NoCo 6

(c)Casey

(c)Casey Jordan Brooks

(c) Alex Reyes

The First NoCo Hemp Expo

Shortly after Colorado became the first state to legalize adult use cannabis, and the first state to begin growing industrial hemp, in 2014 Morris Beegle with his partner Elizabeth Knight and a community of dedicated artists, entrepreneurs and activists wanted to educate the public about the plant’s non-intoxicating cousin. They organized NoCo Hemp Expo as an informative day of hemp and music, according to Beegle, in “a little bar in Windsor, Colorado that held about 350 people.” The event sold out and a new-era hemp movement was born.

Bestselling author Doug Fine releases Hemp Bound at NoCo1

In Loveland with NoCo 2

“We need way more space,” Beegle said, and the second NoCo Hemp Expo exploded into the Budweiser / Ranch Events Complex in Loveland, Colorado. Inside the 13,000 square-foot McKee Building, the conference had expanded from 15 speakers the first year to over 50 speakers, 70+ vendors, and more than 1250 attendees to officially become the largest hemp-centric industry show in the United States.

The expansion continued for the third NoCo, into the 36,000 square-foot First National Bank Exhibition Hall at the Ranch. Not only did the stats grow – 100+ vendors, 60+ speakers and sponsors, nearly triple the attendees from the previous year at 3300+ – but the conference itself added a second day with a business/investment focused Hemp Summit for those looking to work in hemp. NoCo3 was also notable for some creative presentations including the Step’n Out in Hemp fashion show and actor Christopher Lowell performing his one-man Ben Franklin Live to explain the importance of hemp to the founding of our country

The expo that went “to 11” #OneLouder in 2017, showcasing over 130 vendors, 75+ speakers, 4700+ attendees, a bigger and better Hemp Summit with investor forum, and so much more. Highlights included Fashion Alley, an entire mini expo of hemp clothing brands, and the Global Hemp Village representing hemp companies and advocates from all over the world.

The Road to Legalization at NoCo 5 2018

By NoCo5, everyone in the know was preparing for federal legalization of hemp. The expo took over both the McKee Building and First National Bank halls to accommodate the 150+ vendors, 100+ speakers, and over 6000 attendees crowding into the Ranch. Featuring greater demonstrations than ever before, such as a live jetpack presentation and a tiny house display, the conference also showcased the Hemp Summit and Farm Symposium to address special industry concerns. 2018 saw a focus on regenerative agriculture, an age-old movement providing new ways to save our planet. Additionally, it was a great year for diversity, with speakers including Winona LaDuke of Honor the Earth, NFL players Reuben Droughns and Rick Upchurch, and Dineh Benally of the Navajo Nation Farm Board.

Hemp Revolution

We’re living in the age of magical plants – more specifically, the cannabis sativa plant, known in its non-psychoactive form as hemp. Unlike “marijuana” cannabis, industrial/agricultural hemp contains less than 1% THC, the molecule that stimulates the feeling of getting high, and its applications for everything from clothing to food to building materials and alternative fuels is unparalleled. Yet cannabis-friendly as we are at Honeysuckle, we still had no idea what revelations our journey into the industrial hemp community would bring. When we traveled last year to the world’s largest hemp-centric tradeshow, NoCo Hemp Expo, in the aptly-named town of Loveland, Colorado, a whole new world opened before our eyes. Hemp isn’t just having a moment, it’s a movement, a key component in the effort to save our planet.

“This plant can do more things than any other plant on Earth” -

Morris Beegle, NoCo Founder

Welcome to NoCo

This plant can do more things than any other plant on Earth,” says Morris Beegle, NoCo’s founder. “Bottom line: It’s the most genetically diverse plant there is, and the amount of products or ingredients that can come from [it] is amazing. Everybody should be using hemp in every way— in their diet, in their daily lives.”

retro, B

A decades-long cannabis advocate, Beegle got introduced to hemp in 1995 when he read Jack Herer’s landmark book The Emperor Wears No Clothes, which extols the plant’s benefits in both psychoactive and agricultural forms. Cut to today, when Beegle is now a major player in the arena, co-founder of the Colorado Hemp Company and TreeFreeHemp.com; an advisory board member for organizations and businesses including Hempstead Project H.E.A.R.T., PureHemp Technology, and the Hemp Business Journal; and a speaker at conferences around the globe. In five years going on six he’s grown NoCo into a powerful forum for education and industry: Nearly 150 businesses were represented at the 2018 expo, including big names in sustainability like Dr. Bronner’s and the Rodale Institute, and over 6,000 attendees sold out both days of festivities. (So many crowded into Loveland’s Ranch Events Complex that the local fire marshal had to lock the buildings!)

Touring NoCo, we find that Morris’s words ring true; there’s no shortage of uses for the plant, and walking the exhibition hall reveals not only fashion, food, and CBD products (the medicinal molecule in cannabis), but also building insulation, automotive materials, and even hemp-derived plastic. From rope and seed oils to jetpack biofuels, we’ve come a long way.

Just as important as hemp’s contribution to our daily lives is what it will do for the environment. Highly resistant to most insects and disease, the plant largely eliminates the need for pesticides and herbicides. A single acre of hemp will yield as much as two or three acres of cotton. It’s fire-retardant, there are no known allergies to it, and it remediates the soil. Even the byproducts are terrific renewable resources: Hemp paper is stronger, acid-free, has a longer shelf life, and costs less than half as much to process as tree paper. Plus it can be recycled ten times without losing its integrity, whereas wood-based paper can only be recycled twice.

No wonder those who work with hemp have such infectious energy. The positive vibes are palpable throughout the exhibits, the panels, and the two day-long seminars, the Hemp Summit and Farm Symposium. Everyone present knows they’re part of something beautiful, a connection to the Earth that’s existed for millennia and can now reemerge after a century of stigmatization. As Beegle writes in the NoCo program’s introduction, it will take a unifying effort to spread the message that’s going to change how modern society views hemp: “WE as a WHOLE will determine the future of this plant and of this industry…

#OnePlan #OnePlanet #OneLouder #OneMission

NoCo Founder Morris Beegle

Ewket Assefa of Elevated Naturally. © Ben Wright

Deutsche Process

Profile Industries

Dramm

Munch Machine

Ceres Greenhouse Solutions

Aurum Laboratories LLC

Front Range Biosciences

BoMar Agra Estates

BIOCHAR NOW LLC

New West Genetics

Sunstrand

Lilu’s Garden

Mechanical Transplanter Co.

Hempsac

Hawthorne Gardening Co

RAD Extracts

710 Spirits

CPS distributors inc

U.S. Tractor & Harvest, Inc

C&M Transplanters

4Rivers Equipment

Key To Life

Sunrise Genetics

Botanacor Laboratories

Circle Energy, Inc.

PanXChange

Across International

Chimney Rock Farms

Nexus Greenhouse Systems

Healthy Hemp Research

H.e.m.p. Fuel Group LLC

EcoMark Solar

EnviroTextiles

Colorado Extraction Systems

Hortau

Colorado Cultivars LLC

Warfighter Hemp

FlexMOD

MILLER SOILS LLC.

Freida Farms

Sana Packaging

Kind Hemp Co.

Hemptique

Vital Hemp, Inc.

Rohe Hemp

Make American Hemp Again

Wumaniti Earth Native Sanctuary

RuBi Hemp Solutions

Chiefton Supply

Everest Wings

HEMPY’S

Mammoth Microbes

Illuminated Extractors

Power Zone Equipment

Bish Enterprises/Hemp Harvest Works

Salt Creek Hemp

Monosem Inc.

IEC Thermo

Orange Photonics

Kazmira LLC

Taylor Implement Co.

Bioliveit

Wnder Wrkshp

Soil Tech Corp

HGH Seed

Vote Hemp

TriEst Ag Group, Inc

Hemp History Week

PureHemp

expo hall vendors

Futurola

Evo

U.S.

Robison

expo hall vendors

Pioneer

Plenty

HC

Pur

Hemp

Chelsea

Capital

Herb-a-lites LLC

Colorado Dept of Agriculture

Cannabis & Tech Today

Cagwin Manchen Ceramics

ProVerde Laboratories, Inc.

Agency 420/Pico Marketing

PF DesignLab

Green Spring Technologies

GreenLife

White

Steep

QC

Moon

Artwork by Matt Collins

Blu Nahulu Art

New Hope Network

THURSDAY MARCH 28 • 2019

INVESTOR FORUM

Hemp Industry Overview: Kristen Nichols - Hemp Industry Daily

Considerations When Investing in Hemp

Shawn Hauser -Vicente Sederberg

Breaking Down the Farm Bill: What It Means for the Investing Landscape

Garrett Graff, Hoban Law Group

The Global Hemp Market: Brent Williams - Highwater Financial

Lunch

Assessing Opportunities Part 1: How to Evaluate Hemp Companies & Developing an Investment Strategy

Sumit Mehta - Mazakali, Charles Wellso - Sanitas Peak Financial

Brent Sheng - ArcView

Company Spotlight: Elixinol

Assessing Opportunities Part 2: Investment Trends and Analyzing Deal Flow

Emily Paxia - Poseidon Strategy, Louis Han - ArcView, Brent Johnson - Hoban Law

Break Company Spotlight

A Look Ahead: A Conversation with Hemp Industry Leaders

Hemp Investment Needs and Future Opportunities

CEO Panel: Paul Benhaim - Elixinol, Tim Gordon - Functional Remedies, Ari Sherman - Evo Hemp, Janel Ralph - Palmetto Harmony

Bob Eschino- Incredibles

Investor Q & A

Brent Williams, Emily Paxhia, Sumit Mehta

speakers / panels are subject to change, visit nocohempexpo.com for updates

WORKSHOP & EDUCATION STAGE

FRIDAY MARCH 29 • 2019

How do I keep track of my hemp? Gary Toon, MOG Industries

In an Age of Global Warming, Cooling the Globe with Hemp

Ron Alcalay, Vital Hemp

Building with Natural Materials

Bob & Alex Escher, Escher Design Inc

Hemp Bioplastics & Composites Roundtable

Mark Linday, Ronnie Smith, Patrick Flaherty

Analytical Testing Innovations:

