a subsidized species. These efforts have largely paid off, and there is presently a thriving hemp textile and hemp oil industry.

All of which might bode well for the US, as hemp, which was such a part of its history that the first US flag was made of it, can be grown in all 50 states. However, the present status of hemp is prohibitive, even with the recent ruling at the federal level that states may decide for themselves whether to allow its cultivation. So far, only two states have made cultivation legal: Colorado and Kentucky. Both were largely responsible for the change in the federal law, with farmers in the former sowing 60 acres of hemp in a field before the change; thus challenged, Washington lawmakers saw the gauntlet on the ground and  conceded. Soon afterwards, a complex battle in the Kentucky House ensued, perhaps an epic note  in American history, with both  Republican senators, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, supporting the hemp issue in Washington, while a Democrat  worked hard to keep it illegal. The governor promptly signed the bill, allowing the Bluegrass state, which was in the 19th and into the 20th century the hemp-basket of America, to regain  its heritage. 

 

While hemp is still illegal to cultivate in 48 states, and not yet produced in any quantity in Colorado or Kentucky, many American businesses manufacture hemp items, the largest sector being the hempseed oil industry, which sources its oil mainly from Canada, where farmers are profiting greatly from America's ban. A number of  other firms manufacture hemp clothing, such as Minawear in Texas, which started in 1998 in California when the hemp movement was still rather small. The years of manufacturing hempen apparel by this and other companies has brought hemp to the awareness of the general public and has helped to restore the crop to legality in the US.

 

Another outfit in the same state  working in this field is Canvasland, which makes artist's canvas - which are not only archival quality but true to original material; the use of hemp for canvas is of such  longstanding practice that the very word 'canvas' derives from 'cannabis'; canape in Italian, chanvre in French. Hemp was a major crop in many Renaissance countries, including Italy and the Netherlands. Not only was the textile used in art, but also the oil, which is clear and long-lasting. This last mentioned use of hemp is one that is not yet available on a commercial level, but is being researched by artists with a view to only bottling hemp oil as an art supply but also in finding the best variety among the thousands of varieties of hemp for this purpose, with the possibility that in the future it will replace linseed and safflower oils, both of which are prone to some degree of yellowing. 

 

From the innovative to the well established, hemp has many uses, making it  an essential part of the economy, as well as being a top choice ecologically, given the fact that it needs less water than cotton and also far less pesticides. Since there  is no real reason not to cultivate it, and every reason to do so, it is the challenge of this present generation to reverse the mistakes of our predecessors  and restore hemp to its place in our fields and the marketplace, hopefully succeeding and earning the respect of future generations.

 

Kenyon Gibson

Author of "Hemp for Victory: History & Qualities of the World's Most Useful Plant"

Kinky Friedman wins Democratic party runoff for Texas State Agricultural Commissioner

Richard “Kinky” Friedman, a humorist and country music singer, got one step closer Tuesday to adding another line to his résumé: agriculture commissioner of Texas.
It’s highly unlikely that the colorful candidate will go on to win a statewide position in deep-red Texas, but Friedman did make the Democratic primary runoff for the position.

He’ll compete against cattle farmer Jim Hogan in that May 27 contest, but a Republican is heavily favored to win the general election.

Friedman has run for office in the Lone Star State several times before, including for the same position in 2010. Then he also made the cut for a runoff before losing the ultimate battle for the nomination.

  [photo is Kinky with Mina Hegaard of Minawear]
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/richard-kinky-friedman-texas-agriculture-commissioner-runoff-104270.html#ixzz2vI7dNqbf

 

 

Minawear sales for Fall

Get Your Hemp On!!

