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Steve DeAngelo, Father of the Cannabis Industry

Written by texashempreporter on . Posted in CBD News & Business.

Texas Hemp Reporter: It is quite an honor to speak with you Steve. Most interviewers would ask this kind of a question toward the close, I’ll flip the coin. What is the future of cannabis?

Steve: The future of hemp is to become the most profitable cash crop on Earth. Dollar per dollar volume cannabis will begin to outsell actually any other single product. Here’s some statistics, since legalization in California alcohol use is down by 25%.. in most areas where legalization has occurred alcohol use reduction is between 15 and 20%. And I should mention Pabst Blue Ribbon has come out with a non-alcohol hemp tonic.

So many products can be replaced with hemp-based ones that are equal in price or cheaper to construct. If you press hemp seeds you get a wonderful emerald thick liquid that is bio-fuel for diesel engines. If you mix hemp seed oil with 10% ethanol, also derivable from hemp, you have a perfect bio-fuel for any diesel engine. Grind hemp seeds up you get hemp milk, a delicious beverage to put in your coffee or granola. Take a truck. Some of the truck’s body could be made from plastic from hemp oil, the engine could run on hemp diesel, the boxes the truck carries could be hemp fiber, the socks and shoes of the driver could be hemp..

Hemp is the toughest fiber, much tougher than cotton. They found wills and bequests from the middle ages where people would bequeath their hemp linens to new generations because they don’t wear out. The Levi

company has come out with jeans that are 30% hemp. That’s because they see that hemp is eco-friendly and sustainable. Using hemp paper and for furniture we could eliminate the need to cut down trees. Hemp wood is 20% stronger than oak and 100 times faster to grow.

There’s something like 25,000 products that are hemp-derived.

Texas Hemp Reporter:  You’ve co-founded or founded about ten businesses and organizations. Are you a counter-cultural hero?

Steve: I don’t think it is very heroic for someone to refer to themselves as a hero. I think that I am very lucky to have seen the light at a young age and to have the skills to organize things. I love to found, I love to get a business going then as it grows and others can manage it I move onto to something new. As far as the counter culture is concerned.. look the hippies gave us the personal computer right? The hippies gave us organic food to eat, the hippes gave us the electric car, introduced the west to yoga.

Texas Hemp Reporter: I personally believe there is a strong subculture surrounding the whole CBD thing, and medical marijuana. Do you think we can tap into this culture to make the industry more compassionate? To “love the plant” as you say?

Steve: Yeah. I believe so. Look we better, we’re destroying this planet real fast, we as consumers have a mission and we better act on it. I didn’t start

out to create a new industry but a new kind of industry. As with our Last Prisoner Project I approached the industry for support and they came through. In only a year and a half we have seen the release of thousands around the world, some due to Covid 19 petitions. Michael Thompson was released after serving 24 years of a minimum 40-years sentence. He was the longest serving non-violent prisoner  of Michigan. All for selling 3 pounds of marijuana.

Also we hope to widen the investment in new licensees, as with Arc-view. We are interested as much in how not to invest.. there is a large disproportion of new cannabis licenses in disadvantaged communities. We have to see black and brown people thriving in an industry they had a lot to do with founding. We need to find out how to support, create capital flow, sustain, educate and see those people grow.

Texas Hemp Reporter: I have been studying some of your writings. From your website, “A Lesson From Another Teacher” it is exciting because you’re talking about medical psychedelics.

Steve: Yes. I was traveling over four continents meeting with growing cannabis ventures when right in my hometown of Oakland California the city decriminalized natural visionary plants making psychoactive substances the lowest priority of the Oakland Police Department. I have always wanted to see visionary plants decriminalized as a Drug Reform activist. Also as a person who has incorporated psychedelics and cannabis into my own spirituality.

If you follow the history you know of cannabis, from the oldest known usages in central Asia, if you go east you find that marijuana became central to Hindu culture in India, and Buddhism such that it is a medicine in the Ayurveda canon. Excavations have found cannabis in temples, around statues, if you travel to Japan, the indigenous religion of Shinto, there will be a long hemp rope at the entrance to Shinto temples.