Quality and Potency Analysis at the Push of a Button

Dave Talenfeld, Botanisol Analytics

How Collective Data Influences Industry

Heather Jackson, Realm of Caring

How to Use Your Hemp Company as a Force for Good

Shadi Ramey, Hemptimacy

A look into Hemp for the Homeless

Ezra Soiferman, Hemp for the Homeless

Sign for the Times - Regina Nelson, The eCS Therapy Center

The Human/Cannabis Connection

Mikki Norris, Cannabis Consumers Campaign

Hempcrete and Building Forum

Eric McKee, John Patterson, Sergiy Kovalenkov

SATURDAY MARCH 30 • 2019

Hemp 101 - Caren Kersner

Paper Making - Elishewa Shalom

Cooking with Hemp, Ideas for Home - Carla Boyd

EnviroTextiles Hemp Fashion Parade

Exploring The Hemp Markets

Cannabis Evolution - Paul Stanford

Hemp as Healthcare - V Capaldi, Paleo Boss Lady

CBD for the Fit, Healthy, and Active

Will Carr, WillPower

WarFighter Hemp Roundtable

Steve Danyluk, Kamal Kalsi

Out on a Limb: Cannabis as the Tree of Life

Brigette Mars with Bethy LoveLight

speakers / panels are subject to change, visit nocohempexpo.com for updates

BUSINESS CONFERENCE

FRIDAY MARCH 29 • 2019

LET’S TALK HEMP ROOM

10:15-10:30

10:30-10:55

11:00-11:40

11:45-12:20

PRESENTED BY A

Welcome with Morris Beegle & Elizabeth Knight

Dr. Bronner’s: The Hemp & Cannabis Movement in the Context of Regenerating Culture & Agriculture with David Bronner

PANEL - The New Hemp Economy

Joe Fox, Brad Barlette, Julie Lerner, Anndrea Hermann

Moderator: Sean Murphy

PANEL - Natural Hemp Products - A Natural Fit

Frank Lampe, Gwendolyn Wyard, John Roulac, Steve Hoffman

Moderator: Annie Rouse

Benmar Extractions

Lunch

Hemp, Dietary Supplements & the FDA: Tales from the Regulatory Trenches

Loren Israelsen, President of the United Natural Products Alliance

Governor Jared Polis

Hemp For All and How it Can Lead an Agricultural Renaissance

PANEL - Good To Great Exploring Growth Strategies and Scaling Your Business

Paul Benhaim, Dani Fontaine, Garrett Bain, Scott Propheter

Moderator: Josh Hendrix

PANEL - Vertical Integration & Supply Chain Management

Janel Ralph, Katie Thompson, Sequoia Price, Pat Nordeen, Chris Lautenslager, Moderator: Zev Paiss

Hemp: The Ingredient of the Future

Michelle Barry, Vita Technologies

PANEL - The Future of Retailing Hemp Products

Jeff Cole, Abe Nabors, Ari Sherman, Adam Dunn, Moderator: Todd Runestad

BUSINESS CONFERENCE

FRIDAY MARCH 29 • 2019

LET’S TALK HEMP ROOM B

10:30-11:10

PANEL - Legal Insight: Farm Bill, Policy, Regulation Where We Go From Here

David Wunderlich, Shawn Hauser, Patrick Goggan, Rod Kight, Alex Buscher, Moderator: David Bush

PANEL - The Lobbying Continues, No Sleeping at the Wheel

Cindy Sovine, Eric Steenstra, Jonathan Miller, Dan Anglin, Moderator: Garrett Graff

PANEL - Broad Patent Claims, Trademarks, Litigation and the Open Cannabis Project

Frank Robison, Kevin Fortin, Beth Scheckter, Moderator: Rob Jondle

Lunch

Chris Husong - Elixinol

PANEL - Compliance, Certification & Self Regulation

Marielle Weintraub, Holly Johnson, Larissa Pavlick, Dominic Walker, Moderator: Courtney Moran

PANEL - Processing & Manufacturing: Getting Ready for the Market

Robert DiMarco, Matt Birkholz, Trey Riddle, John Lupien, George Hou - Moderator: Ed Lehrburger

PANEL - Marketing & Branding Your Products in 2019

Brooke Foley, Heather Schallert, Dawn Putney, Lynn Honderd, Moderator: Samantha Walsh

Planting Cultural Seeds: Reaping Economic & Environmental Benefits

Chris Conrad, Business Alliance for Commerce in Hemp

PANEL- The Global Business of Hemp

Hana Gabrielova, Jacek Kramarz, Frank Robison, Paul Benhaim

Moderator: Kehrt Reyher

speakers / panels are subject to change, visit nocohempexpo.com for updates

BUSINESS CONFERENCE

FRIDAY MARCH 29 • 2019

AMPHITHEATER

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES

PRESENTED BY

Hemp Education: The Importance of Building an Environmentally Friendly Economy

Chloe Villano, Cloverleaf University

A Business Imperative: Growing Corporate Social Responsibility in the Hemp Industry

Marc Ross, Needle Consultants

The Neuroscience of Conversation

What Every Hemp Advocate Needs to Know

Ariana Friedlander, Rosabella Consulting

Current status of Banking, Credit Card Processing and Insurance in the Hemp Market

Mark Goldfogel

Lunch

Millionaire Networking Mindset: Attracting Hemp Investors

David Wilkinson, The Global Equipping Center

Critical Success Factors for Hemp Entrepreneurs

Michael Bright, The Industry Builders

PANEL - Hemp in Media: Power of the Press

Ronit Pinto & Rick Polito, New Hope Network

Moderator: Kit O’Connell

PANEL - Health & Wellness - Everybody Wins

Craig Henderson, Jerell Klaver, Myra Michelle Mesko

Moderator: Maruchy Lachance

PANEL - The CBD Business Model

Megan Kamin, Nick French, Alex Corren, Moderator: Devin Jamroz

speakers / panels are subject to change, visit nocohempexpo.com for updates

FARM SYMPOSIUM

SATURDAY MARCH 30 • 2019

AMPHITHEATER

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES

From Seed to Sale: Where’s the sizzle? Where’s the steak?

Carl Scheeler, Two Bears Farm

Expanding The Vision of Hemp Breeding Beyond CBD

Matt Gibbs, Sunrise Engineering

PANEL: Let’s Talk Bees

Nick French & Nikki Florio

The Global Influence Of Hemp on Small Economies In North America

Tim Gordon, Functional Remedies

Lunch

The CBD Business Opportunity

Claire Morton, New Hope Network

Federal Seed Regulations: What to Expect

Wendy Mosher & Frank Curtis, New West Genetics

Hemp Entourage Effect

Jokabus Ziburkus , Florence

Hemp Stalks, Waste Or Profit?

Barbara Filippone, EnviroTextiles

Exploring Hemp’s Potential for Environmental Cleanup

Elizabeth Pilon-Smits, CSU

Cannabinoids and Infectious Disease

Dr Jenny Wilkins

speakers / panels are subject to change, visit nocohempexpo.com for updates

FARM SYMPOSIUM

SATURDAY MARCH 30 • 2019

LET’S TALK HEMP ROOM A

10:15-10:30 10:30-10:55

PRESENTED BY

Welcome with Morris Beegle & Elizabeth Knight

RAY ARCHULETA: Soil Health Consultants

The Power Of Economic & Ecological Diversity

Sponsored by SubZero Extracts

PANEL: Organic Regenerative Agriculture

Ray Archuletta, David Bronner, Mark Lewis, Mike Lewis, Tara Caton, Moderator: Doug Fine

PANEL: The Evolution Of Hemp Genetics

Seed/ Clones & Tissue Culture

Tom Dermody, Jonathan Vaught, Adrian Zelski, John McKay

Moderator: Rich Becks

Colorado Breeders Depot

Lunch

WINONA LaDUKE, Winona’s Hemp: The Next Economy

Indigenous Hemp and Restorative Justice

PANEL: Building Your Ancillary Team

Keys To Your Success

Keith Jones, Joe Hickey, Tate Dooley, Dani Billings

Moderator: Clint Palmer

PANEL: Farm Equipment & Processing Innovations

Andrew Bish, Brett Schnepf, Trey Riddle, John Lupien, Moderator-Ed Lehrburger

DOUG FINE: Be First, Better Or Different

Making It As An Independent Hemp Farmer/Entrepreneur

Sponsored by Nature’s Love

PANEL: Hemp Extraction Systems

Styles & Process Explained

Clarence Bachmeier, Matt Pence, Priyanka Sharma, Kelly

speakers / panels are subject to change, visit nocohempexpo.com for updates

FARM SYMPOSIUM

SATURDAY MARCH 30 • 2019

LET’S TALK HEMP ROOM B

10:30-11:10

PANEL: Soils & Nutrients

The Foundation of Farming Success

11:15-11:30

11:35-12:30

12:30-1:30

PRESENTED BY

James Gaspard, Peter Baas, Michael Collins, Noel Garcia

Moderator: Tate Dooley

Best Farming Practices Joe Fox, Blühen Botanicals

PANEL: Know Before You Grow, Your Checklist To Success Industrial vs Cannabinoids

Bill Billings, Keith Jones, Franny Tacy, Joe Hickey, Ryan Loflin, Moderator: Rick Trojan

LUNCH

California Hemp CBD Ag Issues Chris Boucher, Farmtiva

Building A Consistent Compliant Supply Chain

Garrett Bain, GenCanna

PANEL: Hemp Construction - Building A Safer Future

Bob Escher, Eric McKee, John Patterson, Sergiy Kovalenkov, Moderator : Joy Beckerman

PANEL: Indigenous Perspectives Of Hemp

Rosebud White Plume, Muriel Youngbear, Marcus Grinon, Nick Hernandez, Olowan Martinez, Moderator: Dionne Holmquist

PANEL: Hemp for Animals

Dirk Hanson, Hunter Buffington, Ethan Vorhes, Ian Quinn, Moderator: Margaret MacKenzie

PANEL: Analytical Testing & Compliance

Christopher Hudalla, Terry Moran. Dylan Wilks, Dominic Walker, Moderator: Annie Rouse

speakers / panels are subject to change, visit nocohempexpo.com for updates

Law Of The Land

It’s really a dynamic time to be involved with hemp, not least because of the rapidly-approaching changes in the law. In 1937, hemp was classified as part of the Marihuana Tax Act, making it federally illegal to grow, even for industrial purposes, and the plant has been criminalized in the United States ever since. The association with marijuana continued with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. But as individual states have legalized cannabis, the idea of hemp cultivation has become more widely accepted, and the movement for industrial hemp legalization strengthened. With the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, the movement scored an historic victory in the form of amendment Section 7606, which permitted domestic hemp production under a research pilot program. As of 2018, thirty-nine states have enacted laws allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp.

As it turned out, 2018 would be the year of federal legalization. On April 12, 2018, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) introduced the bipartisan Hemp Farming Act to the United States Sen-ate Agricultural Committee. The bill’s purpose: Shift oversight responsibilities to the USDA for the first time in history. It gained steady support from Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), plus a May 16 endorsement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), who signed on as a co-sponsor.

“Robust support for the new language has come from many, including Senator Angus King [ Independent-Maine], and strong agriculture support has been received from senators including Senator John Hoeven [R-North Dakota] and Senator Thom Tillis [R-North Carolina],” wrote Ben Droz, Legislative Liaison for the organization Vote Hemp.

Droz pointed out three new amendments filed to the existing Farm Bill, all led by Kentucky Represen-tatives James Comer, Andy Barr, and Thomas Massie. Comer’s amendment removes industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and places it under the jurisdiction of the USDA as an agricultural commodity. Barr’s amendment creates a “safe harbor” environment for financial institutions that provide services to hemp businesses authorized under the Farm Bill’s pilot program, as well as their third-party affiliates. Massie’s amendment changes the language in the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of “marijuana.”

“The Massie amendment would be a savior to many farmers who have had to perfectly good crops because of an arbitrary THC limit,” Droz concluded. (Under the Controlled Substances Act, industrial hemp has been defined as cannabis grown with 0.3% or less THC.)

On June 13, the Senate Agricultural Committee voted 20-1 to pass McConnell’s Farm Bill. Despite op-position from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the sole “No” voter who pushed for an amendment to modify the bill’s language so that “cannabinoids, extracts and derivatives” would be excluded from legal definitions of hemp, the bill moved to the Senate floor exactly as is.

Finally, on June 28, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill 86-11. By October 2018, the House was also looking favorably upon the measure. After some back and forth between the divisions of Congress, the bill was finalized on December 12, 2018 and signed officially into law on December 20, 2018. This marked the first time that federal law in the United States has approved the removal of certain cannabis products from the Con- trolled Substances Act.

(Some ambiguity about future enforcement remains; to learn more, visit VoteHemp.com.)

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson said, “It is the patriotic duty of every American to grow hemp.” Two hundred years later, an exceptionally wise Canadian added, “Always leave the soil better than when you found it.”

This was Rupert Stephens, a Vancouver-based berry farmer and songwriter whose son Arran went on to found the renowned organic food company Nature’s Path. In his keynote address at NoCo’s Hemp Summit, Arran mentions that hemp is a vital crop in organic agriculture for many reasons, particularly its capacity for soil remediation. The plant’s deep roots have the ability to absorb large quantities of contaminants without harm, and unlike corn or soybeans, hemp doesn’t draw excess moisture from the ground. Our entire planetary health, and thus humanity’s health, says Stephens, depends on maintaining nutrient-rich soil.

Considered a pioneer of organic agriculture, Arran observes that the movement actually began long before he got into it. In the 1940s, when chemicals developed for warfare were shown to produce great yields and commercial farmers were encouraged to use the resulting pesticides on their land, organic practices were adopted in protest. “As long as there have been chemicals,” Stephens comments, “there has been an organic response.” (His father stopped using nonorganic materials in 1950.)

Soil health is actually the crux of the next step, regenerative agriculture. “Regenerative is beyond organic,” Beegle asserts, “and where we’re at as a planet, we have to move ahead in that direction.

On Fertile Ground From AG To Economy

One such soil health expert applying regenerative dictums to every possible sector is investigative writer Doug Fine, author of the bestselling books Farewell My Subaru, Too High to Fail, and Hemp Bound. Known colloquially as the “organic cowboy,” Fine dedicates his life to a pure and unifying relationship with the land. He operates Funky Butte Ranch in New Mexico, where he herds goats and raises awareness of all things sustainable. Fine believes so passionately in the power of cannabis plants that he’s even testified to the United Nations about legalization (and if you meet him in person, he’ll tell you that every article of clothing he’s wearing, down to his underwear, is made of hemp).

Speaking at NoCo’s Farm Symposium, Fine describes how going regenerative was a logical progression for him. “If you’re getting into hemp, first thought is, how is this going to be part of humanity’s survival? The cannabis industry is the most impactful for development since the automobile and Silicon Valley. This is a farmer driven Renaissance for humanity within the digital age.”

As Fine explains, cannabis gives us its benefits in diverse areas, and its contributions to the sequestration of carbon – thus its ability to remediate soil and combat climate change – is so far unmatched by any other plant. “Soil sequestration may be more awesome than people are aware of,” he notes. “[We need to] really build soil in a regenerative way to sequester lots and lots of carbon. As a society, we are all soil farmers now, and hemp is just so functional across so many different platforms that it can form the cornerstone for a whole biodynamic economy.”

The man’s as good as his word: Fine constantly challenges the paradox of holistic communing with nature and maintaining modern technological standards. He teaches classes on how digital-era urban dwellers can readapt to agricultural lifestyles (“some call them primitive skills classes, but I call them essential skills”), and urges people to incorporate soil and animal husbandry into their daily knowledge bases.

“I personally love getting my hands dirty,” he comments, “but even if one doesn’t, this is, again, about survival. I do think anyone, no matter what you’re doing with your life, is wise to have as much integration with livestock as possible. I’m holistic at heart, and I believe that native soil with complex local biomes, that’s the way to grow. The development of this whole soil economy must be brought about in such a way that it is not contributing to climate change, but providing a potential solution for humanity.”

Fine stresses that we need to examine what makes sense for our families, how we can assimilate plant-based materials into all facets of our lives, and buy mainly locally-sourced products. That can be as simple as moving beyond combustion – say, taking the solar panels that increasingly come standard with average homes and using those to power batteries made from biofuel rather than fossil fuels. Getting acquainted with local and regional farmers, researching the methods used to produce crops in your area, are also key. Even neighborhood manufacturers of clothing and household products could be giving you better quality than large corporations do.

“If a local cobbler is charging you $300 for shoes that will last 10-15 years,”

Fine says, “that’s not much compared to the long-term effect of name-brand shoes that cost $100 but have to be replaced every year. Do the math and realize that the initial price tag is not always the final price tag.”

Don’t underestimate the importance of DIY methods, either. “It’s fun, simple, and easy to be regenerative,” heralds Fine. Back at Funky Butte, his young sons are experimenting with hemp pens that use blueberry-and-pitch ink and they may have discovered a basis for natural glue made from pinesap.

“For me, it’s about the coming return to a bio-based economy versus a synthetic and chemical-based economy,” Fine reiterates. “Hemp is part of it, but it’s not the only plant.”

It is, however, the basis for the organic cowboy’s most exciting new projects. He’s currently working on a book that encompasses “all the things I wish I knew when I started,” including the cultivation, extraction, processing, and nutritional components of growing hemp in a regenerative system. Fine is also a consultant for the Colville tribe in Spokane, Washington, who planted 120 acres of the crop on their land in 2018. Additionally, he helped engineer an inaugural program at the University of Hawaii, allowing the state its very first academically-sanctioned research in hemp cultivation.

And from a human perspective, Fine believes we have to build cooperative models that activate farmers at each level of industrial production so they can fully profit from the goods they raise. “That’s thinking seven generations ahead. Do we want just a few sources for the rest of our lives [i.e., dependence on fossil fuels and timber], or do we want to support a lucrative, regenerative economy?”

Remember Your Roots

But if we are to have a true regenerative economy, all people must have the opportunity to share in the wealth. Acclaimed environmentalist and former Vice Presidential candidate Winona LaDuke, executive director of the Native American advocacy organization Honor the Earth, exhorts the audience at NoCo’s Hemp Summit to be inclusive: “We want to be part of the next economy. I don’t want it just to look like you cool people; I want it to look like us cool people too… [When the money comes], we want to be at the table, not on the menu.”

Since 1989 LaDuke has worked to achieve sustainability and reclaim tribal land through the White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP), a nonprofit organization operating out of the White Earth reservation in western Minnesota. Through WELRP she revives cultivation of traditional Native crops such as wild rice, but in recent years she’s added hemp to the mix, commenting that her area of Minnesota ran several hemp mills until the 1940s. “We know what a sustainable economy looks like,” she declares. “I want to bring something back to my region that makes sense for us.”

LaDuke is fighting a war on two fronts right now, trying to promote the hemp revolution in her hometown and protesting the encroachment of Line 3 (also known as Keystone XL) of the Tar Sands Pipeline into her territory. This summer the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rejected a motion to consider the impacts of the pipeline’s expansion on tribal culture, and on June 28 gave Enbridge Energy official approval for the line. The TransCanada Corp broke ground on Keystone XL in September 2018 near the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, despite lawsuits from three First Nation tribes – the Rosebud Sioux, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and Gros Ventre – which claimed the Trump administration’s approval of the line violated the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851and 1868, making the pipeline’s construction illegal.

In mid-November 2018, a federal judge in Montana blocked Keystone XL from its planned expansion through that state, as well as South Dakota and Nebraska. The judge’s ruling faulted the Trump administration’s approval of Line 3, saying that the State Department’s reversal of an Obama-era decision that denied the pipeline permission to expand was incomplete and lacked proper explanation

Finally, on March 4, 2019, it was reported that Enbridge would be delaying the start of the pipeline by at least a year, emboldening activists across the region to believe, like LaDuke does, that the line will never be built. Still, the situation is far from resolved and the indigenous community suffering because of it. Past pipelines haven’t created jobs, only damaged both tribal lands and tribes further.

According to LaDuke, her people’s best hope lies in a regenerative economy. But the citizens on the White Earth reservation need more training in farming hemp, and greater access to resources. “

Share with us—bring us a supply chain!” LaDuke exclaims. “We need regenerative economy, because empire is not stable. The next economy needs to have us all

Somewhere That’s Green

The further development of hemp-derived products will tremendously impact our economic evolution, especially when it comes to drop-in materials. Several NoCo exhibitors specialize in producing hemp-based substitutions for paper, construction, and plastic, and the results are astounding.

Sunstrand, the largest provider of sustainable products in North America, creates plant-based goods including home insulation (safe to touch), automotive fillers, even surfboards. “We work primarily with bast plants [that are] rapidly renewable,” says Adam Block, Sunstrand’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Crops like hemp, flax, kenaf, and bamboo can all regrow within a year, whereas wood is “natural but certainly not rapidly renewable.”

Founded by biocomposite expert Dr. Trey Riddle, Sunstrand is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky with additional facilities in Alberta, Canada and Pamplico, South Carolina. Production is a large operation, but the main idea is simple: High-quality, cost-effective, and naturally-derived materials that will outperform the standard products.

“There’s a big misconception that green is expensive, or weird,” Block notes. “Or it’s extra, it’s hippie stuff.” But Sunstrand breaks those stereotypes. “It’s three things: Cost, performance, and sustainability. It doesn’t have to be ‘Pick two’… that’s where Sunstrand comes in. We [can] control the supply chain, from grow all the way through to deliver a specific, highly-engineered, technical material.”

Part of Sunstrand’s business model is to contract with local and out-of-state farmers so the company can oversee the manufacturing process from beginning to end. They give seeds to farmers, who grow “to our specifications, with our support, and we have a process called ‘retting,’” where microorganisms and moisture swell plant stalks to separate fibers and woody cores (“hurds”).

Block is especially proud of Sunstrand’s satellite expansion strategy: “We want to impact many local communities. It helps us diversify, so we can get crops from different areas at different times. To this point, everything we’ve done has been because industry asked for it. We are transitioning into more of a sales and production organization because industry wants it… This has a real impact beyond the environment; [it’s socio-cultural too, so] our level of corporate responsibility is enormous. And it’s made in America.”

Some particularly cool products include hemp coreboard that can be used in place of timber plywood, animal bedding, electronics, and bioplastic fillers that can slot into bike frames and boat cabins. (Bioplastic means any plastic originating from biodegradable materials instead of fossil fuels.) Meanwhile, Sana Packaging takes things back to the consumer cannabis industry with hemp-plastic disposable tubes and con- tainers for vape cartridges, rolls, and edibles. While they haven’t expanded beyond consumable products yet, they plan to get into biodegradable water bottles in the near future.

Sunstrand Hemp Coreboard versus standard fiberglass

“We’re using nature to solve nature’s problems,” Sana’s co-founder Ron Basak-Smith remarks. “We want to use this material and make it so normal.”

In a panel on sustainably replacing everyday items, Basak-Smith mentioned what he’d like to see next – hemp coffee cups, filler for 3-D printing, and wearable accessories (proceeds from which can then be donated to legalization efforts). We’re still several years away from total biodegradable integration, but the possibilities are endless.

Have a Heart

Maybe it’s easy to adore hemp because the plant has a heart (the term for the vitamin rich edible insides of its seeds). At the PureHemp Village, run by the refining company PureHemp Technology, they’re unveiling the pride of the expo, a life-size statue known as Hemp WoMan, with an equally adorable core.

“When we made her, we made a heart. We gave it to people, and they all put it to their hearts, and now she has it inside her,” explains Jeff Cole, one of the minds behind the statue.

Crafted completely from hemp and holding a tiny Planet Earth, Hemp WoMan celebrates the idea that every living thing is connected, and that the magical plant will be humanity’s entryway to a better future. She’s part of Perfect Vision 2020, a global crusade for renewable energy that aims to unite, educate, and establish a world driven by plant-based products and biofuels.

Hemp WoMan is now on a national tour, with planned additions increasing her size until a 60-foot version of the statue is finished in 2020 for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Then she will be set aflame, symbolizing the end to an economy dominated by fossil fuels. “From this symbolic death and from the ashes,” reads the Perfect Vision mission statement, “a renewed consciousness embracing organic farming, green jobs, and a healthier planet will emerge.” (For more information, visit PerfectVision-2020. com.)

Whatever changes lie in store for the hemp industry, let’s hope the mission remains a constant. May all those dedicated to the plant remember that they are magic too, for daring to risk everything on this versatile crop. They believe in a brighter tomorrow, a future where plants and humanity have given the Earth her gift of harmony once again. Let’s keep that perfect vision in our mind’s eye and make it real. Hemp has a heart – let’s show it that we do too.

“It’s all about love.”

©Ben Wright/ NoCo HempExpo

TheHempWoMan

THEBOARDINGROADHEMP TRIP WITH A LIFE-CHANGING FILM

by Jessica Bern

Join Team Honeysuckle as we bring you the truth about the next industrial revolution with The Hemp Road Trip , a documentary by hemp activists Rick Trojan and DJ Nicke. Last fall we hosted the film’s New York premiere at the iconic venue Club Cumming, where Trojan gave a live talkback about the importance of the plant and his years of lobbying for legalization.

On Thursday, March 14th, we celebrated The Hemp Road Trip and a legal-hemp future in Knoxville, Tennessee with Blühen Botanicals, one of the leading manufacturing and extraction companies in the new industry. Since the company’s inception, Blühen has been dedicated to revitalizing the local Knoxville community; now they’ll be responsible for educating the populace, with this month’s free screening of Trojan’s film and their first-ever Hemp Wellness Center opening in May. (Blühen CEO Joe Fox recently gave CBS a sneak peek into the plans for the groundbreaking Center.)

The Knoxville premiere of The Hemp Road Trip at city landmark Central Cinema was a great success, including Skyped-in remarks by Trojan, intro by Fox, and special giveaways. Here, we invite you to learn more about hemp for yourselves. Hop on the Road Trip and read why this film changed Honeysuckle Staff Editor Jessica Bern’s mind about hemp – and why it’s key to humanity’s future.

“Onceyou’velearnedabout thisplant,youcan’tsaynoto it.”-RickTrojan

You may not recognize Rick Trojan when you’re walking down the street, but trust me when I say that if you did, you’d stop and shake his hand while offering a huge thank-you. Trojan, who produced and stars in the documentary The Hemp Road Trip, is a pioneer who has spent the last several years touring the country, educating citizens about the incredible benefits of industrial hemp and speaking to politicians about the importance of decriminalizing cannabis.

December’s passage of the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized hemp, an historic decision which Trojan and countless activists, farmers, entrepreneurs, attorneys, educators and many others have advocated for decades. But what is the next step for those who have worked tirelessly on the front lines of this industrial revolution? And how do we spread that information to the people who need it most?

Because the fact is that hemp should be everywhere. It should be a part of the structure of your home, your car, every rope you tie, the clothes you wear even a part of, if not all of, the food you eat and the medications you take, for a variety of diseases. It should be your water bottle, the container you use to store the food in your fridge, hell, even part of the fridge itself. But it’s not. At least, not yet.

That’s where The Hemp Road Trip comes in. It’s a fast-paced and compelling introduction to the most misunderstood and life-saving resource of our time.

“Once you’ve learned about this plant,” says Trojan, “you can’t say no.”’

Jump aboard Trojan’s Hemp Road Trip bus for an insightful ride through our nationwide confusion about hemp and its innumerable uses. He and director DJ Nicke interview experts in fields ranging from medicine to law, manufacturing to farming, small business owners and environmentalists to Congressional representatives. Together they enlighten the viewer not only on why hemp has been illegal for so long, but also on how it can heal our bodies and every facet of our world.

As the film explains, the mission of the Hemp Road Trip is built on understanding four basic principles: Health, Energy, Manufacturing, Planet. Prepare to have your mind blown by revelations about cannabinoids, certain molecules in the cannabis plant (of which hemp is a nonpsychoactive variety) that interact with our bodies to promote wellness.

Testimonials from Trojan himself to a miraculous cancer survival story to doctors amazed by new research help support the idea that we should do whatever we can to take care of our bodies’ endocannabinoid systems.

You’ll even get to enjoy a documentary-inside-a-documentary with a look at Trojan’s Morgan Spurlockesque “Hempseed Challenge,” where he, Nicke, and David Maddalena of The Hemp Connoisseur Magazine dedicate themselves to ten days of eating nothing but hempseeds. It’s a riot, but the results are surprisingly effective – and so are many other aspects of this illuminating movie.

Diving into Energy, we learn that hemp can be used for bioplastics, biofuels, and the next generation of super batteries that can hold their charge for years on end. And when you’re through, Trojan notes with a grin, you can recycle such batteries by throwing their hemp components onto your crops for fertilizer.

“Essentially, if we grow hemp in 6% of all the [arable] land in this country, we’d meet all our consumer needs for energy,” he enthuses.

In terms of Manufacturing, the plant’s many uses means that new jobs could be created in sectors all over the country. This is what convinces members of local, state, and federal governments to support the Hemp Road Trip (part of the film’s beauty is knowing that on this score at least, our politicians listened to the will of the people). Congressman Willie Dove from Kansas, interviewed throughout the documentary, particularly voices his delight at being able to bring new opportunities to his constituents.

Perhaps most important of all, hemp provides environmental benefits (Planet) that go far above its versatility as a superfood or building material. The plant actually replenishes the soil – unlike more common cash crops like corn and soybeans – and helps aid in a process called carbon sequestration, where excess carbon dioxide can be diverted back into the ground instead of out into our air and oceans. Hemp is naturally resistant to many pesticides and herbicides, and because of its har-diness will often be used to rejuvenate the earth in sites affected by chemical spills or poisons.

These sacred properties carry special significance for a number of Native American tribes, who want to return to tradition and connect with the planet by planting hemp as their ancestors did. Until recently (and continuing in some areas), this has been extremely difficult for indigenous communities to do. Alex White Plume, former president of the Oglala Sioux tribe, made national news when the DEA raided his farm. He continues to be a hemp activist and educator, an inspiration to other Native American advocates like Muriel Young Bear of the Meswaki Tribe, who runs her own consulting firm and works with tribal communities to diversify operations into the emerging hemp industry. According to Mike Lewis, a veteran and founder of the Growing Warriors Project (which trains military veterans to grow their own produce privately and commercially), “From so small a seed springs forth the means to carry a nation.” ‘

Lewis is right, of course – but only if the people surrounding that seed make it their responsibility to raise awareness. This, then, is the next logical step after legalization. It’s monumental that the laws are now in place to make the hemp revolution a reality. But it depends on the consumers, the people who aren’t industry experts but are concerned citizens, to demand the development of products that will take us into this future.

Producer Rick Trojan, right, celebrates Hemp History Week. © The Hemp Road Trip

I admit that up until recently, I thought the word “hemp” was synonymous to “marijuana.” When I was told I would be speaking to Rick, I figured it was a piece about a guy who was spreading the gospel about the legalization of pot, end of story. This response is what puts me into the same category as an entire generation of people who should know, who need to know, that this is not true.

Why?

Because these are a lot of the same folks that comprise this consumer population, and they are the ones who will be helping bring hemp awareness effectively to the mainstream.

“We need people activated,” Rick says. “We need to build a coalition… Everyone needs to learn about this plant, and by doing so will benefit their neighbors and benefit themselves and benefit their children. After [so much time] talking to Senators, now we need you.”

“We need people activated, we need to build a coalition… Everyone needs to learn about this plant, and by doing so will benefit their neighbors and benefit themselves and benefit their children...” -

Rick Trojan

Here are some simple ways we can get started. Just think about this – see that cheap shirt in Walmart? After how many washes is it tossed into a landfill contributing to the demise of our planet? Replace that cotton-made shirt with an outfit from hemp fabric, which is equally as soft but much more durable and will last twice as long. Is it more expensive? Slightly, yes, but if you amortize the use you get out of it, you’ll find that in the end it’s actually quite the bargain. Or what if you have a headache? Put down the Advil. CBD, one of the most prominent cannabinoids that promotes healing, comes in gel form and can help you take that pain away while also reinvigorating your endocannabinoid system.

Take a few moments and read what is out there – and naturally, don’t forget to book yourself a spot on The Hemp Road Trip. I promise you it will be a truly life-changing experience.

For more about Blühen, visit bluhenbotanicals.com. Learn more about the Hemp Road Trip at hemproadtrip.com.

Asian Hemp Summit: Its all About Perspective

By Rick Trojan

Today I’m sitting at the base of Machapuchare (aka Fish Tail Mountain) in the Himalayas, one of the three sacred mountains in the Hindu religion, and the apparent residence of Shiva. To us Westerners and “round eyes,” it’s the Mount Olympus of the Hindi. I spent the last few days hiking the mountains after the Asian Hemp Summit, which Morris Beegle and I attended, spoke at, and ROCKED! We brought the magic of karaoke to Nepal, and Morris sang his first karaoke ever – Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” – and I rocked some Jack Black & Vanilla Ice… ice baby!

The conference was not only enlightening and educational, but provided opportunity for networking with leaders of 25+ countries. As I listened and learned, I had one main takeaway – It’s all about perspective! That’s exactly what Let’s Talk Hemp and the 422 podcast brings: a variety of perspectives.

Machapuchare, one of the three holy mountains for the Hindu religion, stands tall at 6,993 meters (22,943 feet) and its left-sided neighbor, Annapurna South, stands 7,219 m (23,684 ft), over 600 feet higher. Sitting here I can plainly see that Annapurna South is higher than Fish Tail. However, during my hike down from and around Fish Tail, it clearly looked like the taller mountain. The reality is, the mountain altitude didn’t change, but my viewpoint did; making the smaller mountain seem higher.

All photos © Rick Trojan / Let’s Talk Hemp

The same holds true for our industry. With all the recent changes, the 2018 Agricultural Act and FDA interference, it’s easy to lose perspective on the industry and market. As an American, I’m raised to believe that my country is the leader of the world, which includes cannabis. However, after attending the event with Morris in Kathmandu, I realized that my perspective is skewed. In fact, China holds more than 50% of the patents on cannabis, India has been growing and using this plant for eons, and Japan is real izing the economic benefit of its fiber, food and dietary supplement.

America, I realized, has a lot to learn from other countries regarding cannabis. We are not the tallest mountain. But we are the largest mar ket.

It’s with these new glasses that we return to USA and launch Let’s Talk Hemp Season 2 – Changing the Cannabis Conversation. It’s time to embrace the knowledge that Morris and I have gathered during our international speaking engagements – be it Colombia (March 2018), Balkannabis in Athens (June 2018), the European Industrial Hemp Association conference (Cologne, Germany 2018), Japanese exploration (November 2018) or the Asian Hemp Summit (Nepal, Feb 2019).

Meeting folks from India, China, Japan, Nepal, Poland, the Netherlands, Tasmania and 18 other countries helps provide unique perspec tive. This is the perspective that we’re bringing to Season 2 of the podcast, which launched Feb 22, 2019. Listen in by visiting letstalkhemp.com and Soundcloud.

Rick Trojan is Founder of the Hemp Road Trip, VP of the Hemp Industries Association, Director of Vote Hemp, Director of the Industrial Hemp Research Foundation, and with Morris Beegle is cohost of the Let’s Talk Hemp Podcast.

How to Influence through the Net: Getting Your Hemp Brand Attention on Social Media

By Cait Curley

By: Cait Curley

How can a consumer products company specializing in CBD and other industrial hempderived products market its brand in a cloudy regulatory and advertising environment –despite the fact that hemp is now legal under the 2018 Farm Bill?

One way has been to get others to talk about your brand in publications, blogs and social media. When Facebook and Google won’t let hemp and CBD brands advertise, many companies are turning to public relations and influencer marketing. It’s a new twist on word of mouth in a digital age, yet it still works.

A huge piece of the cannabis movement’s story has been built on social media. It gives the community, like any other industry, a sense of connection and like mindedness. It’s a platform to learn, create connections and promote your brand. I don’t know a “top brand” that doesn’t have social media. It doesn’t mean it’s an A+ social media platform, but at least they have one.

Photo: Pixabay

Here are some basic but essential tips for hemp/cannabis companies to keep in mind when pursuing social media and influencer marketing and communications strategies:

First Things First: Even if it’s a simple landing page, make sure you have a website with contact info and your social media links included. Include an email signup form so visitors can sign up for newsletters. Creating and populating a blog page on your website is also recommended, as it provides original content for you to share and potentially boost across social media platforms.

What Social Media Should I Be On?: A brand should create an account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and LinkedIn, to start. When creating a handle, use your company’s name, and if it’s not available, make it as close as possible.

Don’t Skip: You may spend more time on one over the other, but it’s a mistake to skip a social media platform based on where you “think” your audience is. Especially in the cannabis/hemp industry. Focus on quality content over quantity.

Stay Active and Engaged: You don’t need to be a social media expert or even tech savvy, but you do need to go in at least once a week for an hour to post and engage with the community. I say once a week, because I understand that many companies, especially startups, have one person wearing many, if not all hats within the business. Many brand owners (farmers, for example) may be new to social media with no idea how to manage/ post/engage on their feed. With that, you can find at least an hour a week to learn the platforms, post and engage. My ultimate recommendation would be at least an hour a day. It’s not as difficult as you may think. Once you begin doing it, you’ll find a flow and recognize the importance to carve out time to engage with your followers.

Organize Your Social Media Profile: Synchronize all of the profile and cover photos. Make sure at least one email contact is available. Be short and simple with your mission, what your product is, and where to buy it.

Take Advantage of Hashtags: Include your company’s hashtag in every post possible. Using tags related to your product like #fullspectrumhemp or #hempfarmers for a hemp oil brand (for example) is very helpful, too.

Check Out What Others Are Doing, But Be YOU: Research the competition, find inspiration and be genuine. Tell YOUR story, be you/unique, not your competition.

Relationships Count: Build relationships vs. asking for a sale. That’s what builds loyalty and trust over time.

Know Your Audience: What do they want to learn? Keep track of what posts have been most successful, e.g., the most likes, comments or shares.

A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words: Make use of captivating visuals, including original photography, licensed photography, and photos and graphics used with permission. If possible, high quality video about your brand, mission, activities, events or lifestyles and related interests, short and sweet, are sure to generate attention and shares.

Educate But Avoid Health Claims: Educate on a simple level to the public while avoiding health claims about products. To learn more about what you can and can’t say under the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act, visit here

E-Newsletters and Blogs: Make sure you have an email signup form on your website to collect emails of customers and constituents. Before you know it, you’ll have a growing email contact list to whom you can send e-newsletters and other email announcements and promotions. Blogs provide original content that can be shared as articles in your newsletters and as social media posts, which can help bring readers back to your website.

Build Brand Awareness: Social media is growing so rapidly. Having multiple influencers out there (even if micro with 1K followers), allows your brand to have multiple tentacles, reminding or introducing people to your brand.

Influencer Advantages: Even after the legalization of hemp, so many cannabis/hemp companies still are not able to advertise on social media. Tree Free Hemp for example, a hemp paper and printing company, has been flagged for years because it attempted to boost a hemp paper poster – it turns out that poster was the Declaration of Independence; oh the irony! For this reason, influencers and other creative forms of marketing are needed for hemp/cannabis than for any other industry. Consumers trust information and product recommendations from influencers. They feel it’s an honest opinion from someone that knows what they’re talking about. They’re a trusted voice.

Influencers help increase SEO by building and creating unique content. They drive traffic, convert leads and open brands to new markets and networks. Most influencers, if treated and paid correctly, will be loyal to your company for life. They will continue to promote and recommend your brand.

Cait Curley is an educator, entrepreneur, social media influencer, marketing and communications specialist, and content creator with a passion for all things hemp and cannabis. Visit www.caitcurley.com Facebook, and @caitcurley_ on Instagram and Twitter.

(C) Christian Bull Photography

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(C) Savina Ferro

The Soil Guy

By Jaime Lubin and Ronit Pinto

They call him the Soil Guy, and in his voice it sounds like “soul.” And it should, because Ray Archuleta is practically the Dalai Lama of modern regenerative agriculture. Or maybe the Lorax would be a more apt comparison, because like Dr. Seuss’s resilient environmentalist Archuleta speaks for the Earth. His cries of “It’s alive!” when discussing soil ecology electrify his audiences – but he’ll be the first to tell you that saving the planet is a communal responsibility.

“Everything’s connected; everything’s one,” has become Archuleta’s motto. It’s immortalized in the upcoming documentary Kiss the Ground from award-winning filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell (executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio), which follows several pioneers working to restore Earth’s ecosystem. Ray’s mission in regenerative techniques is one of those most lovingly chronicled. For thirty years he’s been a Conservation Agronomist for the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), where he “spent two decades giving bad advice and another one making up for it.” In 2017, he left the government to cofound the nonprofit Soil Health Academy with renowned holistic rancher Gabe Brown. Together with a small team of like-minded innovators, they are educating producers in the regenerative method and breaking them of conventional habits.