Come check out the new styles!! Trunk Show and Party!!  Sept 19th 6 PM to 9 PM 102 Holly Oak Ct. Victoria, TX 77901 Artisans Market Sept. 21st 6:30 to 10 PM The Welder Center 214 N. Main St Victoria, TX The Pecan Street Festival Sept 28th and 29th 6th Street Austin, TX Art Outside Oct 18-21 Apache Pass, TX Enter to win a FREE pair of pants just by attending any of these events. Bring a NEW friend with you, and be entered 2X's!! www.minawear.com

Minawear outlets

Below is a list of shops that carry Minawear around the world. Minawear is now in its 15th year, and going strong. Now based in Victoria, Texas, it started in Santa Monica, California. Below is an image of Woody Harrelson wearing Minawear:




TEXAS:Organic Emporium
2918 N. Laurent St.
Victoria, TX 77901
(361) 576-2100
www.organicemporiumllc.com
The Yoga Haven
2507 Market Street
Galveston, TX 77550
(409)-770-9995
www.theyogahaven.net
Coastal Closet
1726 State Highway 361, Ste D
Port Aransas, TX 78373
(361) 749-1881
www.coastalclosetpa.com
Yoga Heart Studio
30103 Fountainview Dr. Ste 151
Houston, TX 77057
(281) 687-0647
www.yogahearthouston.com
Clista's Studio
6514 Del Monte
Houston, TX 77057
(713) 826-8416
www.clistas-studio.com
One Green Street
3423 White Oak Drive
Houston, TX 77007
(281) 888-9518
http://www.onegreenstreet.com/
NEW MEXICO:Yoga Source
901 W. San Mateo
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Body Inc.
333 W Cordova Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87505
(505) 986-0362
www.bodyofsantafe.com
Santa Fe Hemp Company
105 E. Water Street
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 984-2599
www.santafehemp.com
NEW YORK:Integral Yoga Institute
227 West 13th St.
New York, NY 10011
(212) 929-0586
Jet's Dream
212 Main St.
Greenport, NY 11944
(631) 477-0039
www.jetsdream.com
NORTH CAROLINA:Asheville Yoga Center
211 S. Liberty St.
Asheville, NC, 28801
(828)-254-0380
www.youryoga.com
MARYLAND:Joshua Tree
1340 Smith Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21231
OHIO:Hemptations
2034 Madison Road
Cincinnati, OH 45208
(513)871-4367
www.hemptations.com
Hemptations Too
11353 Lebanon Road
Sharonville, OH 45241
(513)524-4367
www.hemptations.com
OREGON:Rogue Natural Living
146 S. Redwood Hwy.
Cave Junction, OR 97523
(541) 415-2337
www.roguenaturalliving.com
CALIFORNIA:Real Goods
13771 S. Highway 101
Hopland, CA 95449
Culture Shock
7 Bolinas Rd.
Fairfax, CA 94930
(415) 456-8138
Global Village
172 North Main Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472
(707) 829-4765
Bamboo Home Store
108 Mill St.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
(530)-272-0303
www.bamboohomestore.com
Global Village Gallery
973 H Street
Arcata, CA 95521
(707) 826-2323
Being Green
408 Broad St.
Nevada City, CA 95959
(530)559-2116
www.beinggreenstore.com
Ocean Echo
23 Washington Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 823-5850
www.oceanechosurfshop.com
The Hemp Connection
412 Maple Ln
Garberville, CA 95542
(707) 923-4851
HAWAII:Hemp House
16 Baldwin Avenue
Paia, HI 96779
(808) 579-8880
WASHINGTON:Natural Clothing Company
1020 First St. #102
Snohomish, WA, 98291
(360) 243-3143
www.naturalclothingcompany.com
WISCONSIN:Hempen Goods
911 Williamson Street
Madison, WI 53703-3549
(608) 287-0410
Houdek Hemp House
201 College Ave.
Appleton, WI 54911
(920) 645-7267
COLORADO:Yogadurango
1485 Florida Rd. C-201
Durango, CO 81301
The Hemp Store
2 Ruxton Ave.
Manitou Springs, CO 80829
AUSTRALIA:Greenroom Gallery
321 Harbour Dr
Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450
(02) 6652 4207
www.greenroomgallery.com.au
JAPAN:Humminbird
3-42 Hieda
Kumamoto, Japan
860-0075
www.Purbebe.com

25% off hemp clothing sale at Minawear

Holiday Trunk Show Party!

MASSIVE HEMP BLOW-OUT!! July 29th through August 17th! For 25% off EVERYTHING Enter: DOGDAY13 on checkout page on www.minawear.com Good on WWW.MINAWEAR.COM ONLY!! OR CALL (310) 913-5909 to order by phone. Please forward to friends!! We need to make room for new styles and new colors!! Have you been saving up to invest in some new Minawear Hemp Loungewear? Now is a great time to make that purchase! 25% off all items listed on www.minawear.com This offer is only good with this code: DOGDAY13 Only available to this exclusive list and Facebook fans!