It has been shown in Israel use of cannabis as a grave offering, especially young women who had died in childbirth. And in Egypt it was burnt to clear temples. Really everywhere it is woven into the spiritual practices of peoples. It was central to ancient Greece, as were many other psychoactive plants. It wasn’t until Rome solidified their empire making Christianity the state religion which banned all psychoactive plant use. You see all those old Greek statues that are missing arms and such, that was hordes of Christians who would come in and search out anyone using any psychedelic plant, take them out of their homes and execute them. Even all those philosophers of the Academy which gave us western civilization they were using all sorts of psychoactive plants.

Interview conducted by Sana v’Ritzvah

Steve DeAngelo is a globally recognized cannabis leader who was dubbed “the father of the legal industry” by former Speaker of the California Assembly & 41st Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. From grassroots community campaigns to appearing on national television networks and every uphill battle for legalization in between, his trailblazing work and creation of a model medical cannabis dispensary that set best practices for an entire industry make him one of the world’s top cannabis experts, foremost thought leaders, and recognized entrepreneurs.

Steve is Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Harborside, now a publicly-traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange with California dispensary locations in Oakland,  San Jose, San Leandro, and Desert Hot Springs-only the second dispensary in California to feature a drive-thru. The vertically integrated California cannabis company founded in 2006 has more than 300,000 registered patients. Rooted in Steve’s belief that cannabis use should be wellness centric, Harborside was one of the first in the nation to support comprehensive cannabis education for seniors, veterans, and families with severely ill children. Featured in numerous high profile media pieces and winning multiple awards, including Best Dispensary in California (2017), Harborside continues to set the industry gold standard and is a leading advocate for diversity, environmental sustainability, and economic justice in the cannabis sector. 

Steve is also Co-Founder of Steep Hill, Inc., the first commercial cannabis lab in the country, and Co-Founder of Arcview Group, the first cannabis investment firm. Steep Hill has grown to become a world leader in cannabis science and technology with extensive expertise in lab testing, remote testing, genetics, research and development, and intellectual property licensing. Arcview angel investment network now includes more than 600 accredited investors and has raised over $270 million for 200 cannabis-related companies to date. Steve formerly served Arcview as Vice President; the firm remains dedicated to galvanizing progressive drug policy reform by empowering a responsible, profitable industry.

Early on as an activist, Steve was skipping school to attend anti-war demonstrations and eventually dropped out to join the Youth International Party – also known as the Yippies. He went on to become the lead organizer of the annual Fourth of July Smoke-In in D.C., carrying the position for a decade. Steve graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland. He also opened a legendary D.C. counter-cultural gathering place that became known as a refuge for local cannabis and peace activists during the Reagan-Bush era, including William Kunstler, Wavy Gravy, and author Jack Herer. Steve helped Jack Herer edit and publish the manuscript for his soon-to-be-famous book, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes,” and became a lead organizer of the first Hemp Museum and Hemp Tour. He created his first cannabis business, Ecolution; the company was one of the first to ride an industrial hemp boom, manufacturing hemp clothing and accessories for retail sales in 50 states and 21 countries during the ’90s.

Continuing to stand tirelessly for legalization and decriminalization of cannabis around the globe, Steve remained at the forefront of the cannabis reform movement, playing a pivotal role in the passage of Initiative 59-Washington D.C.’s medical cannabis law. After a legal battle lasting four years with the U.S. Department of Justice, he ultimately succeeded in defending their multiple attempts to close Harborside. He helped to pass Prop 64, California’s adult-use law, and making history on January 1, 2018, made the first legal cannabis sale in California’s first moments of legal recreational use.  

As an industry pioneer and progressive leader, Steve attracts global invitations to present and appear before audiences of thousands, reaching beyond cannabis and inspiring action toward restorative and equal justice, individual and community wellness, and cultural change for the sustainability of earth and humankind. At SXSW 2019, he gave the first-ever cannabis-themed keynote to be featured at the conference and was invited to return as a featured presenter the very next year.  A reputable and known American cannabis leader, advocate, and educator, he appeared by invitation to renowned Oxford Union in Great Britain for the 2017 ‘War on Drugs’ debate sessions. Appearing before audiences around the world is a natural progression of Steve’s life work. As a prime advocate of diversity, sustainability, and social justice, he carries his message to help build a world that lives by the same values cannabis can teach.

