Foreword
County Judge Executive John Riley
Of the many people I’ve encountered along “life’s path,” among the most interesting, genuine, and by far the most knowledgeable about hemp, in Kentucky and in the United States, is Craig Lee. In the year 2000, when I decided to engage in public advocacy for the reintroduction of hemp to Kentucky agriculture, our mutual friend, Gatewood Galbraith, guided me to Craig Lee.
After, nearly, two decades since my first conversation with Craig, I’ve come to refer to Craig as my “brother from another mother.” I absolutely love, and I learned so much from, the stories Craig has shared with me about his decades-long commitment to advance and restore hemp as an important commercial agricultural crop in Kentucky and the nation. Also, I’ve enjoyed stories of his growing up in Kentucky, his service in Vietnam, his travels with former Governor Louie Nunn, and his work with Alex White Plume and the Lakota Tribe in South Dakota. There are many more important Craig Lee stories still untold.
For many years, I have been strongly encouraging Craig to write down these stories. In the pages of this book—he’s only begun the task. I feel so privileged to have crossed paths with Craig and to have worked beside him while working with former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner (now Congressman) James Comer who revived the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commissionin 2012.
We walked the halls of Frankfort together meeting with and educating Kentucky Legislators who, ultimately, passed legislation known as Senate Bill 50 (SB50) in the 2013 legislative session. Since then, it’s clear that nothing will stop the revival of this important crop. Nothing will stop the farmers who need alternatives and/or the products that will be produced from this plant. A plant that will support U.S. agriculture, product development, and manufacturing for well into the foreseeable future.
While many people are important to the progress on this issue, since the prohibition of hemp in the 30s, Craig Lee stands with Jack Herer, Gatewood Galbraith, and a dozen or so other true pioneers of the revival of hemp. Without them and their relentless involvement, what is happening today would not have been possible. I stood on their shoulders and I could not have been more thankful for the experience and knowledge of having done so. All the good that will come from hemp production in Kentucky is unlimited and immeasurable.
Thank you, Craig, for sharing in this book just a small number of important stories about your experiences. I encourage you to continue documenting the many others you’ve shared with me over the years. I think people need to know where we came from and how we got here. And I think that you should be honored for your work. May you abundantly reap your just rewards for staying the course and making it possible for this crop to thrive once again.
Thank you for inviting and blessing me with the honor of writing this introduction!
County Judge Executive John Riley, Spencer County, Kentucky
Within this book are the sidewinding adventures of an industrial hemp advocate. Craig Lee grew up in rural Kentucky before joining the Army and serving in Vietnam. After settling back in Kentucky, as a middle-aged man, Craig discovered his calling in life: legalizing industrial hemp. Treat each chapter in this book as a stepping-stone, a building block, or a puzzle piece. The final result is an appreciation for Craig’s, and his coterie of friends, contributions to the American hemp industry
Ropey Dopes
I want this book to help others excel within the American hemp industry. It’s time for one era of hemp advocates to pass the torch on to the next generation.
In gratitude for all the help I’ve received—throughout my industrious career—I feel obliged to return posterity the favor. And the only method I know how is through storytelling. I hope the challenges I’ve encountered will enlighten the reader on the re-birthing of an exciting new American industry. A green industry filled with good-hearted individuals that deserve a fair playing field to exercise their passions. A fairer playing field than the one I inherited when my long and strange hemp journey first began.
Unfortunately, arcane U.S. policies still hamper the proliferation of a domestic hemp industry, even today, in 2019. The status quo struggles to recognize the value of an American hemp industry that will create jobs, reduce carbon emissions, spur innovation, and lessen our nation’s reliance on foreign imports.
The facts don’t lie. Hemp is the fastest growing source of cellulose biomass on Earth and is the most obvious resource to replace trees for paper. Moreover, hemp has a superior seed oil that once fueled the tanks of the third reich. Hemp has persistently enhanced the livelihoods of homo sapiens for as long as there has been agriculture. Hemp is patiently awaiting its destiny to become the planet’s most important sustainable bioresource.
I speak from thirty years of experience when identifying the crucial problem facing the hemp industry in America. The problem is the severe lack of education. Education! Education! Education! I consider myself, first and foremost, a hemp educator. In other words, I take the responsibility of sharing my knowledge about this industry seriously. And I am rapidly becoming an endangered species as the industry becomes larger and greedier.
When I first began my hemp journey, in 1993, very few people could “walk the walk” and “talk the talk.” You could fit the industry around a crapshoot table. Everybody knew you by name. And there was a mutual respect amongst pioneers. Manifesting the role of an Industrial Hemp Advocate took guts. This industry became a higher calling for many. Joining this industry was like taking a leap of faith down Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole. This Industry changes lives. It certainly changed mine.
Many of my close friends called me crazy for pursuing an industry where the primary input was illegal. So with such little upside, why did ole’ Craig Lee jump in with two feet and never look back? Besides having more energy than I do now, in 2019, at the ripe age of sixty-two? I’ll be happy to explain.
I became a hemp activist because I felt it was the right thing to do. My commitment to the hemp industry was an extension of my lifelong support for my countrymen, friends, and family. It was a sacramental effort—for all those that I loved—whether they knew it or not. I was a full-blooded American patriot that naively believed my government was making an honest mistake. A forgivable mistake, at least I thought, confusing hemp, “that bracelet material,” with a schedule one drug. Once I dug deep into the illegality of cannabis, I was astonished by what I discovered. By simply germinating hemp seeds, one was committing a felony. Moreover, any interstate or international trade of cannabis seeds was a federal offense. Each crime carried heavy time.
Once hempsters nationwide began politically and financially organizing in the late 80s and early 90s, no one was doing so for personal gain. These early upstarts were beginning an industry from scratch for the sole purpose to protest the government’s draconian grip on the local farmer.
With limited resources, this transnational band of passionate hemp activists attempted to reverse seventy years of government brainwashing. Their stance was as hard lined as their oppositions’—legalize overnight or lock us up!
The harbingers of the political hemp movement were humbled quickly. There was a much steeper climb to legalization than anyone first anticipated. But, with every small victory, the cause grew. And, with every devastating defeat, the cause learned and responded in kind. Without a coherent playbook to keep everyone on the same page, a lot of our early efforts were in vain. We shot ourselves in the foot a lot. We learned fast not to taint our industrial hemp messaging with talk of marijuana legalization.
To move the cannabis issue forward, hemp and marijuana needed independent platforms. Marijuana was that elephant
