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Effects of Public Opinion on the Marketing of Hemp Products via the Internet

Richard A. Adams

Baker College Center for Graduate Studies

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the validity of the hypothesis that a relationship exists between personal attitudes concerning drug laws and a willingness to purchase non-psychoactive cannabis hemp based commercial products via Internet marketing channels. Attitudinal measures were based on agreement with or opposition to strict enforcement of drug laws and with support or opposition for the legalization of recreational drugs. Demographic data and responses relating to other political and product-based decisions were included both to mask the specific focus of the study and to provide additional categorical and ordinal data. Survey participation was solicited from a representative selection of Internet users and the survey physically conducted via the Internet. After eliminating duplicate submissions, 133 qualified responses were tabulated and the results subjected to statistical examination. Analysis revealed a correlation supporting the initial hypothesis significant at the .01 level for all measured variables.

Introduction

The purpose of this research project was to investigate any correlation between public attitudes toward drug laws and public willingness to purchase non-psychoactive cannabis hemp consumer products via Internet based marketing channels. Because hemp based products represent an enormous, and potentially untapped, market in the United States of America, the study was deemed to be a valid topic for research.

Before examining the nature of the research and the results, a brief discussion of the economic history and commercial nature of hemp products may contribute to greater understanding of both the initial motivation for the research and its importance to American business.

Cannabis hemp is an agricultural product of major economic import internationally. As an agricultural crop which is adaptable to a very wide range of soil and climatic conditions, and which requires very low levels of human intervention in the growth cycle as well as little, if any, use of pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers, and which is capable of extremely high per-acre yield even when relatively unsophisticated agricultural approaches are used, hemp is of particular importance to a variety of agricultural and commercial interests.

Over 30,000 products can be produced from the cannabis hemp plant, excluding those related to recreational drug use. Included among those products are:

Animal bedding, auto/boat covers, backpacks, bags (both paper and canvas), balms, bandages, baseball caps, baskets, bed linens, belts, bioplastics, birdseed, books, boots, bread, butter, candlewick, candy, canvas, cardboard, carpeting, caulking, cellophane, cement, chairs, cheese, cloth and paper napkins, cloth and paper towels, coffee filters, compost, cosmetics, curtains, cushions, denim, desks, detergents, diapers, dolls, draperies, duffel bags, dynamite, erosion control, fabrics, fire hoses, fiberboard, fishnets, flags, floor mats, flooring, flour, fuels, furniture, futons, gloves, glues, hammocks, harnesses, hats, ice cream, inks, industrial coatings, industrial oils, insulation, jackets, jeans, linen, livestock feed, lubricants, luggage, magazines, medicines, moisturizers, mulches, natural pesticides, nets, newsprint, note pads, oil-spill absorbents, packaging, paints, paneling, pants, parachutes, particle board, pasta, pet foods, pharmaceuticals, pillows, plaster, plywood, polymers, protein, purses, quilts, roofing materials, rope, sails, salad oils, salves, sandals, scarves, shampoos, shirts, shoes, skirts, slippers, soaps, socks, sofas, stationary, tablecloths, tables, tea, tents, thread, tissue paper, toilet paper, twine, varnishes, wallets, and wallpaper. (Environmental and economic benefits, 1996, Frazier, 1991, Industrial Hemp Informational Booklet, 1996)

Historically, hemp has been an important product to both domestic and international businesses. So important was the production of hemp products during colonial times that colonists, such as the original Puritan settlers, were often required by law to grow the plant. (Robinson, 1996).

During colonial times, the product provided everything from war materials to paper products, including the paper used to produce the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the final version of the Constitution of the United States of America. Among prominent hemp producers of their era were such important historical figures as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Quincy Adams.(Adams, 1810, Robinson, 1996)

Even in modern times the role of hemp in defense support industries has been so vital that during World War II farmers were offered deferment from military service if they were willing to grow the crop commercially (Frazier, 1991). Today, imported hemp provides the paper for over 75% of all Bibles printed in the United States of America, over 60% of all bird feed ingredients come from the hemp plant, and even such politically conservative organizations as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest farming organization in the United States, with over 4.6 Million members, have called for a change in the laws which, with the exception of the World War II era, have prohibited production of industrial hemp in the United States of America since 1937 (Kriho, 1996).

