[420 Girl]

For years, Loveland resident Pat Dupree wanted to re-enter the business of selling products all made from hemp.

In 1993, Dupree had opened a shop in Chapel Hill, N.C., that lasted only six months because he could not obtain any quality products, he said. Plus, he had a family to raise, he added.

In July, a month after moving to Colorado, Dupree opened Totally Hemp Co. in Loveland to sell clothes, paper, material, art canvases, jewelry and other products made from hemp.

“It’s kind of always been a burning passion,” said Dupree, who now is separated and has two adult children. “I think retail is the best way to get the message out about the versatility of the plant.”

Colorado is one of 14 states that distinguishes hemp from marijuana, Dupree said.

Hemp, the fibers of the plant, is not used as an illegal substance but for industrial and commercial purposes, such as in foods, cosmetics and medicines, Dupree said.

Marijuana, which comes from the leaves and flowers of the same cannabis plant as hemp, has a higher amount of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive substance, than does hemp.

“It’s genetically different,” Dupree said. “It can be grown in most conditions without chemicals and pesticides.”

Hemp can be recycled seven to eight times, compared with paper that can be recycled three times, Dupree said.

“It’s the strongest natural fiber,” Dupree said. “The more it gets wet, the more it bonds to itself; whereas other fibers unravel.”

Dupree believes that Loveland is ready for a shop that sells hemp products.

“I’ve gotten good traffic even though I don’t get a lot of sales,” Dupree said, adding that the feedback from customers has been positive. “They like what I have.”

One customer asked Dupree for medical marijuana, but Dupree does not sell the product legalized in Colorado.

Dupree, who has a card, smokes medical marijuana to help treat glaucoma, he said.

“It’s the only treatment for it,” he said. “Because I smoke pot, it hasn’t gotten worse.”


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:reporterherald.com
Author: Shelley Widhalm
Contact: Loveland Reporter-Herald
Copyright:2010 Daily Reporter-Herald
Website:Pat Dupree, who previously sold hemp products in North Carolina, opens downtown Loveland store - reporterherald.com


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