Steve is the author of The Cannabis Manifesto: A New Paradigm for Wellness, and an originator of the wellness approach to understanding cannabis. His acclaimed book is a compelling account of a personal journey with cannabis that outlines numerous solid arguments for legalization while presenting research-backed benefits of the plant. In its first week of release, the title became number one bestseller in the Wellness category on Amazon-the book’s guiding statement: “Cannabis is not harmful, but prohibition is.” Steve DeAngelo’s special feature presentations for keynote delivery include The Cannabis Renaissance Global Edition, Whole Plant Medicine is the Best Medicine, North American Roots: The Cannabis Plant & Prohibition’s Truth, and The Cannabis Creed (debuting at SXSW 2020).

Steve’s great success and persevering advocacy draw top tier national media attention. In 2009 he was the subject of a NY Times cover, the first-ever by the publication to include a feature story on legal cannabis. He has appeared nationally on all major media outlets, including FOX, CBS, CNN, NBC, CNBC, and extensively in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today. Special feature media projects include a starring role in Weed Wars, the first cannabis-oriented reality T.V. show (Discovery Channel), Ask Steve DeAngelo weekly web series by Green Flower Media, and development of entertainment works under DeAngelo Bros. Productions, a company founded by Steve DeAngelo and brother Andrew DeAngelo. A podcast and weekly television show documenting Steve’s travels to cover cannabis culture globally are coming in 2020 to Free Speech T.V. (FSTV), a 24-hour independent television network currently available in 37 million U.S. homes.  

Steve is the recipient of the 2015 High Times Lester Grinspoon High Times Lifetime Achievement Award and was named one of the most influential people and “gatekeeper of the industry” in 2015 by the International Business Times. In 2016 he was named one of the seven “Most Powerful People” in America’s cannabis industry by Fortune. Most recently, he was honored with the Peter Tosh Equal Rights Award and inducted into the Marijuana Business Daily Hall of Fame. 

Steve believes that an ethical and politically engaged industry will be the most powerful force in spreading cannabis reform to every corner of the planet. As Founder of the Last Prisoner Project (2019), he will not stop until the last cannabis prisoner is free. As host of the Radio Free Cannabis podcast-launched in 2020, his role as an activist seeking global unity for equal justice, advocating for human rights around the world, for cannabis legalization across planet earth, and the end of criminalizing medicinal plants worldwide, continues. 

Steve DeAngelo

Father of the Legal Cannabis Industry
Global Cannabis Ambassador

Founder of Last Prisoner Project
Host of Radio Free Cannabis Podcast
Author of The Cannabis Manifesto

stevedeangelo.com | Website

Steve DeAngelo | LinkedIn

@steve.deangelo Instagram 23K+ followers

@TheSteveDeAngelo | Facebook 4K+ followers

@stevedeangelo | Twitter  29K+ followers

Awards Highlights:

2019 MJ Biz Award 2019 Hall of Fame Inductee
In the computer industry, there’s only one Bill Gates. In the automotive space, only one Henry Ford. And the marijuana world has only one Steve DeAngelo –MJBizDaily recognizes Steve DeAngelo

2019 Peter Tosh Equal Rights & Justice Award
Recognized for making an outstanding contribution to the struggle of basic equal rights for all.
2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from California Cannabis Awards
2019 MGO ELLO Honoree
2019 Cannabis Business Awards Hall of Fame Inductee

2019 Harborside’s KEY Takes Home Top Spot at High Times Cannabis Cup Bay Area

2015 High Times Lester Grinspoon Lifetime Achievement Award

Social Media Hits:
Harborside Desert Hot Springs Grand Opening feat. Steve DeAngelo & Jim Belushi DEC 2019

Marleys LPP Board Public Announcement AUG 2019

Willie Nelson LPP Public Announcement AUG 2019

TD Ameritrade OCT 2019

Top National Media Coverage (Video):
TD Ameritrade The Watch Oct 2019
Fox Business: Varney & Co Jul 2019
Cheddar Interview in Toronto CSE Open Jun 13 2019
BNN Bloomberg in Toronto Jun 2019
Green Market Report
Cheddar Interview SXSW Mar 2019
MSNBC with Jacob Soboroff Jan 2018
ABC Feds Drop Case May 2016