Kiss the Ground explores the basic concept and tools for regenerative agriculture, which teaches us to work with the Earth through biomimicry, practices that emulate nature. This means recognizing the soil as a living entity, home to millions of microorganisms that help reduce carbon emissions when they’re healthy, and increase them when they grow sick and die. Think of it as our planet’s epidermis –you don’t want your skin cut open, sucked dry of nutrients and pumped full of toxins, but that’s exactly what billions of people around the world do to soil every single day.

Traditional agriculture has failed us, Archuleta explains, because it’s based on reductionist thinking, or single-effect control. We see the fallout everywhere, from the scarce arable land and emaciated crop yields to the increased suicide rates of American farmers (now at an all-time high and at a greater percentage than any other industry in the country). But if we start thinking in a quantum, holistic way, we can stop the destructive cycles. To do that, we need to understand how science, social constructs, and spirituality merge to create a natural planetary wellness.

“We [humans] are part of the Creation, not separate from it,” Archuleta says. “But we don’t appreciate it… People want to isolate things… Economists love to do everything without ecology. Ecologists want to take humans out. They’re both flawed. The overarching principle is collaboration.”

An interview with Ray Archuleta

All Photos Courtesy Ray Archuleta

It sounds simple, but the idea is hard for most to accept. “A lot of people don’t have it right,” Ray notes. “But how do you bring out those producers who are stuck in that matrix? The government, and by extension the social community, pushed farmers down this route [of harmful practices]. They need to change the way they think. When I’m teaching, I’ve got five minutes to destroy your pre-set concepts and paradigms about farming. Once I destroy everything you think you know, then I can build you up. I have to teach you, change this whole thing by one heart, one mind at a time. That’s how you create change. It’s a revolution.”

Here’s the truth as we know it: The government has provided crop insurance to farmers since the 1930s, particularly to those growing staples such as corn or soybeans. Because farmers receive significant federal subsidies if they grow these crops, they will continue producing only those vegetables even if they experience a bad harvest season. Our taxes pay their insurance on failed yields.

Additionally, the government has encouraged and subsidized farmers to use various pesticides and herbicides since the 1940s, when chemical warfare testing resulted in profitable crop booms. Today’s farmers still get hefty payouts for chemical usage because of corporate deals between pesticide manufacturers and the Department of Agriculture, though the “productive” nitrogen blooms no longer work and are poisoning our water supply through acid runoff.

Even chemical-free farmers often till the soil, a destructive aeration method which causes mass microorganism death, and keep large animals on greenhouse gas-heavy feedlots. In lieu of this, Archuleta promotes no-till agriculture and a permaculture of cover crops. He also urges ranchers to let their livestock graze within a routine corral that will spread manure around the property. If cows and sheep are kept more concentrated in the pastures and moved a few times throughout the day, they will be happier and aid in the revitalization of farmland.

As a bonus, the changeover to biomimicry will save farmers money! Ray relays the success story of

Anyone eager to learn Archuleta’s style of practical eco-holism can enroll in the Soil Health Academy’s program. The school charges $1275 per person – a bargain when one considers the longterm effects regenerative will have on a farmer’s budget – and they provide discounts for couples that attend together. They also work with the Kiss the Ground foundation to fund scholarships for younger students and perpetuate self-education so graduates can teach others.

“My criterion is, ‘Do you love the land and the people? Are you willing to sacrifice yourself?’” Ray asks. “The more diversity of humans we have, that just makes it more eclectic and gives more to the thought process…

Gabe and I would love an infusion of donations so that we can start writing the curriculum better and make sure that it gets facilitated out in a quality that we would like. But we travel so much and consult on hundreds of thousands of acres too, so it’s not just a matter of teaching [in a classroom], but we go help other people heal their land… So it’s a two-pronged effect, teach and instruct through a hands-on consultation.”

Regardless of how somebody arrives at the Soil Health Academy or gets interested in regenerative methods, it’s imperative that they treat the process – including farmers, animals, and all parts of the Earth – with deep respect. “Think about what you’re doing, because it’s going to have cascading upper-effects or downer-effects. It takes a spiritual consciousness. My theological background has really helped me understand nature… Nature is nonlinear. She’s elegant, she’s beautiful, but she’s always changing… We’re so disrespectful to that. We’ve stopped saying, ‘I’m the problem.’ The moment you do that, you lose humility and knowledge flows away.”

His sentiment feels strikingly akin to The Lorax’s climactic message. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Asking humans in the digital age to be humble is a tall order, possibly even more difficult than convincing them to break from over a century of conventional wisdom. But Archuleta remains a steadfast optimist, and perhaps humility is the greatest lesson that he and other such innovators can impart to us. Let’s marvel at our connection to Earth and do our best to protect her – because once we get that truth in our souls, that’s when the true regeneration begins.

Find more information about the Soil Health Academy and regenerative agriculture at soilhealthconsulting.com or by emailing learn@soilhealthacademy.org

Regenerate or Detonate

Talking soil, Hemp, and corporate greed with John Roulac.

John Roulac is internationally known as a preeminent authority on hemp and superfoods with over 20 years in the industry A passionate environmentalist, author of four books concerning ecology and conservation, founder of five nonprofit organizations and the visionary behind Nutivaone of the world’s leading organic superfood brands— Roulac continues to put himself on the front lines in the fight to save Planet Earth. His research led him to the regenerative agriculture movement and his newest venture, RE Botanicals, a pure organic hemp apothecary that produces high-quality eco-friendly hemp extract products.

It was Roulac who introduced Team Honeysuckle to Kiss the Ground, a documentary on regenerative agriculture by award-winning filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell that he and other environmental advocates, including Leonardo DiCaprio, executive produced. (See more about the film and regenerative agriculture in our print edition ONE.) At the Southern Hemp Expo in Nashville, we caught up with Roulac again to talk about his journey retiring from Nutiva to start RE Botanicals and his views on the future of planetary wellness.

This March, RE Botanicals made the official debut of its new Hemp CBD Relief Body Oil and Hemp CBD Organic Coconut Oil Capsules at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California. As Roulac’s latest creations change the world for the better—and as we prepare to reunite with him later this month at the 6th annual NoCo Hemp Expo in Denver, Colorado— we treat you to this candid exclusive about ecology, regeneration, corporate greed, and our shared human imperative to take care of our suffering planet.

© RE Botanicals

Interview by: ronit Pinto & Jaime Lubin

Additional Reporting: Eden Gordon & Jackie Hajdenberg

Editor’s Note: The following conversation has been reported verbatim and in good faith. Please note that the claims below, medical and otherwise, solely reflect the opinions of the interviewee. We encourage our readers to think critically and further research for themselves about the topics contained herein.

HONEYSUCKLE MAGAZINE:

The conversation around regenerative agriculture has not only changed our perspectives on everything concerning the environment and how different ecosystems are interconnected, but it’s taken various industries by storm. How did you first become aware of the regenerative movement, or was it always something you practiced?

JOHN ROULAC:

Regenerate the earth or we shall perish. That’s kind of the bottom line. I’ve been studying natural systems since the 1980s, from organic farming to permaculture to more sustainable forestry practices to composting and recycling and hemp agriculture. Regenerative became a movement in the last five years, and [Nutiva] was the first company in the natural food world to help educate people about the power of regenerative. We’re moving away from a degenerative system, which is destroying our soils on every side—using the biocides and the pesticides— towards sustainable, regenerative agriculture, which is meant to sustain even what might be a low quality of life in the soil and ecosystems— to move towards a regenerative agriculture, increase the organic matter, increase biodiversity and increase income for farmers, who are spending money on rebuilding the soil and retaining water instead of on agricultural chemicals.

How has the educational process been with the farmers you’ve been working with?

People have been brainwashed, so it takes a while to educate people. Google “soil health”—the search term has really grown in search rankings—and I’ve been working with businesses and investors and policy-makers to break the silence on this. One thing I’ve noticed in the last five years of working on this is that the higher you get up in the ecological power-structure, the less you find people who want to talk about soil health, carbon sequestration, and the fact that agriculture is the number one contributor to climate change. Part of that is because Monsanto, Bayer, DuPont, and Syngenta, the leading chemical companies in the world, are so powerful that essentially they control all economic, political, and educational systems, and bend them to their will…

Health begins in the soil. If we want to create a healthy world, if we want to create a healthy economy, we have to start there… Ironically, the modern American environmental movement has zero interest in soil health. It’s not focused on restoration. But restoring our grasslands and our forests is the only way forward—either we restore Planet Earth or we will perish.

The vast majority of all carbon release comes from tilling the soil—which falls into the ocean, which then becomes acidic, causing mass plankton death. By 2040, at our current rate, there won’t be a fish in the sea—[nor mammals like] whales or dolphins. Modern environmental groups like 350.org, Sierra Club and Greenpeace spread a message that implies that coal and oil drilling is evil and solar and electric cars are good, but that’s a failed message. If we follow 350.org’s goal of stopping drilling and that’s what we focus all our efforts on, we will be at 450 [parts per million—the safe concentration of carbon dioxide presence in the atmosphere].

The sad truth of the carbon cycle is that what we release in carbon and drill for oil over the next few years will have negligible impact. The only impact is drawdown. Paul Hawken’s book Drawdown outlines [the] 100 top solutions for healing our environmental crisis. Hawken, one of the most influential businesspeople and environmentalists in the world, asked the world’s top environmental groups and companies if they had a plan for climate change—and not one of them did. The United Nations does not have a plan for climate change. COP21 [the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference] was not a plan. Ironically, soil health was not allowed to be discussed at COP21—it was not on the agenda.

Why were they not on the agenda?

Because of Monsanto and Bayer. Because politicians are beholden to the chemical companies, and Al Gore is part of the problem. Al Gore is training hundreds of thousands of people to say that oil and coal are bad, and solar and electric cars are good. If you use a carbon calculator, that leads to a dead ocean in 2040. Do we need to stop drilling for oil and coal? Yes. Do we need more solar and wind? Yes. But by itself, this would be a green techno-utopia that would allow us to continue to destroy the earth while maintaining our lifestyles and still destroying our soils. The environmental community today does not understand environmental systems and ecology…

We need to learn from people like Bucky Fuller, and Wendell Berry, and Bill Mollison, [the father of] permaculture. We live in a dichotomy. Part of this is caused by our university system, which teaches people to be experts in one field—so we have city planners who design cities but don’t know how water flows, though water flowing is pretty important in cities. When it rains in California, all that water runs into the ocean. We could be developing our cities to capture that water, so we wouldn’t need to pump that water in and create dams. We have medical doctors who graduate and know nothing about nutrition. We have university students in agriculture who don’t understand the basics of soil health. This system of specialization is the crux of some of our largest problems. It’s a Western view that dissects reality into compartments.

