John "Sparky" Birrenbach | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1961-05-17)May 17, 1961 (age 64) |
| Occupation(s) | Business and marketing consultant |
| Political party | Legal Marijuana Now |
| Other political affiliations | Independence Party Independent Grassroots |
John"Sparky" Birrenbach (born May 17, 1961) is an American businessman, marketing consultant, writer, filmmaker, andmarijuana rights activist.[1][2]
Birrenbach, who founded the Institute for Hemp,[3][4] was namedHigh Times magazine's 1993 Freedom Fighter of the Year. He was theIndependent Grassroots Party's nominee forUS President in 1996.[2]
Birrenbach, former owner of theSaint Paul business Executive Tea and Coffee, told a reporter that he was arrested formarijuana possession in the 1980s.[5]
Birrenbach, a formerUnited States Navy Corpsman who served from 1979 to 1985 and was honorably discharged in September, 1983, founded the Institute for Hemp in 1987, a nonprofitindustrial hemp research organization.[6]
In 1990, Birrenbach applied for a permit to harvestwild hemp in Minnesota, and was denied.[7] And, in 1991, Birrenbach applied to theMinnesota Department of Agriculture for a permit to grow hemp.[5][8][9]
A father of two, Birrenbach has written forHigh Times andThe Denver Post.[10]
Birrenbach participated in a hemp festival held inRochester, Minnesota, in 1992.[11]
In1996, Birrenbach, known to supporters as "Hemp John", ran forPresident of the United States as a nominee of theIndependent Grassroots Party, on a ticket withGeorge McMahon forVice President.[12]
Birrenbach was a candidate in the2000 Minnesota House of Representatives election for theIndependence Party, running in District 65B.[13]
In 2019, Birrenbach was a candidate for Minnesota Senate in theDistrict 11 special election to replaceTony Lourey, who resigned to become Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services. Birrenbach represented theLegal Marijuana Now Party, which became a major party in Minnesota on January 1, 2019.[2]
"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.
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."
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