National Media Coverage (Online, Print):

Steve DeAngelo Inductee into MJBiz Hall Of Fame

LA Times-OpEd on Tax-July 15 2019

Green Entrepreneur-HBOR CSE- Jun 2019

CNN Business HBOR CSE June 2019

NY Times Cannabis Goes Industrial Apr 2017

LA Times-Weed Wars-Dec 21,2011

NY Times Don’t Call it “pot” 2010

Do Cannabis Entrepreneurs and Big Business Actually Need Each Other? Inc.com 2015

Forbes-Harborside Going Public-May 31 2019

Variety Magazine-Last Prisoner Project-Jul 15, 2019

Hightimes Magazine-Last Prisoner Project-Jul 2019

Speaking & Appearance Highlights:

SXSW Featured Session March 2019

Oxford Union Debate – This House Would Say No to Drugs feat Steve DeAngelo Mar 2017
Harborside Desert Hot Springs Grand Opening DEC 2019

Arcview Investors Forums

ROTH Capital Partners Conference

Cannaciencia (Bogota, Col)

ExpoCannabiz (Cartagena, Col)
CannabiSalud (Mexico)
High Hopes
CannaTech Israel

MJBizCon

Trailblazers Summit Series
O’Cannabiz (Toronto, ON CAN)
New West Summit

Aspen High

Imperious Expo

NCIA

International Police Association (IPA)

Episode: # 43 TFNB Bank

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Banking News, Podcast.

Mallory Harrington serves as the hemp banking compliance officer at TFNB Your Bank for Life in Waco, Texas. Our guest discusses the federal compliance rules, lending options, insurance, and SBA programs for the growing Hemp space in the Lone Star State.

Justice Clarence Thomas Questions Federal Policy On Marijuana

Written by texashempreporter on . Posted in News.

“A prohibition on interstate use and cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper for the federal piecemeal approach,” the Judge declared in a report. “Federal policies of the past 16 years have greatly undermined its reasoning. The federal government’s current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that simultaneously tolerates and forbids local use of marijuana.”

Erik Altieri Executive Director of NORML commented “Judge Thomas’ comments reflect what americans have known for a long time.” Federal law does not allow marijuana businesses to deduct their business expenses come tax time “Under this rule, a business that is still in the red after it pays its workers and keeps the lights on might still owe substantial federal income tax,” the Judge also pointed out. Since 2015 Congress has prevented the Justice Department from spending federal money to prevent states from carrying out their own laws. Yet the IRS continues to enforce its own rules against growers and dealers. “The federal government’s willingness to look the other way is more episodic than coherent” Clarence also said.

 Clarence has even suggested bringing a case to the justices so they can address these issues themselves. All this due to actual case: Untied States v. Raich “In the early days of the Republic it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession and consumption of a plant, any plant,” Thomas wrote adding that the court was “rewriting” the Commerce Clause allowing the feds to take away people’s marijuana plants. “This Court has casually stripped the States of their ability to regulate interstate commerce- not to mention a host of local activities, like mere drug possession, that are non-commercial”

Clarence Thomas is one of the most conservative on the Supreme Court. He recently called the federal laws regarding Pot “hodgepodge”

Beyond Raich in the past the same issue has arose in cases involving The Gun Free School-Zones Act, the Violence Against Women Act, and Thomas wrote in each case that the Supreme Court’s rulings had gone astray on the Commerce Clause. “If the government is now content to leave the states as laboratories, then it might no longer have the authority to intrude on the state’s core police policies” The Judge has been commenting on these type of cases since 2005.

The owners of the Colorado dispensary that ended up in court with the IRS stated “It’s hard to be treated like drug dealers. We’re being singled out” It’s known that Judge Clarence Thomas is one of the most conservative on the Supreme Court. He called the federal laws “hodgepodge”

“unstable” contradictory” “confusing”. It is true that under the President Bush Jr regime it came to public knowledge that Clarence had smoked marijuana in college. The real question is? did he inhale..

To Boldly Grow where no Man has Grown Before: Patrick “Picard” Stewart on Pot

Written by texashempreporter on . Posted in News.

