Hemp History

Richard Rose BA, marketing, 1989 Richard Rose came to SSU after running his own tofu business for six years. Although widely acknowledged for popularizing tofu as a food suitable for American palates, he felt empty. “There has to be a better way,” he thought. After receiving his BA, Richard decided that his ultimate goal was … Continue reading "Distinguished Alumni, Sonoma State University, 2000"...

June is Hemp History Month. Around 98% of the Cannabis that DEA has eradicated before 2014 was been hemp, “ditchweed,” over 5 Billion plants. That loss of germplasm has been costly: Kentucky and Colorado farmers had to import hemp seed to plant. And the CBD that desperate parents can’t get for their child? It’s in … Continue reading "DEA Destroys Billions in CBD"...

Marketing is a fascinating soft science that is more psychology than anything. It’s so interesting to me that I went back to Sonoma State University at age 32 to study it, eventually getting a BA then an MBA with a concentration in marketing. I was always tweaking my branding and marketing efforts, a continuous improvement … Continue reading "Cannabis Marketing Best Practices"...

I know Herer said the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was all Harry Anslinger, but do you really think only Anslinger was behind it? A low-level railroad cop was able to single-handedly marshall the federal government to wage a war on Blacks and Mexicans, getting Congress to go along and the White House what, just … Continue reading "Anslinger’s Super Racist Boss: FDR"...

No woman has had as much impact on the global hemp movement as the late Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop. In the mid-90s she introduced a number of skin care products containing hempseed oil, sold in thousands of her stores around the world. She fought mall owners to be allowed window displays featuring … Continue reading "Anita Roddick: Hempseed Oil Pioneer"...

Hempseed and other hemp flower products have been in the human and animal diet for many millennia. There is much documentation of that, evidence from around the world including the U.S. Therefore when in 2017 FDA announced it was soliciting comments for which food ingredients should be on the official list as existing before October … Continue reading "2017: Hemp Flower Products Pre-DSHEA"...

“Laws are like sausages, it’s better not to see them being made.” The following is the letter I wrote in 2015 to the person handling hemp for then-Congressman Polis. It was on behalf of 18 CBD companies, fifteen in Colorado and three of which were the largest in the country at the time. It was … Continue reading "2015: Making CBD “Sausage”"...

No state has done more to stop hemp while also appearing to support it, than California. I’ve written about it here, here, and here. The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act that rogue hemp trade association HIA got passed in 2013 was so bad, a poorly-written, desperate attempt to appear to be doing something anything on … Continue reading "2013 California Hemp Act Fails (Again)"...

Starting in 2001 the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) killed the hemp foods market for 2.5 years, and almost took Canadian hemp down with it, for NOTHING, all over a lie. In a post-9/11 world, DEA wanted to concentrate on terrorism and was willing to explicitly legalize hemp products with any amount of THC, no maximum, … Continue reading "2004: Ninth Circuit says Hemp Suit “Gratuitous”"...

The year was 1994. I was in my office, agonizing over the outline for my first cookbook (four books later, I still agonize), when the phone rang. I answered distractedly. “Hey, Christina,” said the warm voice on the line. I relaxed as I recognized the throaty greeting of my dear friend Richard Rose. “Will I … Continue reading "2003: The HempNut Cookbook Foreword By Christina Pirello"...

In 1999 Kenex Inc. was a Canadian company exporting many different hempseed and fiber products to the U.S. I was one of their customers for one shipment, and in reviewing pro-forma invoices in advance of the export to me in California I noticed a massive red flag: they put “Contains less than 10 ppm THC.” … Continue reading "2002: State Dep’t on Kenex NAFTA Suit"...

DEA’s THC Clarification Causes Confusion. Natural Foods Merchandiser, March 2002, p. 18, 20, by Mitchell Clute. On Oct. 9, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a clarification of the Controlled Substances Act of 1972 stating that hemp foods containing any detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, will henceforth be considered illegal … Continue reading "2002: DEA’s THC Clarification Causes Confusion"...

The brand-new nut that can add years to your life! Woman’s World – The Woman’s Weekly, Jan 2 2001, by Caitlin Castro. Subhead: Impressive new studies show that this surprising snack can protect you from a host of diseases – and make you feel better right now! Five daily servings of fruits and vegetables…seven servings … Continue reading "2001: The Brand-New Nut That Can Add Years to Your Life!— Woman’s World"...

“Finance Your Activism” by Selling HempNut Foods...

Hemp, Hemp, Hooray. San Francisco Chronicle, Feb 23 2001, by Marina Wolf. Subhead: Santa Rosa Man Sells Food Derived From The Plant Say the words “hemp” and “food” in the same sentence, and most people think either of midnight munchies or of Alice B. Toklas’ famous brownie recipe. But in fact there’s a whole world … Continue reading "2001: Hemp, Hemp, Hooray"...

Go To Pot! Sun, Feb 6, 2001, by Stanton Fleiss. Docs hail amazing new snack food… made from hemp In a twist that gives new meaning to the phrase “potluck dinner,” scientists have discovered you can add years to your life by eating the seeds of the hemp plant – marijuana’s next of kin. The … Continue reading "2001: Go To Pot!"...

In the early and mid 1990s, supermarket chains in the U.S. and Canada didn’t know how market and merchandise the emerging vegetarian and vegan foods industry. That was typically tofu, soymilk, tempeh, and foods made from those such as my TofuRella cheese alternative and the similar foods from Galaxy Cheese, and vegan meat alternatives from … Continue reading "2001: Get Hep To Hemp, The Soybean of Tomorrow"...

A HempNut Store and Café franchise prototype was just one of the many casualties of the unfortunate suit by the fiber- and retail-based Hemp Industries Association (HIA) suing DEA for legalizing 96% of the hemp industry (no max THC). That killed the hemp food market for years, and almost took Canadian hemp with it. Flush … Continue reading "2001: From Cheese to Seeds"...

DEA Threatens Hemp Industry. Vitamin Retailer, December 2001, by Lisa Schofield. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has issued new interim rules stating that any hemp product that “causes THC to enter the human body” may not be manufactured, sold or consumed in the United States. These rules, which were published in the October 9 issue … Continue reading "2001: DEA Threatens Hemp Industry"...

Hemp’s False Flag Event It was a perfect storm of fckery: a half-dozen lawyers smelling hundreds of thousands in billable hours, a recently-taken Vote Hemp wanting to foment upset via the victim narrative for donations, Bronner wanting to make a big splash, and stoners with no skin in the game suing DEA over hemp was … Continue reading "2001: DEA Legalizes Hemp Products, HIA Sues to Stop It"...

Mary Jane’s Cousin. The Monthly (east SF bay area, California), Aug 2001, p 19, by Chiori Santiago, photos by Alain McLaughlin. A staple crop in colonial times, hemp was linked to its psychoactive cousin in the ‘20s and has been vilified ever since. Today, hemp is making a revival. Dubbed “the Soybean of the New … Continue reading "2001 Mary Jane’s Cousin"...