CHRIS CONRAD TO EMCEE 2001 HEMP EXPO

Author, internationally recognized spokesperson and court-qualified
expert on cannabis hemp, Chris Conrad will be emcee for the fourth
annual Santa Cruz Industrial Hemp Expo, Saturday and Sunday, May 12 and
13 at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz, California.

A quick-witted, internationally known expert on the history, medical,
social, economic and ecological aspects of cannabis hemp, Conrad
advocates full restoration of industrial hemp, medical marijuana with a
doctor's supervision and setting a legal age of consent for marijuana
use by responsible adults in a regulated market.

Chris Conrad is founder and director of the Business Alliance for
Commerce in Hemp (BACH), director of the Family Council on Drug
Awareness (FCDA) and a member of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA).
He founded the American Hemp Council in 1989, was a chief proponent of
the 1992 and 1994 California Hemp Initiatives and portrayed "Johnny
Marijuanaseed" in the PBS classic The Nineties "Hemp Show #1."

In 1994, Mr. Conrad helped found and was elected the first president of
the Hemp Industries Association (HIA). He was state community action
coordinator for the petition drive that launched the 1996 California
Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition 215, which passed with 56% of
the vote. He provides expert testimony, both in court of law and for
legislators and their staff.

Mr. Conrad has appeared on television news and talk shows including
Goodnight America and California This Week, and syndicated radio
programs including Art Bell, Talk Radio Network, Talk America and the
College Radio Network. He has been quoted by The Washington Post, USA
Today, Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times, Atlantic Monthly, Vegetarian
Times, Earth Island Journal, High Times, Capitol Reporter, AP, UPI,
Pacifica News, Radio Netherlands News, Canadian Broadcast Co. and many
other national and international news sources.

Born in 1953, Conrad is a former seminarian who holds an honors degree
in fine art and communications from California State University,
Dominguez Hills. Chris Conrad is author of four groundbreaking books:
"Hemp, Lifeline to the Future", "Hemp for Health: The Medicinal and
Nutritional Uses of Cannabis Sativa", "Shattered Lives, Portraits From
America's Drug War" (With Mikki Norris and Virginia Resner) and "Human
Rights and the US Drug War" (With Mikki Norris and Virginia Resner).

The Santa Cruz Industrial Hemp Expo provides a positive basis for public
support of hemp reintroduction. Vendors and hemp reintroduction
advocates are drawn from around the world to Santa Cruz. Over 75 booths
are featured, with educational and historical displays, live music from
2 stages, a hemp fashion show, speakers and panels. General admission is
$6.

For more information call the Expo's publicity voicemail at (831)
425-3003 or visit on the web at http://www.cruzexpo.com. Sponsor and
vendor inquiries may call (831) 466-0500.

For more information
contact Bob Lamonica, producer
phone (831) 466-0500 fax (831) 466-0510