     “The thing about Star Trek is you’re never dead, really. There’s always a way to bring you back to life”

     “People think I’m getting high everyday. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Sir Patrick Stewart is 78 years old and exploring the first UK’s initiative of the benefits of cannabis-based medicines led by Oxford University. “Four years ago I was filming in Los Angeles, I was examined by a doctor and handed a note to obtain legal cannabis to treat arthritis in both of my hands.” After fuddling through greasy balms and ointments Patrick found a spray that alleviated almost all pain and inflammation in his hands. “There are no side affects while Advil, Aleve, and other NSAIDS’s cause pressure on the liver.”

“This is an important step for Britain in a field of research that has been for too long held back by prejudice, fear and ignorance.”

In England in 1533 King Henry the 8th mandated that landowners grow allotments of hemp, Elizabeth the 1st later increased these quotas with punishments for not fulfilling.  In 1842 Irish physician William O’ Shaughnessy a medical officer in Bengal brought several specimens of marijuana back to England to study medical benefits. Cannabis prohibition began in the English colonies before the central island, yet the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission of 1894 judged “little injury was caused to society by the use of cannabis”

By 1928 Britain herself had classified cannabis as dangerous a drug as opium. Across the pond Attorney Jeff Sessions had this to say “I reject the idea that marijuana being sold in every store will make America a better place” while opioid addictions caused over 2000 deaths last year in Massachusetts. Sessions likened marijuana to heroin,

 Meanwhile back across the lake even though medical marijuana is now legalized in the United Kingdom “It still seems perverse that opioid prescriptions are such high levels when medical cannabis could be a much more safer system” Patrick went on to say “I see no reason why the legislation is not widened it so that doctors are allowed to prescribe it”

Whether Willie Nelson, Barack Obama, Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dog, Morgan Freeman, Sting Sir Patrick Stewart is one in a long line of pro-marijuana benefits.

Stewart has acted in “BluntTalk” donning a lobster costume, laughing at a Christmas hat,

“I believe this program at Oxford might just begin benefits for millions of people”

HEMP PAPER In Demand for more products and textiles.

Written by Mina Hegaard on . Posted in Cultivation.

The majority of the hemp plants are in the stems. Thus a farmer has interest in making the most of this part.

Those growing for medicinal use and CBD oils can turn a profit from the leaves and buds, while hemp oil and hemp seeds per se are proving to be a lucrative market.

For some, what remains is simply left as compost. Which returns back to the soil little

more than carbohydrates. Little nitrogen or other elements of use are given back. The many tons of biomass, in the form of carbohydrates, especially cellulose, are of commercial value.

From charcoal to fine textiles, simple compounds with only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are raw materials in demand. Cellulose is the most abundant molecule in agriculture, and the most common molecule in products used by man. Paper, lumber, most of our clothing, cardboard, cordage, insulation. We live in and use cellulose. We eat it.

We pay for it. Usually, not much, but in the case of fine threads, some pay thousands for a get up.

Hemp has had its place in the best of textiles, back when the Piedmont region of Italy produced hemp threads as fine as silk.But today most hemp threads are a bit coarse, and the market is dominated by PR China, which both grows hemp and spins it. For the Western farmer there is hope on the horizon that his crop will end up on the catwalk, but more research and development is needed.

However, paper mills are looking for hemp.

In 2000 I hooked up with British environmentalist John Hanson, who had his own paper, with a large hemp leaf watermark. I ordered three tons. He had French grown hemp pulped in Spain and then sent to Scotland for the final operation. I waited with bated breath for the lorry (Brit for truck) to round the bend into my storage locker in Hammer-smith with my stash.

For the three tons of paper I traded an ounce of paper, bearing, of course, the image of Her Majesty and its own watermark; which was not a hemp leaf. However, the paper I traded for the pallets of John Hanson TreeFree (copyright) did use hemp. Many a government, including that of the United States, uses hemp in its currency.

The reason is that hemp is a more interlocking fiber than even flax. Wood does not really even have a fiber. Thus hemp provides a strong basis for other fibers to connect with and form a sheet of matted fibers.

