A STALL TO ROLL UP FOR

Among the traditional displays of fish, fruit and vegetables, a stall with
a difference is hoping to attract shoppers to Hull's covered market.

At a glance, the items of display at Carl Wagner's stall resemble the
assortment of good available at any other cut-price outlet - bags, books, T
shirts, body lotion and the occasional piece of natty headgear.

There are also refreshments including hemp bars, orange bonbons, gum,
flapjack and lozenges.

But barring the reading material, and a collection of hookah pipes and
bongs sent all the way from India almost everything for sale is made from
hemp - the same plant from which cannabis is derived.

Some people may be surprised to learn the plant has so many uses. According
to 42-year old Mr. Wagner - who stood in the last election as a
representative of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance - almost 20,000 other
products can be made from hemp.

He is a hive of information on cannabis related topics.

"Part of my reason for coming here was to try and educate people," said Mr.
Wagner. "Unfortunately most of the information from official bodies is
either misleading or is simply untrue."

Mr. Wagner, from Victoria Square, Ella Street, West Hull, is part of an
increasingly influential consensus lobbying for the legalisation of many
banned substances.

On Monday, the Home Secretary David Blunkett announced that cannabis would
be reclassified from a class B to a class C drug - putting it in the same
category as anti-depressants and steroids. Mr. Blunkett denied the move
was decriminalisation by another name and stressed the drug would remain
illegal.