HEMP SHAMPOO MAKER SUES FOR DEFAMATION

A Westwood shampoo manufacturer has sued the head of a national anti-drug
organization, alleging that he defamed the company in a recent newspaper
article. Alterna Inc. filed the civil suit against Glenn Levant, a former
deputy Los Angeles police chief and founder of DARE America Inc., a
private, nonprofit group that promotes the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program to schoolchildren nationwide. The suit, filed in Los Angeles County
Superior Court, alleges that Levant made false and malicious statements
about the company when he said in a Nov. 6 Los Angeles Times article that
the company's Alterna Hemp Shampoo "is a subterfuge to promote marijuana"
because its ads feature a cannabis leaf. In a news release, the company
said it would drop the suit if Levant retracted his statement in the
newspaper, paid the company's legal fees and financed "correctional
advertising to inform all Alterna customers of Levant's inaccurate
comments." Levant called the suit "a cheap publicity gimmick" that is
without merit.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan