John "Sparky" Birrenbach (born May 17, 1961) is an American businessman, marketing consultant, writer, filmmaker, and marijuana rights activist.

[1][2] Birrenbach, who founded the Institute for Hemp,[3][4] was named High Times magazine's 1993 Freedom Fighter of the Year.

[2] Birrenbach, former owner of the Saint Paul business Executive Tea and Coffee, told a reporter that he was arrested for marijuana possession in the 1980s.

[6] In 1990, Birrenbach applied for a permit to harvest wild hemp in Minnesota, and was denied.

[12] Birrenbach was a candidate in the 2000 Minnesota House of Representatives election for the Independence Party, running in District 65B.