This is why the regenerative movement is so important—it teaches an holistic approach—and that’s the problem with compartmentalization; as you say, solar and wind are great but they’re not solutions. They’re just one thing that doesn’t really impact anything else. So where do we go from there?

For the last five years, I’ve been interfacing with people all over the world at various levels, in government, in business, in society and environmental groups. Sadly I’ve come to the conclusion that while there’s lots of good things going on— there’s some momentum—the power structure does not want to change the direct trajectory of our society, and so… we need to prepare for crash landing. The system is going to have to crash because rationally we’re not, as a society, hard-wired to recognize that we’ve been brainwashed for so long.

Unfortunately that’s not a feel-good message. But maybe in crisis we can rebound and have a change. The good news is that [with the passage of] the Farm Bill [we can provide] farmers with 50% funding for sustainable agriculture, and incentivize sustainable agriculture further; [that makes] a huge difference. Cover-crop—keeping soil covered in the winter — composting; adding other crop rotations; biodiversity; hedge rows; planting trees; biochar; all of these different things, we could be doing, and farmers are starting. In Indiana, when you drive by fields in the winter you see covered crops…

We vote three times per day with our food choices. The number one thing you can do is stop buying industrial meat—milk, beef, chicken—and if you are going to eat meat, you need to consume 100% pasture, grass-fed. When you’re eating grassfed beef you’re essentially consuming sunlight; it’s running on sunlight. Ironically, the food world and the media are enamored with this non-organic, GMO, fake, vegetarian foods like impossible burger, running on petrochemicals.

© RE Botanicals

What’s more regenerative—eating beef from sunlight with growing grass, or taking wheat and growing a wheat crop, spraying Roundup on it, using chemical fertilizers, diluting the groundwater supply and using that combined with GMO’s to make a vegan burger? The non-organic vegan diet is killing animals… [and] ecosystems by spraying Roundup, killing moss, bees, and birds… The vegan movement doesn’t seem to understand that, but some are starting to wake up and realizing that if you want to be a vegan you need to follow regenerative practices. If you want protein, you can eat mung beans and almonds and peas and hemp. There’s lots of good [natural] vegetarian sources…

Nutiva is the world’s largest seller of organic chia seeds in the world. The vast majority of chia sold today as organic is actually non-organic; there’s a lot of food fraud. There are companies importing forty containers a month of fraudulent corn from Turkey and Kazakhstan, used to feed the cows said to produce organic milk. Many of us in the organic food industry have been raising this alarm, but Wall Street has taken over the natural food industry and there’s so much money, and it’s all about return and driving quarterly earnings and forgetting about the values. That’s not all the organic industry—there are good players in organic but it’s important to know your farmer and be more conscious.

Obviously, these are all very good things for people to know, and they should be making these choices, to eat pasture-fed meat instead of commercial vegan food. Sometimes, because of the way our corporate structure is, these are not affordable choices for a lot of people. What do they do in that case?

First off, the more you destroy the earth, the more you’re subsidizing America. The more you help the environment, the more you’re penalized. The corruption of our political system ignores the bad actors. If you [can] go to a farmer’s market… you can buy organic and food-grown in a much cleaner way for a pretty good price. If you buy in bulk you can save a lot of money. If you stop buying packaged food and don’t go to the movie theatre a couple times a month, you can afford to eat… It is a challenge, and that’s one of the disparities in our system today.

How do you determine the effect that chemicals have on the brain and body, whether they’re organic or not?

Part of the challenge is that the research institutions and universities and the EPA are influenced and funded by major corporations. The chemical companies submit their own studies, not true third-party toxicological studies. Chemicals that are very toxic are in many cases banned in other countries.

There’s a reason why, in the 1960s, virtually no one had autism; it was 1 in 10,000. No one had a peanut allergy or gluten issues or fertility issues. Today, 1 in 54 boys are autistic. It’s illegal to take peanuts to schools. Young adults in their 20s and 30s have all sorts of stomach issues; we didn’t have that 40 years ago. A lot of these issues have all accelerated since the 1980s and 90s, which was the introduction of Roundup and GMO crops and the acceleration of toxic chemicals. Also junk foods through multiple generations. There’s a real issue there; we’re laboratory rats. In a sense, they’re testing on us.

Do you think this is deliberate? Do they know what they’re doing?

The same companies that made the chemicals that killed the Jews in Auschwitz are in charge of our food system, and they’re spraying those same chemical compounds on our food. Their motive is profit. As a long-lost brother said, “Food is bigger than the Internet in business.”

Food lets you control people’s minds. It really determines your ability to live.

Companies sell pharmaceutical drugs to cure people after they get sick from the chemicals they spray on their foods. It’s a sickness industry. Regenerative agriculture and hemp are in the wellness industry, which is growing rapidly because people are realizing that they don’t want to be part of the sickness industry.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a Bush administration, an Obama or Clinton or Trump administration—Monsanto chooses the Secretary of Agriculture and the [Commissioner] of the FDA, and they follow their policies. The government works on behalf of corporations. Thomas Jefferson warned us that the end of democracy and freedom would be when the monied interests control our government. And that’s what we have—we no longer have a democracy, we no longer have freedom in America. It’s all controlled by corporations. I know—I started a successful corporation and I deal in the economic universe, and we need to change the system. People are working on that. . . You don’t necessarily have to fight Monsanto yourself—I do that—but you can choose a more regenerative diet and eat better.

© RE Botanicals

How do you deliberately fight?

Teaching people how to compost and teaching people about soil fertility in the 90s was a great way to raise awareness about things like earthworms and healthy soil. I’m involved in the GMO movement, and we’ve worked on campaigns to label GMOs. I started GMO Inside, a play off of insecticide, and we’ve done major corporate campaigns. We got 40,000 Facebook comments on Cheerios’ page, which led them to remove GMOs from their cereal. We got Chobani yogurt removed from Whole Foods and put a lot of pressure on them. Working behind the scenes, we got Campbell’s Soup to remove GMOs. 98% of all GMOs are tied to increasing levels of Roundup. Monsanto sells the seeds that GMOs need to grow.

What’s the most destructive force you’ve come across in terms of environmental destruction?

Roundup. Roundup is going to be the ruination of us all. It is so toxic. They falsified the safety studies. It chelates minerals, stripping away minerals people need for survival. We need to move away from Roundup. I take offense from the vegetation community saying they’re doing good for the environment when they’re promoting Roundup. Vegetarian foods are so over-processed.

Not all of them are; there’s so much common with the regenerative agriculture movement and the vegetarian movement; we need to work together instead of fighting each other. Silicon Valley and Monsanto are using the vegan movement to their advantage. I wrote an article in Medium on that; I’ve written a bunch of articles on soil and climate change on Eco-Watch on Medium, so you can check those out; for example I did an exposé on the University of Oxford’s connection to Monsanto.

When did Monsanto form?

in the 1900s. They brought us Agent Orange, and a lot of other toxic things.

There are so many people coming into this space who may be seen as charlatans and frauds; how do we recognize who’s genuine?

There are some good players in the hemp industry. You vote with your dollars, which is more important than voting in the ballot box, which is important too. If people voted against the industrial food system, we would shift it. It’s important to research the visions and backgrounds of the companies you’re buying from—asking questions like, “What are they contributing to?” “What’s their track record?” and “What were they doing five years ago?”

To switch avenues a bit, how do you see the emergence of RE Botanicals coming into all this?

I retired from Nutiva as a CEO a [little over a] year ago, and started up RE Botanicals just recently. It’s my new baby, and so it’s exciting—there’s a green gold rush in hemp today; the hemp extract space is taking off and we’re entering it. We’re a Pure Organic Hemp Apothecary, and we’re excited to use carrier oil and MCT oil, which is certified organic, coming from organic coconuts and virgin coconut oil. It makes for a much smoother flavor, according to feedback. We think there’s opportunity for a high-level ethical brand.

There are a lot of charlatans in this industry, and a lot of low-quality products, and a lot of companies that have good qualities but don’t know how to scale or how to get their products into supermarkets. With a company like Nutiva, we reached 100 million dollars in sales and we’re in stores around the world, I had that experience and I’m assembling my team of leading organic food people and people in operations in sales. It’s an exciting time for America’s original crop.

It sounds like trajectory will be pretty fast for RE Botanicals. When do you think we’ll be seeing this in retailers?

We’re in five stores today… We think we’ll be in many of the independent natural food stores and co-ops [this spring]. They’re giving us very good indication right now. [More major retailers will be selling hemp products in spring 2019 and things could change a lot after this next Expo West.] We’re building a lot of infrastructure to deal with the growth, and dealing with a lot of apps and technology.

On top of that, we’re very excited for the upcoming documentary, Kiss the Ground, to be coming out. When can we expect to see the finished product?

I’m the co-producer of Kiss the Ground. I met Josh and Rebecca [Tickell], the filmmakers, about five years ago and worked with them to create the film, and introduced them to a lot of the people who star in the film from Gabe Brown to [Ray] Archuleta. We’re looking forward to the release [this spring].

My final advice for your readers?

Try to make good food choices, support organic regenerative hemp and other products

HEMP MARKET TAKES OFF AT EXPO WEST

By Steven Hoffman

Anyone attending Natural Products Expo West, the world’s largest natural products trade show, held this past March, couldn’t help but notice that 2019 has emerged as “The Year of Hemp” in the natural and organic products market.

Indeed, the legalization of industrial hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill has been a boon for independent natural foods retailers, said Loren Israelsen, president of the United Natural Products Alliance. “For smaller stores, this category has been a lifeline for them as they battle to maintain foot traffic in the stores as online sales continue to grow.”

Larger stores, too, are eyeing the hemp market: Boulder-based Lucky’s Market has taken the lead in hemp and CBD product sales in its stores nationwide, with full shelf sets in the natural living department. Ohio-based Mustard Seed Market’s supplement sales are being driven by its commitment to CBD products, says Nutrition Director Abraham Nabors. Whole Foods Market’s trend spotters identified hemp as a “top 10 food trend for 2019,” and recently, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey indicated the possibility of Whole Foods selling cannabis products should they become legal in the future.

