Soap Co. CEO Arrested Outside White House

David Bronner locked self in cage ... along with hemp plants
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 11, 2012 2:10 PM CDT
Cops Collar Hemp Grower Caged Outside White House
A Washington police officer inspects various items of hemp following the arrest of David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner's Magic soaps, during a hemp protest, Monday, June 11, 2012, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

David Bronner knew how to make his arrest a complicated affair. The professional hemp grower locked himself in a 64-foot-square steel cage outside the White House and endured police warnings until firemen finally broke through with a chainsaw, the Washington Post reports. Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, was protesting US policy that conflates hemp with marijuana and forbids the cultivation of either.

“The industrial hemp plants I am harvesting and processing into oil cannot produce a high of any kind, but according to the Obama administration I’m in possession of approximately 10 pounds of marijuana,” Bronner said in a statement. He used a big sign and a microphone to make his case to President Obama, but no one has reported on White House residents peeking through the curtains. Huffington Post has video of the arrest. (Click here if you're curious about hemp seed vodka.)

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