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editor’s note
04 thehempmag.com
people around her laughing for minutes on end. I found people who gave me back my optimism about hemp, and reminded me that there is plenty of potential in the industry to celebrate. HEMP will always focus on the people behind the plants and profits. The hemp industry has the capability to create not just a future where hemp is legal nationwide, but also a future where the new legal industry has business ethics and regulations that consider the local community, the people oppressed by the war on drugs and the environment currently roiling in anger. Of course, building an ethical industry is no easy feat. This issue of HEMP captures the complexity of the hemp plant and the industry growing around it, as it currently stands. There is both an article focusing on a small farmer building a network of partner farms to find his competitive edge (“Small Farms Swing Big,” pg. 28) and a profile of the CEO behind a hemp-based CBD company that is rapidly expanding around the globe ( “Titan Titus,” pg. 57). There’s an investigation into the nuances behind hemp-based plastics and its feasibility to mitigate the damage of single-use plastics on the environment (“Is Hemp A Plastic Pollution Solution?” pg. 25), as well as a political forecast into 2018 from HEMP’s contributing editor and federal hemp lobbyist Ben Droz (“State of Hemp,” pg. 13). Finally, there’s a history lesson on hemp’s dark past, examining the role that slavery played in solidifying the crop in America (“Digging Up Hemp’s Dark Roots,” pg. 19). I hope in this magazine you will find the same dose of reasoned optimism I experienced at a lunch table in Las Vegas.
Julia Clark-Riddell, Managing Editor
PHOTO ADAM KURTZ
a day in the Las Vegas Convention Center to internalize the levels of alienation currently facing the hemp industry. I was attending the Hemp Symposium session of the annual juggernaut cannabis conference, MJBizCon, which meant that two hundred other hemp enthusiasts and I were sitting in a windowless room, nested inside a concrete oasis city and listening to presenters detail the myriad obstacles facing the development of this plant. One presenter detailed how 90 percent of hemp is imported to America with little end in sight. Another described how 65 percent of all CBD sales are conducted online and how most CBD companies can barely sell enough to raise their heads above the soil (especially because the FDA won’t allow the companies to make health claims, particularly in light of GW Pharmaceutical’s current new drug application for a CBD medication). One panel focused on regulatory barriers to hemp’s growth and the reasons why state industries are isolated from each other. Finally, with tens of thousands of marijuana businesspeople also attending the conference, plenty of speakers also bemoaned the stigma surrounding hemp-derived CBD. A man next to me in the audience let out a steady stream of sardonic chuckles throughout the day, and a woman across the aisle removed her Birkenstocks in exasperation. But at lunch, around plates of baked chicken and pasta salad, I met generous and enthusiastic individuals endeavoring to build a supportive industry in the face of all of this alienation. I met a hemp farmer and his wife working to build a small farmer guild in West Virginia, a California cannabis farmer looking to start growing hemp to benefit his soil and his family, an Israeli academic spreading awareness about the endocannabinoid system, and a due diligence expert from Virginia who had the IT TOOK SPENDING
ISSUE TWO
A butterfly perched on a CBD-rich plant at the Folium Biosciences headquarters.
features
ORO VERDE: GREEN GOLD 38
What the nascent American hemp community can learn from Italy’s thriving hemp industry. By Matteo Bastianelli
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COLORADO: THE NATION’S HEMP BASKET 51
How one state is setting the standard for industrial hemp production in the United States. By Joel Hathaway
TITAN TITUS 57
The man behind HempMeds discusses his company’s global expansion, his journey from the marijuana industry into the hemp industry and the truth behind the “hippies’ disappointment.” By A.J. Herrington
ISSUE TWO
Oregon Fusion’s research and development facility in Oregon, USA.
contents
STATE OF HEMP 13
A legislative liaison for Vote Hemp breaks down the federal progress that was made and missed in 2017 on the issue of hemp legalization. By Ben Droz HEMP’S DARK ROOTS 19
Slaves brought this labor-intensive crop to prominence in centuries past. As the hemp industry begins anew, it should remember the shoulders it stands on. By K. Astre HEMP PLASTIC’S POTENTIAL 25
Despite claims about hemp plastic’s ability to clean oceans and limit landfill growth, the truth is less universally positive. By Annie Rouse
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SMALL FARMS SWING BIG 28
A family CBD farm in Oregon remains intent on pushing the hemp industry forward, all while keeping the small farmer in mind. By Oscar Pascal CBD FOR PETS 35
Despite the lack of clinical research, many pet owners are turning to hemp-based CBD to help their furry friends. By Ellie Herring RISE OF TRADEMARKED HEMP 48
How the Stanley Brothers’ Charlotte’s Web became CW Simply™ — and why the FDA is knocking on their door. By Mitchell Colbert
PRODUCT REVIEWS 63
Everyday Hempwear. By HEMP Staff HAVE A HEART HEMP MILK 67
A four-ingredient recipe for a hemp staple. By Laurie and Maryjane WORD ON THE STREET 68
Hemp industry leaders currently have wallets, fields and storage bins that are either half-empty or half-full — depending on who you ask. By Julia Clark-Riddell THE FORECAST 70
The stories on the horizon. HEMP HINDSIGHT 72
An insight from one of history’s heroes.