For 2,000 years man has been using this. Americans use on average 200 lbs. per person. And most of this, almost all – is made in Southeast Asia. From wood. American paper used to be made from hemp, flax, and recycled rags. America used to lead the world in the production of paper. Now there are few mills here, most with a production of under 10,000 tons per year. Some of those are specialty mills. Very few use hemp.

Some use farm waste, a practice championed by Woody Harrelson, who encouraged the use of wheat stems in paper making. His move was good both ecologically and economically. And it was good for farmers, adding value to their harvest of food crops.

With his action, he was sowing a seed for the revival of the US paper industry. A paper industry in the US not only provides jobs, but is good for the ecology if farm wastes along with hemp bast are used. Add to that the value of recycling our rags and the argument is made.

Hemp – and other plants, can be dual crops as we revive the paper industry in the US.

Tune in next issue for a more specific discussion of this subject.

Cannabis Use with Stem Cells for Future Medicine

Written by texashempreporter on . Posted in Health.

Jamo Lorswal

     “Role of Marijuana Components in the Migration and Proliferation of Stem Cells”

     The significance of this study was that cannabinoids can enhance the regulation of two major sources of stem cells- adipose and bone marrow-derived from human and porcine sources.

     Louis A. Cona, an MD already considers cannabis a “miracle plant”. Its modern history includes being used for weight loss in HIV patients, neuro-degenerative diseases, cancers epilepsy and the list goes on. He speaks to laboratory scientists at the University of California at San Diego and their trials concerning CBD oil effects on lab-grown neural stem cells donated by brain patients. The result: cannabinoid oil strongly regulates the proliferation, migration and neurogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

     StemX is a sports and regenerative medicine company that offers many healing modalities has an article suggesting that the body’s endocannabinoid system, which humans share with most mammals, which not only is a receptor system yet can produce amounts of cannabinoids themselves, just as the bone marrow may produce stem cells and that there are also an entire cellular receptor system for such.

     The article found that stem cells “pretreated” with a combination of CBD and moringin demonstrated improved survival rates when re-introduced into tissues.

Penalty Reduction Bill an Update on Joe Moody’s HB 2593

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Legislative.

Penalty Reduction Bill HB 2593 an Update on Joe Moody’s

by Jesse Williams

Rep. Joe Moody (D) of El Paso authored HB 2593. The bill specifically deals with marijuana concentrates of up to 2 oz of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). Moody had previously authored what has become HB 441 (another penalty reduction bill for marijuana flower) authored by Rep. Zwiener in the 87th legislative session.

HB 2593 would remove tetrahydrocannabinol and related substances from Penalty Group 2 and place them in a new category, Penalty Group 2-B, under the Texas Controlled Substances Act.

Penalties for possession of substances from the new Penalty Group 2-B would have been the same as those in Penalty Group 2-A, which range from a class B misdemeanor if the substance is two ounces or less, to life in prison or a term of five to 99 years and a fine up to $50,000 if the amount of substance possessed is more than 2,000 pounds.

Right now, any amount of concentrate found in your possession is a state felony. The last time penalty reduction was passed by the Texas legislature was 1973.

The bill passed out of the House committee with only two nay votes and passed in the House with a final supermajority vote of 108-33.

 The bill proceeded to the Senate where it passed out of committee with only 2 nay votes as well. From there the bill was approved out of the Texas Senate with a delta-8 amendment attached by Senator Perry. The amendment would bring the regulation of delta-8 to what Perry called the federal limit imposed on THC by the 2018 Farm Bill. The second reading of the bill was passed with a 25-6 vote, and after the third reading for the final passage with amendment added, a vote of 24-7 was taken to pass the bill with supermajority support.

Grinded weed shaped as Texas and a joint.(series)

Senator Hinojosa asked if the amendment would bring any lab confusion such as the previous hemp bill, to which Perry responded no. Perry was also asked if the author (Moody) was okay with this amendment, to which the answer was yes.

When the bill went back to the House to see if the author conferred with the amendments or wanted a conference committee, Rep. Moody made a point of order on the bill. Moody requested a conference committee on the grounds that the delta-8 amendment was not germane (not relevant to purpose) to the bill it was added to. The House agreed that the amendment was not germane and the bill went to the conference committee. The same conclusion was reached in the conference committee.

