The Note - 735.5 New Hampshire, Lawrence, KS, 66044 - 800 766 6561 Hemp Activism in Wichita - May 26, 1992 by Allen Brunson The national hemp Awareness Tour made a stop in Wichita’s Linwood Park on the 26th of May from 4 to 8 p.m. Books, patches, t-shirts, and other hemp related items were for sale. Several addressed those assembled on the value hemp could have in our society were its production and use made legal. People came and went; a crowd of about 150 were present all day during the chilly weather but festive atmosphere. Omnipresence, a band from Rose Hill, played at about 7:30.

A few days prior to the event, Debby Moore, head of the Wichita NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) chapter took some time to explain about the Wichita NORML Chapter. Moore is very sincere about her cause and the organization currently has about 50 members in town. She also founded the Kansas Environmentalists for Commerce in Hemp, an organization whose goal is to promote the many values of hemp and to help decriminalize its use.

Moore along with other representatives of KECH were not allowed to participate in this year's River Festival Sundowner Parade. Organizers of the parade assumed KECH was there to promote marijuana smoking. "The smoking of marijuana is a very small part of the movement," Moore said. "That's not what we're about at all."

Hemp can be used to make clothing, canvas, and higher quality paper products than can be made from trees. It can be biomassed and used as an alternative to fossil fuels. Hemp seeds are an excellent source of protein, similar to soy beans. It's a highly resilient crop which can be grown in poor soil or in rotation with other crops.

Moore plans to open a boutique in Wichita that will sell hemp clothing. Legally, the hemp clothing can only be 55% hemp and must be manufactured outside the U.S.

For information about joining the Wichita NORML chapter of Kansas Environmentalists for Commerce in Hemp, or more information about the cause, write to Moore at 2742 E. Second, Wichita, 67214, or call (316) 681-1743. Meetings are heald at the East Second address the first Friday of every month. Allen Brunson