SANTA CRUZ HEMP EXPO SET TO START

From sandals and jeans to soap and pastries, products made from hemp
- -- the marijuana plant -- will be on display this weekend at an
exposition in Santa Cruz.

Advocates say hemp, as Cannabis sativa was originally known, is a
cheap and environmentally friendly source of fiber, food and fuel that
has been tarred by the drug war.

"Hemp is a commodity that has been denied the right to compete on the
open market," said Bob Lamonica, producer of Santa Cruz's second
annual Industrial Hemp Expo.

This year's event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the
Civic Auditorium on Church Street will include nearly 60 vendors from
the United States, Canada and even Holland.

"We have hemp sandals, beautiful blue jeans, lipstick, bags, hats, a
hempseed treat that's really yummy," said Elaine Berke, co-owner of
Eco Goods in Santa Cruz, one of the vendors.

There will be root beer, ginger, black cherry and orange pop from
Willie's Hemp Soda of San Rafael. And B. Henfling's of Ben Lomond will
be selling hemp ale from Humboldt Brewing Company and hemp wine from
Nirvana Homebrew.

Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant, Cannabis sativa.
Advocates, however, distinguish hemp as the plant's roots, stalks and
seeds, as opposed to the leaves and flowering buds smoked as marijuana.

Hemp advocates note that the plant has been cultivated since ancient
times, primarily as a source of strong fiber. It was widely used in
the shipping industry to produce rope, twine and canvas sails that
would not rot in the sea spray. The nutty tasting seeds, they say, are
as nutritious as soy beans. The fiber and pulp can be turned into paper.

The advantage of hemp, advocates say, is it is cheap and easy to grow.
A marijuana crop can be cultivated in 100 days.