Minawear is a line of apparel created to inspire the health of the planet by using hemp, the world's most useful plant.

Minawear in Austin

Minawear has been on the road lately, last week in Houston, and this coming week up to Austin - keeping it weird! It's that time of year, the Pecan Street Festival!

Please visit us this weekend May 4th and 5th in Austin, TX at the: Pecan Street Festival On 6th Street Booth # 15 near Brazos Saturday 11- 8 PM Sunday 11- 8 PM If you have not signed our petition to President Obama, the Senate and the House, urging them to support the legalization of hemp farming, please do so here: Legalize Hemp Farming Petition Thank you!    Minawear is a line of apparel created to inspire the health of the planet by using hemp, the world's most useful plant.

Minawear events

We look forward to seeing you soon at our upcoming events: Earth Day April 20 Austin TX Trunk Show in Houston TX Thursday April 25 Pecan Street Festival Austin TX May 4 and 5 Please take a minute in appreciation for Earth Day and sign our: Legalize Hemp Farming Petition Thank you! Minawear is a line of apparel created to inspire the health of the planet by using hemp, the world's most useful plant.

Mina at Houston Yoga Fair

This weekend Mina took the show on the road to Houston to do the Yoga Fair, and this
got in the Houston papers!

 

Yoga instructors, vendors, and fans came from across the state for the 2013 edition of the Texas Yoga Conference. Part yoga retreat, part yoga party, the three day conference offered classes and supplies for both experienced yoga practitioners and those just getting started. PHOTOS BY HEATHER VIDRINE.

Will the grass grow in Kentucky?

All eyes are on Kentucky, and one can read a lot about it here as these last two months
we have been posting most of the news about the hemp debate. I'd like to send the reader to a couple of other blogs as well, one being the seminal blog on Kentucky hemp, www.kentuckyhempcoalition.blogspot.com and another being one run by Mina in Texas, who will be touring with the Kentucky Hemp Museum next month - hers is http://minawear.com/blog/

For more of the facts here, simply scroll down or put Kentuckyin the search bar top top left.

[OK, image below is NOT Cannabis sativa L., it is Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis L., but I felt like putting it here...so enjoy and read on about Cannabis sativa L., which seeks to be planted side by side with this]

Hemp clothing sale!

FAT TUESDAY 20% OFF SALE! Now until Tuesday, February 19th Use this code at check out: FATTUES13 www.minawear.com Everything on minawear.com! Feel free to share with your friends! Minawear is a line of apparel created to inspire the health of the planet by using hemp, the world's most useful plant.

Support for hemp in Clark County

Well, well, well. Guess what state is in the news again with hemp. No, not New York, which is in the news for lots of other things, some not so good...Kentucky is the answer. Look at all the posts on this blog and one sees that there is a really good chance hemp will be made legal there - and that the federal government will have a real fight on its hands if it tries to impose a ban on what was Kentucky's, and America's, herirtage crop. In the works at a Texas firm that makes hemp clothing is a petition to the White House so that work is being accomplished both on state and federal levels - make your voice heard if you wish and add your name at www.minawear.com/about-us/

 

The image below is of hemp farmers, on a ca. 1914 $10 bill. Makes one wonder how hemp and hemp farmers (Washington, Jefferson) could be on bank notes but the substance, which is also used to this day to produce US paper currency, is illegal to grow.

 

Clark County's agriculture fate could rest in hemp legislation

January 25, 2013|By Fred Petke

Central Kentucky News

 

 

Less than 150 years ago, industrial hemp was big business in central Kentucky, and Clark County was at the center of the industry.

It could return to the region as a cash crop, depending on what action the Kentucky General Assembly takes during its 30-day session.

Hemp’s history in Kentucky, though, was far from consistent. A drought in 1854 and the Civil War devastated the industry. In the two decades between 1869 and 1889, production boomed from 155 tons to more than 1,000 tons 20 years later. That success was followed by 33 states banning hemp between 1914 and 1933.

World War II gave hemp and Kentucky its last big boost with federal influence to help with production. It eventually fizzled by the 1950s, when few farmers wanted to deal with the government oversight and the labor-intensive crop.