The reason for opposition to hemp production has, of course, been the relationship between industrial hemp and the psychoactive form of the plant, more commonly known as marijuana. Because it is virtually impossible to identify a psychoactive variety from a non-psychoactive plant without expensive laboratory testing, a ban on all production was placed in effect in an effort to curtail marijuana production. (Hathaway, 1963).

Today an increasing number of hemp based consumer products are being imported for sales in the United States of America, many of which have the potential of successful marketability via Internet based marketing channels. In addition, a great deal of pressure is being brought to bear on the Federal government to legalize the industrial production of the crop, particularly since controlled production was legalized in portions of Canada, representing a very direct competition with US agricultural interests. Finally, increasing numbers of individuals are promoting radical changes to US drug laws, including controlled legalization of some or all recreational drugs, many of which would have strong effects on the availability of cannabis hemp based products, including those products which are, in fact, psychoactive in nature. Because of this, it was felt that a study of the influence of political attitudes involving those laws on the interest of consumers in the purchase of hemp based products was both relevant and had the potential for productive use by commercial interests.

The primary hypothesis of the author was:

Literature

An enormous body of literature exists which addresses both issues of agricultural interest and those of political interest with respect to hemp products. Despite this, an examination of existing literature, using primarily Internet based research tools, was unable to locate even one study which compared the political attitudes of consumers to their interest in hemp products.

Design and Methodology

The initial design of the research project consisted of the creation of a 30 item survey instrument (Appendix A) which included not only questions specific to the political views of consumers concerning drug laws and consumer attitudes toward the purchase of hemp based products, but basic demographic items, attitudinal information addressing other legal concerns, and product interest information involving a variety of product areas. This combination of questions was deemed necessary, both in order to insure that the specific area of interest was not known to the survey respondents, which it was felt might influence the nature of their responses, and in order to insure that the subject group was, in fact, representative of the population of interest as a whole.

Once the initial instrument was developed, it was converted into electronic format for use as a World Wide Web response form, to expedite the process of obtaining and digesting the data. In addition, a text based version of the survey object was prepared for submission by participants lacking World Wide Web access. Finally, basic conversion programs were written by the author to strip all identifying information from completed submissions (retaining only the data and, in a separate file, a list of participants which was compared electronically to incoming surveys in order to insure that multiple submissions from the same individual were not entered as separate submissions.

Following testing of the test instruments, an announcement was posted to a selection of Internet Usenet newsgroups, including those specifically created for the purpose of academic announcements requesting research participants, and to a selection of Internet Email lists. In total, 12 newsgroups and 8 mailing lists were selected as representative of Internet discussion forums. The survey instrument itself was made available on three separate World Wide Web sites under the control of the author in order to insure that temporary service interruptions would not adversely influence the ability of subjects to respond to the study.

After the formal closing date for the study (April 30, 1997), all surveys were entered into a database and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS 7.5 computer software and the results were examined for correlation. A number of varying statistical approaches were examined, and the final data was evaluated using Spearman’s rho and Kendall’s tau_b as the primary indicators of correlation. To insure accuracy of computation, the same data was exported to the Systat 7.0 statistics program and re-evaluated using similar tests, and involving additional nonparametric tests, including the Goodman-Kruskal’s gamma test and Stuart’s tau_c, with comparable results. Finally, demographic data was compared to general demographic data defining the general population, as provided by the US Department of the Census, Electronic Publishing Division, to determine the relevance of the study when applied to the general population.

