SpiralArchitect

Millionaire puffs up hemp uses
10/22/2008|The Boston Herald|Greg Turner

The Hemp Industries Association wants Andrew Lahde to put some of the millions he made as a hedge-fund manager where his mouth is.

GOING GREEN? At the Hemp Industries Association Convention in Boston yesterday, Ryan Sharp of Perfect Food Co. eyes hemp fiber. Photo by Will Nunnally

The trade group latched onto Lahde after he called it quits from the world of finance Friday in an eyebrow-raising letter in which he thanked “stupid” investors for enriching him and pushed for the legalization of marijuana.

But Lahde also hyped hemp, the non-drug cousin of cannabis, as an untapped food and energy source.

“At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country?” Lahde wrote.

U.S. law prohibits hemp farming, but products from the plant may be imported. Industrial hemp is used to make paper, textiles, food and fuel. Hemp milk - an alternative to dairy or soy milk - has become a staple at natural-food markets, and fibers from the plant are finding their way into building materials.

The hemp trade group, which held its annual meeting yesterday in Boston, said Lahde could help finance its efforts to educate the public and lobby lawmakers to lift the hemp-growing ban.

“We definitely could use some funds to raise awareness,” said David Bronner, the group’s president and the owner of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps in California, which uses hemp oil in its products.

It’s unclear if Lahde, who made millions betting against subprime home loans, heard the plea. He did not return a message left yesterday at his firm, Lahde Capital Management in Santa Monica, Calif.

At yesterday’s meeting, a British company described its “hemp-crete” product used to build “green” homes, while New Jersey-based Hain Celestial displayed its Hemp Dream milk now hitting stores.

The trade group estimates that hemp food sales grew by 65 percent to $33 million for the 12 months ended in August, up from $20 million during the same period a year ago.

“The industry is really poised to explode across all different sectors,” Donner said.