13 June 2012 - Last week David Bronner, the CEO of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps locked himself in a cage full of hemp plants at Lafayette Square outside the White House. He did this to protest against federal policy that prohibits growing industrial hemp. For more then ten years hemp oil is one of the main ingredients of Dr Bonner's Magic Soaps.

The protest began at 8 a.m. when Bronner and his caged trailer were dropped off. Surrounded by hemp plants in his cage David Bronner displayed a variety of legal products made from hemp and pleaded with President Obama — via microphone — to allow hemp harvesting in the U. S.

Aside from hemp’s industrial uses, it is a cannabis plant related to marijuana that contains small amounts of THC. That’s why the federal government considers it a controlled substance. Industrial Hemp however contains less then one percent THC while marijuana contains up to 20 percent of THC.

Industrial hemp plants that are processed into oil cannot produce a high, but according to the Obama administration there's no difference between hemp and marijuana. David Bronner called the federal policy "not science-based or good for the U.S. economy. We've lobbied and campaigned for over a decade and feel abandoned by our president, who, as an Illinois state legislator, voted twice for hemp cultivation."

The protest was brought to an end when Metro police and the D.C. fire department used a chainsaw to cut open the steel cage door and arrest him. He was charged with possession of marijuana and blocking passage.  Back in Escondido, David Bronner tells KPBS News he is in favor of legalization of all cannabis plants, including marijuana.

Source: Washington Post