Findings

Demographics:

Sex: 80 male (60.2 %) 53 female (39.8 %)

Race: White 121 (91.0 %) 4 Black (3.0 %) 8 Other (6.0 %)

Median age: 30 to 39 years (29 responses 21.8 %)

Modal age: 21 to 29 years (35 responses 26.3 %)

Median education: Bachelor’s Degree

Marital status: Three groups made up 91.8 % of all responses

Married (48 responses 36.1 %)

Never married (63 responses 47.4 %)

Divorced (11 responses 8.3 %)

Number of children: 66 respondents (49.6 %) had no children

25 respondents (18.8 %) reported one child.

22 respondents (16.5 %) reported two children.

15 respondents (11.3 %) reported three children

5 respondents (3.8 %) reported four children or more.

Income: 24 respondents (18.0 %) reported incomes of less than $10,000

15 respondents (11.3 %) reported incomes of more than $80,000

Median reported income was $30,000 to $39,999

Religion: 41 respondents (30.8 %) identified themselves as Christian

3 respondents (2.3 %) identified themselves as Islamic

2 respondents (1.5 %) identified themselves as Jewish

5 respondents (3.8 %) identified themselves as Buddhist

16 respondents (12.0 %) identified themselves as Wiccan

24 respondents (18.0 %) identified themselves as Other

42 respondents (31.6 %) identified themselves as Atheist or Agnostic

Significant variations from US Census data were observed, particularly with respect to education and religion. Due to the nature of the Internet, however, it was felt that the sample, while not representative of the US population in these areas, was in fact representative of that segment of the US population active on the Internet. In addition, it was felt that the variances were not in areas that would invalidate any identifiable correlation, given the particular constraints of the research project.

Following statistical analysis of the data, the following significant relationships were observed (based on Spearman’s rho, with substantial support from other tests):

1. 1. An inverse correlation between support for strict enforcement of drug laws (survey item 14) and interest in purchasing hemp products (survey item 25) significant at the 0.01 level (Spearman’s rho -.262) was observed.
   2. An inverse correlation between support for strict enforcement of marijuana laws (survey item 13) and interest in purchasing hemp products (survey item 25) significant at the 0.01 level (Spearman’s rho -.397) was observed.
   3. A direct correlation between support for legalization of recreational drugs (survey item 18) and interest in purchasing hemp products (survey item 25) significant at the 0.01 level (Spearman’s rho 4.19) was observed.
   4. An inverse correlation between support for building more prisons to house drug offenders (survey item 17) and interest in purchasing hemp products (survey item 25) significant at the 0.01 level (Spearman’s rho -.402) was observed.

Due to the significance of the correlations given, it is apparent that the null hypothesis is not supported and that within the population sampled support exists for the initial hypothesis that political attitudes toward drug laws do have an effect on consumer purchases of non-psychoactive cannabis hemp based products.

Clearly this study, particularly if replicated on a larger scale, has relevance to the commercial hemp producer or marketing organization. Because of the public perception of cannabis hemp as being related to drug use, a massive re-education approach will be essential if a commercial market is to enjoy maximum viability. Most US consumers are unaware of the variety of uses to which industrial hemp can be put. Despite the fact that in 1934, Henry Ford even went so far as to develop an Aall organic car@ which was constructed from a combination of hemp and other products and which ran on hemp fuel. (Henry Ford Museum Information Center, Greenfield Village), most American consumers equate hemp with drug abuse, a tendency which has severely limited both the market potential for hemp products in the United States of America and the probability of changes to current legislation which would permit agricultural production of the industrial form of the plant. The resultant loss, if international figures are applicable to US production (and no reason exists to doubt that they are) is rather significant. Conservative estimates place the production of legal hemp in the US (excluding psychoactive varieties of the plant) at a minimum of 18,064,000 tonnes annually, a quantity equivalent to the US production of cotton, a product for which it serves as a direct substitute. (Hemp, 1994). Given the far wider range of products that may be produced from industrial hemp, most experts find that estimate to be far too conservative, and some would estimate 100,000,000 tonnes as being a more reasonable projection. Indeed, given hemp’s potential as a fossil fuel replacement and the environmentally friendly nature of hemp and hemp product production methods, which make little use of polluting chemicals as do the products, such as wood fiber based paper, with which they compete (Van Roekel, 1995), even that estimate may be far lower than market demands would dictate.

