The KYHIA remembers and appreciates these public figures who championed the cause of industrial hemp legalization in Kentucky and beyond.

Louis Gatewood Galbraith

January 23, 1947 – January 4, 2012

Louis Gatewood Galbraith was a lawyer and iconic political figure in Kentucky. He famously defended the first felony medical marijuana case (shortly after Galbraith’s death in 2012, State Senator Perry Clark introduced the Gatewood Galbraith Memorial Medical Marijuana Act). An outspoken advocate for restoring hemp as an agricultural crop and ending hemp prohibition in Kentucky, Galbraith was known for his barbs, quips, and witticisms on the campaign trail. Read more about Gatewood Galbraith.

“If Kentucky is going to survive … they’re going to have to reach back and grab a plant that our granddaddies used to grow by the thousands of acres.”Gatewood Galbraith

Louie Broady Nunn

March 8, 1924 – January 29, 2004

Louie Broady Nunn was the 52nd governor of Kentucky and, later in his political career, an advocate for legalizing industrial hemp in Kentucky. Read more about Louie Broady Nunn here.

“Frankly, I was opposed to the legalization of hemp for years because I had been of the opinion hemp was marijuana. I was short-sighted in my thinking, and I was wrong.”Louie Broady Nunn

Jack Herer

June 18, 1939 – April 15, 2010

Jack Herer, sometimes referred to as the “Emperor of Hemp,” was a cannabis activist and the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, a book which has been used in efforts to decriminalize cannabis. Herer also founded the organization Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP). Read more about Jack Herer here.

“Growing hemp as nature designed it is vital to our urgent need to reduce greenhouse gases and ensure the survival of our planet.”Jack Herer