Clark County could be “ground zero” for hemp’s rebirth in Kentucky, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said during a recent visit, if the legislature will approve either of two pending bills. Comer said he and state Sen. R.J. Palmer, D-28, believe they have the 20 votes needed in the Senate to approve the bill. Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is also a staunch supporter of hemp legislation.

Comer has led the charge, convening a rare meeting of the Kentucky Hemp Commission in late 2012 and actively lobbying for new legislation before the General Assembly. Last week, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce gave its support to the proposal, saying it could make Kentucky a leader in hemp production, provided there is enough regulation and oversight.

Senate Bill 50 would establish parameters for growers to obtain a state license, including that growers would provide GPS coordinates of the property and submit to a criminal background check. A license would allow them to grow hemp on a minimum 10-acre plot; smaller plots could be used for research.
House Bill 33 does not include site regulations but would order the sheriff of the county to monitor and test the plants for THC levels. The sheriff would also be responsible for performing the background checks.

Hemp is very similar to marijuana but with much lower levels of THC, the chemical that gives marijuana users the high. The physical similarities in the hemp and marijuana plants are one of the main reasons many in law enforcement, including Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer, are against legalizing hemp production. Winchester Police Chief Kevin Palmer and Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue Jr. agree.

“It’s still against federal law,” Chief Palmer said. “I don’t see that it can be done legally with industrial hemp.

“I think it brings too much baggage with it.”

One of the chief stumbling blocks for law enforcement is the similarity between hemp and marijuana. Visually, the two are hard to tell apart from the other. Distinguishing between the two may require lab testing.

“I think it would be hard for a layperson to distinguish between the two,” Perdue said. “I’m opposed to it.

I still think it would be another obstacle for us if we find it in the field.

“In a field of cultivated hemp and cultivated marijuana, I’m not sure I could tell the difference.”
In the 1995 report to the Governor’s Hemp and Related Fiber Crops Task Force, hemp production is maximized by growing the plants close together to produce tall plants. Marijuana succeeds better as a low-density, short bushy plant. The two are visibly different while growing in the field, but individual plants are hard to distinguish, the report states.

“Any confusion about controlled substances adds to the problem for law enforcement,” Chief Palmer said.

“What is the priority here? Is it crime prevention and dealing with the ongoing drug problem, or is it the economy? In my opinion, it’s choosing your priority.”

Comer, a former state legislator, is not dissuaded by the lack of support from the state police.

“All we’re asking is for is for government to get out of our way, let these private sector jobs be created, and you have legislators who say there’s a small government agency that’s opposed to it,” he said.

Comer believes hemp could be a huge industry for Kentucky, between growing and manufacturing jobs, and one that wouldn’t require subsidies or incentives to get off the ground. It would also be a sustainable industry. A 1998 report from the University of Kentucky also said that Hemp requires few, if any, herbicides. If grown in rotation with other crops, it could reduce the number of weeds and boost yields for other plants, the study found.

Still, Clark County’s legislators are divided on the issue of hemp.

2013 starts well for hemp

This year is starting well, with a petition now up at www.minwear.com/about-us/ - and really concerned people signing. Greta Gaines, Cynthia McKinney, Dave Pillar, Dave Brooks - we have a long way to go though. What is interesting to watch is what states they are coming from. All 50 states have a signer now, with the the largest numbers being Texas, Colorado, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and California. These are the states whose legislators - Ron Paul, Rand Paul for instance (TX/KY) have been out there for the issue - and whose citizens are the most aware.

From Kentuckians we get the most activism, and there are plans for a Kentucky Hemp Museum tour in the near future, to go to some of the aforementioned states.

It can be said that the curren movement started in California - where Jack Herer was based, although he got his facts from Jack Frazier on the East Coast. Frazier's book is one of the best books on hemp - and rather hard to find now. Herer's has sold millions of copies and is rather more into the smoking side of things.

Whatever his enthusiasm for the THC varieities, Herer did wake up millions of people to the hemp issue, and his state has more hemp businesses than any other. (Minawear, though now based in Texas, started in Santa Monica, California). One of these is Nutiva, run by John Roulac, of which I was reminded when I went to buy hemp oil at Whole Foods today. Strangely, they did not stack hemp oil among the many oils they had - but Whole Body did. They no longer had Good Oil, good riddance as that particular brand, as I have noted on this blog, used chemical defoliants - and had upgraded to Nutiva and Manitoba Hemp Harvest.