From a business perspective, reeducation of the public as to the nature of the plant, and its uses, could easily result in the creation of an enormous market for hemp based products. Clearly, such a result is a desirable one from an economic perspective and would unquestionably justify the necessary advertising and public relations costs associated with the implementation of such a program.

General comments on the application of political analysis to product marketing.

Virtually all social scientists agree that an individual’s attitudes toward social or political matters has a direct effect on his or her behavior in society. Because one area in which such behavioral influences have a particularly pronounced impact is that of consumer product selection, it is vital to modern businesses to examine the political opinions of their target market with particular care, in order to insure that their products are promoted in a manner which will maximize their marketability. In some instances, it may be deemed advisable to focus public relations efforts on educating the public concerning political or social issues rather than to focus solely, or even primarily, on building product recognition.

In other cases, where it is either impossible or inappropriate to re-educate the public concerning issues in a manner that may reduce resistance to the product in question, it becomes valuable to at a minimum understand the nature of the influence on consumer acceptance, as well as to be able to identify those segments of the population which are most likely to hold political positions compatible with the product line compared to those who are least likely to hold such positions. Through the use of such information, specific population groups may profitably be targeted for promotional purposes and other groups may be targeted for educational efforts aimed at reducing the negative impact of their political attitudes on product sales.

A number of significant relationships were detected during the course of the data analysis that, although not directly related to the topic of drug laws itself, serve to assist in identifying these populations, and in the creation of a profile of the "ideal" target audience for hemp product promotional material. Table 1 provides a basic tabulation of various demographic and opinion based survey categories that have direct or inverse correlations with respondent interest in the purchase of cannabis hemp products via the Internet within a confidence level of 0.01 or better. For a complete list of correspondences between all data elements and an interest in purchasing each of the individual types of products itemized in the survey, see Appendix Three.

Conclusions

This paper has presented only very rudimentary data concerning the impact of political values on hemp product marketing. Before any serious use could be made of this data, replication and far more extensive analysis are essential. Even in its rudimentary form, however, this study provides adequate justification for the funding of more elaborate, and extensive, research projects into this under-researched area of knowledge.

Bibliography

Adams, J. Q. (1810). On the culture and preparing of hemp in Russia. Washington, DC: Smithsonian American Archives.

Environmental and economic benefits of hemp. (1996). [On-line]. Available: http://htmpnet.com/tornado.htm

Frazier, J. (1991) The great American hemp industry. Peterstown, WV: Solar Age Press.

Hathaway, D. E. (1963). Government and Agriculture: Public policy in a democratic society. New York: The MacMillan Co.

Hemp. (1994, December 16). Agriculture Canada Bi-Weekly Bulletin 7:23.

Henry Ford Museum Center. Photographic archives. Dearborn, MI: Greenfield Village archives.

Industrial Hemp Information Network. (1996). Informational bulletin of the Industrial Hemp Information Network. Washington: Hemptech Publications.

Kriho, L. (1996). National farm bureau supports industrial hemp [On-line]. Available: http://www.welcomehome.org/cohip/NATFARM.HTM

Robinson, R. (1996). The great book of hemp. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.

Van Roekel, G. (1995, Summer). Research in hemp pulp production techniques. Bioresource Hemp 1995. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Hemp Bioresources [On-line]. Available: http://www.hempbc.com/magazine/jul95/xpo.htm

Figure One

Effects of relevant variables on consumer interest in the purchase of Hemp products

(Except as noted all values are based on the scale: 1 Strongly Agree to 7 Strongly Disagree)

Appendix One

Survey Questionnaire

INSTRUCTIONS

Thank you for your participation.