According to Hemp Business Journal’s new report, The Global State of Hemp: 2019 Industry Outlook, U.S. sales of hemp products –from full-spectrum hemp extract and CBD products to hemp foods, textiles, building materials, bioplastics and more – estimated at $1 billion in 2018, are projected to grow 27% annually to reach $2.6 billion by 2022. Global hemp retail sales totaled $3.7 billion in 2018 and are projected to grow to $5.7 billion by 2020.

The passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the Farm Bill, in late December was nothing less than historic, legalizing for the first time in more than 80 years the commercial cultivation and sale of industrial hemp. “Most importantly”, noted journalist Chris Chafin in Rolling Stone, “it removes hemp and any hemp derivative from the Controlled Substances Act, legally separating it from marijuana and putting its supervision under the Department of Agriculture. In the most basic sense, these plants serve three primary uses: fiber (paper and cloth), seeds (for hemp oil and food), and cannabinoid oils. It’s this last category that’s the most profitable and has the biggest potential for growth. The [Farm Bill] defines hemp as any part or derivative of cannabis with a THC level below 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis,” Chafin reported.

All photos by Compass Natural (Expo West CBD)

Hemp Steals the Show at Expo West

Interest in the category was so strong at 2019 Natural Products Expo West that a full-day Hemp & CBD Summit held at the show spilled out beyond a 500-person ballroom into two other rooms where a similar-sized audience watched by live video feed. Also, during a panel discussion hosted by Presence Marketing and NCG at Expo West for over 150 retailers, CBD and hemp supply chain (e.g., ensuring that the full spectrum hemp extract products you carry are sourced from certified organic producers, etc.) dominated the discussion.

Full-spectrum hemp and CBD products from new and national brands alike were introduced everywhere at the trade show: carob snacks with hemp extract from Missy J’s; CBD sparkling water from Weller; hemp-infused honey from Colorado Hemp Honey; CBD wellness shooters introduced by Navitas; organic full-spectrum hemp extract from Gaia Herbs, Charlotte’s Web, CV Sciences and others; hemp supplements by Leaf Therapeutics, a new brand launched by legacy brand Solaray; hemp gummies and caramels from Boulder-based Restorative Botanicals; CBD sports nutrition, hemp balms, hemp infused body care products and more. Honestly, what didn’t have CBD hemp extract at Expo West?

And that’s not to mention hemp foods derived from hemp seed – high in plant-based protein and omega-3 essential fatty acids, but with no CBD or cannabinoid compounds. Sold for over 20 years in natural foods stores, hemp seed-derived products are now widely regarded as superfoods. Brands such as Tempt, Manitoba Harvest, Evo Hemp and others presented new hemp food offerings at Expo West, capitalizing on heightened interest in all things hemp.

CBD or Hemp Extract?

The FDA may yet come out against use of the term “CBD.” While the agency is expected to review CBD and hemp extracts in food and supplements in the near future, according to outgoing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, CBD isolate was approved as a drug by the agency after granting license for Epidiolex, the first pharmaceutical derived from cannabidiol (CBD), manufactured by the company GW Pharmaceuticals. The commissioner had recently spoken of a “pathway” to acceptance of hemp CBD as a dietary ingredient. However, with Gottlieb announcing his resignation in early March, many in the natural products industry are uncertain whether progress on FDA regulatory policy regarding hemp and CBD will be made.

However, judging from exhibit after exhibit on the trade show floor, you wouldn’t know the regulatory waters around the use of the term “CBD” are murky. For many exhibitors at Expo West, “CBD” was the go-to phrase on product packaging, literature and exhibit signage, while others more conservatively stuck to the phrase “full-spectrum hemp extract.”

Despite FDA’s lack of a decision to date in this regard, manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike are responding positively to the use of CBD on the product label, and are not waiting for FDA to decide. This could be an issue down the road for many manufacturers, should the FDA decide to crack down on use of CBD on labels. The key, advised a number of speakers at the show, is avoid the use of CBD isolate in products and stick with full-spectrum hemp extract to avoid unwanted attention from the FDA.

While "it’s still unclear how different federal agencies will interpret the new [Farm Bill] rules...it doesn’t matter — people in the CBD industry are calling the new legislation a game changer," observed Chafin in Rolling Stone.

Transparency and Testing Are Crucial

A major theme at Expo West’s Hemp & CBD Summit focused on manufacturers operating with safety and integrity, noted CBD Insider in a March 9, 2019, report. “To preserve integrity, businesses must always test their products, especially in these six areas: cannabinoid potency, residual solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, microbes, and terpenes. After this testing is complete and the products are verifiably ready for consumption, companies should be transparent with their testing and provide documentation of third-party lab results. Companies — and consumers — must do their homework and ask questions. If a laboratory, farmer, brand, or any other entity in the supply chain is not willing to be transparent, it’s a sign that you should do business elsewhere. Many of the speakers discussed how they personally vet businesses before working with them, such as requiring documentation or personally visiting the company’s facility,” reported CBD Insider.

In addition, and importantly, retailers and consumers should seek out hemp products that are grown in accordance with certified organic and preferably climate friendly regenerative practices, emphasized John Roulac, founder of Nutiva and RE: Botanicals, a new hemp “apothecary,” which debuted at Expo West. Beware of low-cost hemp extract products that may have been produced with industrial agriculture practices including toxic, synthetic pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers derived from natural gas and fracking – contributors to global warming – and extracted with toxic organic solvents, he cautioned.

U.S. Hemp Acreage –

80,000

Acres and Growing

Although hemp is now legal across the U.S., the message seems to be getting out slowly, and state and local authorities are still seizing hemp crops and truckers are being arrested for crossing state lines with container loads of harvested industrial hemp for processing, tying up individuals in jail and leaving valuable inventory in limbo.

Currently, nine states – Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, South Dakota, Iowa, Texas, and Connecticut – still prohibit hemp production under any circumstances. And four states – Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas – still prohibit hemp-derived CBD. “For now, transporting hemp across these state lines may still be as dangerous as it’s ever been,” reported science writer Leo Bear-McGuiness in Analytical Cannabis.

Yet, “damn the torpedoes,” U.S. farmers are saying, as they respond to soaring demand by dedicating farmland to hemp cultivation, seeing it as a potential cash crop and an alternative to growing GMO corn, soy, tobacco and other commodity crops.

According to hemp advocacy group Vote Hemp, the U.S. hemp crop tripled in 2018 to 78,176 acres, up from 25,713 acres in hemp cultivation in 2017. That figure is expected to grow now that the Farm Bill has opened the door nationwide to hemp production, says Vote Hemp. Montana emerged as the top hemp growing state in 2018, followed by Colorado, Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and North Dakota, respectively, according to Vote Hemp.

Steven Hoffman is Managing Director of Compass Natural, a Boulder-based agency providing brand marketing, PR, social media, and strategic business development services to natural, organic, regenerative, and hemp-related products businesses.

Learn More

Let’s Talk Hemp – a leading newsletter and podcast by the producer of NoCo Hemp Expo and Southern Hemp Expo

Hemp Business Journal – strategic data and information for the hemp industry

Hemp Industry Daily – news, market research and trade information

Organic Trade Association’s Organic Week –May 20-23, 2019, Washington, DC, featuring a track on organic hemp production

Southern Hemp Expo – September 6-7, 2019, Nashville, TN, the largest exhibition and conference of hemp industry professionals in the East

Natural Products Expo East – September 1114, 2019, Baltimore, MD, presenting the Natural Products Hemp & CBD Summit

Vote Hemp – representing hemp producers and advocating for hemp policy and regulation

Heavy Metal Meets Hemp: A Journey to Birmingham

By Morris Beegle

This story begins in the summer of 1971, in the attic of my grandmother’s farmhouse in Beaver, Oklahoma. I’m sure most folks are unfamiliar with this town, as today the population is still less than 2,000 people. It has one claim to fame, however: Beaver is home to the annual World Cow Chip Throwing Contest. Yes, this is a real thing, picking up hardened circular chunks of cow shit and flinging them like frisbees.

While I never competed in the event, this tiny town holds a special place in my heart, and it’s not because of my family heritage or this oddly unique annual tradition. This peculiar place grabbed me at the age of four as I was sitting in the farmhouse attic with my older brothers Dave and Brad listening to my very first Black Sabbath experience.

I can still remember War Pigs, Iron Man, Electric Funeral and Hand of Doom all off the Paranoid album like it was yesterday. This was my introduction to the greatest hard rock band in history, a rowdy group from Birmingham, England, that would change music history and play an important role in my life as I got older.

So, what does Black Sabbath have to do with hemp?

Inspiration, energy, and motivation to get LOUD about what I believe in. Since I’m discussing the mighty Sabbath, I’ll also throw in Judas Priest, another legendary Birmingham band. Both bands provided me with influence and imagination to pursue my

entrepreneurial ambitions, first in the music and entertainment industries, followed by the hemp and cannabis industries.

This influence led me to printing hemp t-shirts, hemp hats, and hemp posters. Then to producing hemp events, hemp conferences, and hemp festivals. And most recently, to creating a line of hemp-bodied guitars, hemp-board guitar cabinets, hemp guitar straps, hemp plastic picks, and hemp plastic volume knobs that go to 11...because when you need that little extra push over the cliff, and 10 just isn’t cutting it, you need to take it to 11, and be #OneLouder!

This has been the Birmingham influence on my life, with a little extra help from the lads in Spinal Tap

Hemp awareness, CBD, and medical and recreational cannabis are literally blowing the F up all around the globe. It certainly is here in the United States where we finally passed historic legislation that unequivocally clarifies hemp and all parts of the plant, including cannabinoids, extracts, and derivatives, as no longer included in our Controlled Substances Act, and removes jurisdiction from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

We Americans are pretty excited about this even though we still have a big battle with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) on how this will play out in the world of food and supplements. This issue isn’t unique to the USA, as the UK and Europe and most parts of the world are struggling to figure out a path where we can free this plant in all of its forms, for not only consumption, but commercial industrial processes and regenerative agricultural practices.

This is where I have placed my efforts and intentions as I continue on my journey, one in which I get to visit a place that unexpectedly inspired me to promote a plant and a planet that both need to come together for the future of society and the future of humanity.

(C)SavinaFerro