One might assume I was buying it for food, and while not wrong this logic, I was actually buying it as a drying oil for my paintings.  (Previous posts have noted its qualities and the chemical reactions of oxidation of painting oils). Most I will consume myself - and with that in mind, it seems worth posting the nutritional value of that brand of hemp oil:

Omega-3LA             2.5gm     per Tbsp
Omega-6LA              7gm       per Tbsp
Omega-9LA              2.5gm    per Tbsp
Omega-3 SDA           250mg
GLA                          500mg    per Tbsp
Calories                      125        per Tbsp
Saturated fat                1gm     per Tbsp
Trans Fat                     0gm     per Tbsp
Poylunsaturated Fat   11gm   per Tbsp
Monounsaturated Fat  2gm    per Tbsp
Cholesterol                    0gm    per Tbsp
Sodium                          0gm     per Tbsp

www.nutiva.com

Kenaf, is it hemp?

My sister just left a comment about a Texan growing 'Cannabis hibisicus', most likely Hibiscus cannabinus, which is Kenaf, or Ambari hemp. Years ago hemp could legally be used to describe a number of fibres, but since the mid-twentieth century it has been limited to Cannabis sativa.
Or it could have been some other sort of hibiscus, which occasioned police action at the home of some law abiding citizens of the Lone Star State, see my reply (scroll down two posts).
Kenaf has been experimented with by the US government as a source of fibre hemp, and is a viable plant to explore for this, but does not also provide the many other products that C. sativa does.
The image below shows the superficial similarity between the two, the flower, of course, varying greatly.

End of year sale and other events at Minawear

Minawear is havign an  END OF THE YEAR - 15% OFF SALE!!!

Now through December 31st! Go to www.minawear.com

and use the  discount code: DEC2012

It has been a steady year over there, with new suppliers added and a number of succesful events around the state, especially Austin. Minawear is based in Victoria, Texas, which is, or was, due to some recent redistricting, in Dr Ron Paul's district. We wish him a happy retirement and that as part of his legacy, his hemp farming bill will be passed. For which, we are starting a petition to go to President Barrack Obama, and hope to raise 25,000 signatures so it will be required that he reply. If you are reading this and want to be on it, leave your details in a comment here and we will get back to you. Have a happy holiday season and let's all work together to make hemp legal again in the US where is was used to write the Constitution.

Minawear is a line of apparel created to inspire the health of the planet by using hemp, the world's most useful plant.

Minawear Luxury Hemp Loungewear
102 Holly Oak Ct.
Victoria
TX
77901

Minawear at Pecan Street Festival

Minawear will be at the Pecan Street Festival in Austin Texas this weekend, 29/30 September. It is the oldest street fair in the state, and possibly the biggest.
http://www.oldpecanstreetfestival.com/home/
Mina is by the way one of the most established hemp clothing manufacturers in the US. If you miss her in Austin, you can see her on line shop here: www.minawear.com

She happens to live in Victoria, which is in Dr Ron Paul's district, he is a sponsor of the Hemp Farming Bill which would give Americans the rights to grow the plant George Washington grew and which was used in the making of the first American flag. Some people hate America and oppose this. If you're an American, you ought to find out if your congressman is voting for this or against it. And vote him/her in if they do, and out of they don't.

In the future, we hope to see lots of hemp growing in Texas and all over America, replacing the more water hungry crops like cotton and corn which hurt farmers.

Rep. Ron Paul Introduces H.R. 1831, The Industrial Hemp Farming Act, on Heels of Successful Second Annual Hemp History Week

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By Vote Hemp

Published: Thursday, May. 12, 2011 - 7:21 am

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2011 -- Senate Bill In Support of Industrial Hemp Farming Expected to Follow

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the fourth time since the federal government outlawed hemp farming in the United States over 50 years ago, a federal bill was introduced on May 11, which if passed, will remove restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis. The chief sponsor, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter last week seeking support for H.R. 1831, The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011. H.R. 1831 is almost identical to H.R. 1866, which was introduced in the 111th Congress in 2009.