To complete this survey via email you may simply reply to this message and mark your answers by placing an "x" in front of your choices. Once you have completed and mailed the questionnaire it will be stripped of all headers and signatures/tag lines by the email software which processes it (in order to maintain your privacy). Please use one of the email addresses given in the "BACKGROUND INFORMATION" section if you wish to make any comments or to request a free copy of the survey results when the survey is concluded.

If you prefer, you may take this survey interactively by accessing any of the following sites:

http://www.glonet.org/survey.htm

http://www.glotec.com/survey.htm

http://b73.dmci.net/survey.htm

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This survey is being conducted as part of a research class project in an MBA program at Baker College. The results of this survey will be made available on this site within two weeks of the conclusion of the study. Web space and email facilities have been donated for this study by Global Community Networks, Inc, a non-profit organization chartered for the purpose of providing web siting and design services free of charge to other non-profit organizations on a world wide basis and by Glotec, Inc., an organization specializing in the design and provision of web sites to corporate customers. Neither Global Community Networks, Inc., Glotec, Inc., Baker College, nor any other organization has any financial interest in the results of this survey, nor is Global Community Networks, Inc., Glotec, Inc., or Baker College in any way responsible for its content.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to this survey, your answers are important and sincerely appreciated. To protect your privacy, all web-based submissions will be compiled anonymously and all emailed surveys will have their headers stripped prior to entry into the results database.

Questions concerning this survey should be addressed to the author, Rick Adams, either at his personal email address of adamsr@dmci.net or his Baker College academic address of RICHARD_ADAMS.parti@hercules.baker.edu

Verification of the educational nature of this study is available upon request.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. Sex:

Male

Female

2. Race:

White

Black

Other

3. Age:

Under 18

18 to 20

21 to 29

30 to 39

40 to 49

50 to 59

60 to 69

70 or over

4. Highest level of education completed:

Less than High School

High School

Junior College

Bachelor Degree

Graduate Degree

5. Total family income (in US dollars):

Less than 10000

10000 to 19999

20000 to 29999

30000 to 39999

40000 to 49999

50000 to 59999

60000 to 69000

70000 to 79999

80000 or greater

6. Residence:

NonUSA

East

Midwest

South

West

7. Marital Status:

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

Never Married

8. Number of children:

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 or more

9. Political affiliation:

Strong Democrat

Democrat

Independent near Democrat

Independent

Independent near Republican

Republican

Strong Republican

Other party

10. Political orientation:

Extremely liberal

Liberal

Slightly liberal

Moderate

Conservative

Extremely conservative

11. Religious affiliation:

Christian Protestant

Christian Catholic

Islamic

Jewish

Hindu

Buddhist

Wiccan

Other

Atheist or Agnostic

POLITICAL OPINION QUESTIONS

12. We need firmly enforced laws concerning private sexual behavior:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

13. We need firmly enforced laws concerning the private use of marijuana (cannibis):

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

14. We need firmly enforced laws concerning the private use of other recreational drugs:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

15. We need greater consideration of religious issues by our leaders:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

16. We need greater consideration of environmental issues by our leaders:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

17. We need more emphasis on building prisons and setting longer sentences for drug offenders:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

18. We should consider the legalization of recreational drugs for use by adults:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

19. We need to spend more money to protect our environment:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

20. We need to spend more money to combat poverty and homelessness:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

21. We need policies that protect our businesses from foreign competition:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

22. We need stronger laws to eliminate pornography on the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

PRODUCT OPINION QUESTIONS

23. I purchase products for my personal use via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

24. I would be interested in purchasing gourmet food products via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

25. I would be interested in purchasing products manufactured from hemp (cannibis) via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

26. I would be interested in purchasing adult oriented products via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

27. I would be interested in purchasing health oriented products via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

28. I would be interested in purchasing entertainment products via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

29. I would be interested in purchasing pet supplies via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

30. I would be interested in purchasing religious products via the Internet:

Strongly agree

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Somewhat disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Thank you for your generous participation in this survey!

Appendix Two

General SPSS statistical output

(Attached)

Appendix Three

Correlations relating to all product types itemized in the survey instrument

(Attached)

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