John Birrenbach Explained

John "Sparky" Birrenbach (born May 17, 1961) is an American businessman, marketing consultant, writer, filmmaker, and marijuana rights activist.^{[1] [2]}

Birrenbach, who founded the Institute for Hemp,^{[3] [4]} was named High Times magazine's 1993 Freedom Fighter of the Year. He was the Independent Grassroots Party's nominee for US President in 1996.^[2]

Life and activism

Birrenbach, former owner of the Saint Paul business Executive Tea and Coffee, told a reporter that he was arrested for marijuana possession in the 1980s.^[5]

Birrenbach, a former United States Navy Corpsman who served from 1979 to 1985 and was honorably discharged in September, 1983, founded the Institute for Hemp in 1987, a nonprofit industrial hemp research organization.^[6]

In 1990, Birrenbach applied for a permit to harvest wild hemp in Minnesota, and was denied.^[7] And, in 1991, Birrenbach applied to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for a permit to grow hemp.^{[5] [8] [9]}

A father of two, Birrenbach has written for High Times and The Denver Post.^[10]

Political career

Birrenbach participated in a hemp festival held in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1992.^[11]

In 1996, Birrenbach, known to supporters as "Hemp John", ran for President of the United States as a nominee of the Independent Grassroots Party, on a ticket with George McMahon for Vice President.^[12]

Birrenbach was a candidate in the 2000 Minnesota House of Representatives election for the Independence Party, running in District 65B.^[13]

In 2019, Birrenbach was a candidate for Minnesota Senate in the District 11 special election to replace Tony Lourey, who resigned to become Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services. Birrenbach represented the Legal Marijuana Now Party, which became a major party in Minnesota on January 1, 2019.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pine City area setting of film 'The Lake Mystery' . . September 5, 2018 . Gainor, Mike.
2. Web site: Candidates crowd Senate District 11 race . Pine Journal . January 8, 2019 . Malcomb, James.
3. Web site: While cannabis hemp is known primarily for its leaf usage, the fabric industry is popularizing the textile which is more than 7,000 years old. . . November 7, 1994 . Bode, Gus .
4. Legal Threads . . October 9, 1995 . Tillotson, Kristin . "Hemp - it's not just for smoking anymore." That's the motto of the St. Paul-based Institute for Hemp - a virtual one-man band run by hempophile John Birrenbach - which is dedicated to spreading the word that hemp cultivation should be legalized as one answer to the country's environmental and agricultural woes. .
5. Web site: Entrepreneur wants OK to harvest hemp . . June 20, 1991 . Associated Press.
6. Web site: Four remain in special senate race . . January 17, 2019 . Gainor, Mike .
7. Alternatives to oil, paper get kiss of death . . December 9, 1990 . Morris, David . Last August St. Paul, Minn., businessman John Birrenbach applied for a license to harvest wild hemp. Minnesota law allows such harvesting for commercial purposes, but its Department of Agriculture turned down his request, adding that it intends "to ask for repeal of this section of law because we do not feel it is either necessary or in the best interests of agriculture." .
8. Web site: Just Say Maybe . . October 31, 1993 .
9. News: A Fashionable Joint Venture . . May 31, 1995 . Hakin, Danny .
10. Web site: Guest Commentary: The problems with Colorado marijuana . . July 30, 2015 . Birrenbach, John .
11. Web site: Hemp's advantages don't all go up in smoke, boosters say . . August 31, 1992 . Hughes .
12. Web site: Election and voting information.
13. Web site: Results for STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 65B. Minnesota Secretary of State. January 5, 2019.