"We are pleased to see the re-introduction of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act in Congress. Vote Hemp is currently working with a Democratic Senator who is preparing to introduce companion legislation in the Senate in support of industrial hemp farming," says Vote Hemp President, Eric Steenstra. "It is due time for the Senate as well as President Obama and the Attorney General to prioritize the crop's benefits to farmers and to take action like Rep. Paul and the cosponsors of H.R. 1831 have done. With the U.S. hemp industry valued at over $400 million in annual retail sales and growing, a change in federal policy to allow hemp farming would mean instant job creation, among many other economic and environmental benefits," adds Steenstra.

U.S. companies that manufacture or sell products made with hemp include Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a California company that manufactures the number-one-selling natural soap in the U.S. as well as best-selling hemp food manufacturers, such as French Meadow Bakery, Living Harvest, Manitoba Harvest, Nature's Path, Nutiva and Sequel Naturals who make their products from hemp grown in Canada. Sustainable hemp seed, fiber and oil are also used by major companies such as Ford Motors, Patagonia and The Body Shop.

"Public support for industrial hemp farming is growing in leaps and bounds in the U.S.," explains Steenstra. "The second annual Hemp History Week, celebrated from May 2-8, 2011 featured over 550 events in all 50 states. The campaign mobilized the support of tens of thousands of consumers, grass-roots activists and many high-profile celebrities from health and wellness experts to TV and entertainment personalities, professional athletes and renowned musicians."

H.R. 1831 was introduced by chief sponsor Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) with 21 original cosponsors, including Rep. Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Clay (D-MO), Rep. Cohen (D-TN), Rep. DeFazio (D-OR), Rep. Ellison (D-MN), Rep. Farr (D-CA), Rep. Frank (D-MA), Rep. Grijalva (D-AZ), Rep. Hinchey (D-NY), Rep. McClintock (R-CA), Rep. McDermott (D-WA), Rep. Miller (D-CA), Rep. Moran (D-VA), Rep. Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Pingree (D-ME), Rep. Polis (D-CO), Rep. Rohrabacher (R-CA), Rep. Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Stark (D-CA) and Rep. Woolsey (D-CA).

To date, seventeen states have passed pro-hemp legislation, and six states (Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia) have already authorized the licensing of farmers to grow the crop. However, despite state authorization to grow hemp, farmers in these states risk raids by federal agents, prison time and land forfeiture if they plant the crop, due to the failure of federal policy to distinguish oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis (i.e., industrial hemp) from psychoactive varieties.

More information about industrial hemp legislation and the crop's many uses can be found at

www.VoteHemp.com

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/12/3621904/rep-ron-paul-introduces-hr-1831.html#ixzz1MRrYazLe

KING COTTON

The New York Times yesterday ran a story on the front page of the Business section about how US farmers, seeing the higher cotton prices, are now dedicating their land to cotton. This means that land that used to grow wheat and other foodstuffs will be used for cotton; and it may or may not mean that cotton prices will go down, punishing the greedy farmers for their rush to cash in.

The article by William Neuman quotes one farmer, Ramon Vela, of the Texas panhandle, as saying he will plant 1,100 acres of cotton this year, up from 210 last year. The panhandle has not been a traditional cotton belt, but recently new strains of cotton that work well there have made cotton very popular there; too popular, and it is now a monocrop in some areas of North Texas; the state grows over one million acres; the US grew 10.8 last year, and this year is expected to grow 12.8 acres of this crop.

Cotton prices are the highest they have ever been, and this affects not just crude bolls, but all cotton based products. One textile researcher, Carol Webb in the UK, noted "Crochet cotton has risen in price out of all proportion to scarcity of raw cotton." It is called exponential increases. And we can expect more and more - but they may appear in the food prices now that cotton is set to flood the market.

As it floods the market, it empties the reservoirs; it is a thirsty crop, though it takes less water than corn. Texas growers will have to tap into the Ogallala Aquifer, which is already getting depleted.

So there is one crisis on top of another. Had we grown hemp, this would not be - and hemp is both a food and a textile crop, which uses less water than either corn or cotton.

But no one listened. So there. I hope you can afford to buy a shirt and something to eat. If so, you're lucky. More and more people can't , and it is due to those who push nuclear power, fossil fuels, and cotton whilst keeping hemp illegal.