PHOTO ADAM KURTZ
EDITOR’S NOTE 04
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A hemp stalk gleams after a routine Pacific Northwest rain on Oregon Fusion Farms.
Publisher
Eugenio Garcia Art Director
Todd Heath Managing Editor
Julia Clark-Riddell Contributing Editor
Ben Droz Copy Editor
Joel Hathaway Advertising
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Dan Armstrong K. Astre Matteo Bastianelli John Winston Coleman Jr. Mitchell Colbert Ellie Herring A.J. Herrington Rob Forsythe Adam Kurtz Laurie & MaryJane Matt Nager Oscar Pascual Annie Rouse Bruce Wolf On the Cover
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PHOTO ADAM KURTZ
A bicycle rests between some hemp straw bales at the first hemp processing center in Northern Italy, in Carmagnola. Photo by Matteo Bastianelli
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STAT E O F H E MP A federal hemp lobbyist breaks down the national progress that was made and missed in 2017 on the issue of hemp legalization. By Ben Droz
for industrial hemp indeed. In November, Vote Hemp released their annual hemp crop report, showing over 24,841 acres of hemp were grown in 19 states this year, more than doubling from 2016’s historic 9,770 acres in 15 states. An additional 17 states have passed hemp legislation, but are not yet growing the plant. All of this hemp is growing legally under state laws and Section 7606 of the 2014 Farm Bill, titled “The Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research.” This landmark language allows universities and state agricultural departments to conduct a broad range of pilot programs, and has laid the foundation for a new American industry. 2018 may yet be hemp’s watershed year. 2017 WAS A BIG YEAR
LEGISLATIVE MOMENTUM
In 2005, then-Congressman Ron Paul introduced the first Industrial Hemp Farming Act (IHFA), and legislative momentum behind hemp has only been building since then. The amount of support for similar bills has grown almost exponentially every session, and during the 2016 legislative session, H.R. 525 (The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015) had 75 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, and another 16 in the Senate, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. This legislation is uniquely bipartisan, bringing together champions from across the country and political spectrum. In addition to the momentum behind the IHFA, we have passed numerous amendments through Congress, since the passage of the landmark Farm Bill amendment. Using the omnibus appropriations process, hemp lobbyists such as myself have secured into law numerous amendments that prohibit funds from being used by the
federal government to hinder hemp pilot programs. These amendments have put numerous roll call votes through the House and Senate appropriations committees, and like in the Farm Bill, the amendments were secured and even expanded in conference by the powerful Senate majority leader. Moving into 2018, the 115th Congress is widely viewed as pivotal. Former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner and hemp champion Rep. James Comer has taken the lead on the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, now H.R. 3530. New changes have been made to the bill to help bring us towards a new paradigm of support. Some of the changes are good, like expanding the definition of research hemp to 0.6 percent THC and establishing sovereignty over hemp on tribal lands. Some sections of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, however, could be used to try to allow unnecessary enforcement against CBD industry. I believe that Sections 4 and 5 of the new IHFA show too much overreach of the federal government. Section 4 of the IHFA would allow inspections of hemp at every level of processing under the Controlled Substances Act and Section 5 asserts that the bill does not change the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which has implications for whether or not a company can make health claims about CBD. However, these changes to the Industrial Hemp Farming Bill were necessary to garner important support from our former foe-turned-hemp leader, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte. There are now at least three groups pushing hemp on Capitol Hill. Vote Hemp grew out of the Hemp Industries Association back in 2000 and continues to have a leading voice on the hill. New
#hempmag 13
ANTICIPATING A BOUNTIFUL 2018 We expect 2018 will be pivotal for a number of reasons. With support from the judiciary chairman, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act now has real likelihood for a hearing or vote in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, we are expecting a similar bill to be introduced any day, and with the majority leader’s support, the IHFA could move from the House through the Senate like a tractor goes from one field to another. There are many moving parts and lots on the agenda for Congress, but we now have an actual path to passage. In addition to our stand-alone legislation, there are more balls in the air for the hemp industry. Almost 20 years ago, the DEA tried to ban all hemp products using a “zero tolerance” policy. The Hemp Industries Association sued the DEA and, in 2014, won the right to build an industry that is now estimated to be worth $688 million. The DEA has tried to derail our efforts ever since, so in 2017, the Hoban Law Group — together with a coalition of companies and supporters — has sued the DEA again. Oral arguments will be heard early in the year, to show that hemp extracts, like extracts from any other legal plant, are health and nutraceutical products available for anyone. In addition, the
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2018 Farm Bill is on the legislative agenda, which offers another opportunity for hemp to be included. Over half of all hemp grown in the U.S. is for CBD, representing huge growth and opportunity. However, the FDA has already raised flags, and has sent warning letters to CBD companies in 2015, 2016 and 2017. This past Halloween, the FDA sent new letters to four companies, foreshadowing the New Drug Application for the pharmaceutical Epidiolex, which is currently under review. Despite all of the potential for healing from CBD products, there is still uncertainty in the industry. That is why it is as important as ever to stay active, and call your state representatives and members of Congress to urge them to support the strongest hemp legislation possible.
TOP PHOTO ADAM KURTZ
organizations are now working together to help us cross the finish line: the National Hemp Association, under new leadership, and the Hemp Roundtable, a coalition of over 30 companies, with close connections to Kentucky politics. Together, we are excited about the real potential of finally moving this legislation forward.