The House then voted on the conference committee version without the delta-8 amendment language and passed the bill again. The bill was then sent to the Senate to be heard by the members on the floor. When sponsor Sen. Nathan Johnson (D) requested for the bill to get a vote on the floor, Lt Gov Dan Patrick denied the request, likely from frustration that the delta-8 amendment language was not present.

When this request on the floor was denied, the bill was effectively dead because the deadline was coming up within hours to have the bill passed by the Senate floor once more and sent to the governor.

Concentrates of THC now remain a state felony in the state of Texas until the legislature convenes again in 2023 to possibly bring up another bill.

sid miller episode 37

Episode:# 37 Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast, Uncategorized.

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller
An eighth-generation farmer and rancher, Sid Miller is the 12th Commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). He has devoted his life to promoting Texas agriculture, rural communities and the great state of Texas.

Born in De Leon, in Comanche County, in September 1955, Sid Miller graduated with honors from Tarleton State University in Stephenville with a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Ag Education.

A recognized community leader, Miller was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2000. He quickly earned a reputation as a staunch defender of Texas agriculture, constitutional freedoms and individual liberties for all Texans.

Episode # 36 Media Business and Branding

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast, Uncategorized.

Russell & Shayda were waiting for Sid Miller to call, but end up moving the conversation to alternative media, the growing space for Cannabis Culture as Texas becomes more closer to legalization. The two talk about media experience and how the Texas market needs voices and role models and advocacy for this wonderful plant. (Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller calendar freed up and he calls in the next day to speak with Russell)

Listen to Podcast #37 for that discussion.

Episode 34: Freeway Ricky Ross & Kevin Booth

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast, Uncategorized.

Russell interviews Freeway Ricky Ross about the ongoing drug-war and talk about his new line of products while also addressing the political challenges Texas has with regards to Marijuana reform in the lone star state. Kevin Booth (who knows Ricky Ross and are currently developing business projects together ) calls in and the conversations continues about the failed prison system and criminalization aspect. Rick may return to Texas for the upcoming Lucky Leaf Expo!

Russell and Kevin go down memory lane discussing the acid water in south Austin and the days when both were at Austin Public Access TV but at different times and years. Alex Jones, Joe Rogan, Bill Hicks, Dave Pruitt, Nathan, and Ol Bitty Flashback’s loom as the duo discuss alternative media in the early 2000s and early 90s in the Underbelly of Austin’s Conspiracy Culture. A great idea for Kevin’s Next Film. 

Episode 35: Tommy Chong

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast, Uncategorized.

Russell & Jesse interview the Legendary Comedian Tommy Chong about his CBD Brands and discuss the Drug War and how might Texas legislatures move forward with the economics of marijuana. You can also read the interview in our July cover of the Texas Hemp Reporter magazine.

Enjoy!

Heather Fazio talk to Texas Hemp Reporter

Written by texashempreporter on . Posted in Texas Legal & Regulatory News.

Interview with Heather Fazio of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy by Sana v’Ritzvah

Heather served as Texas Political Director of the Marijuana Policy Project from 2014-2018. Now, she utilizes her passion for grassroots activism and coalition building as Director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, an advocacy-focused coalition.

TEXAS HEMP REPORTER: Heather what occurred in the Texas Legislature in May?

HEATHER:Texas is inching along with marijuana legislation. I wish I could say more, it’s like a tennis game. 37 states have fully regulated medical marijuana, including all Texas border states, with Alabama profiting at 92 million per year. The Compassionate Use Act was passed in 2015, amended and expanded in 2019. HB1535 (Rep. Klick) flushed the house 134-12 and sent to the Governor. The bill calls for the expansion of access for all not just terminally-ill cancer patients, PTSD treatments and patients with chronic pain.Sadly the Senate dropped the ball cutting the provision for chronic pain re-feeding back into the opioid epidemic, “pills for pain” costing thousands of lives, quality of life, tragedies, wasted resources and severe addictions.    One inspiring thing was our veteran lobby standing up for non-veterans strongly behind the PTSD inclusion vocally supporting accident survivors,mothers whose child perished in childbirth, victims of crimes all who can
suffer the syndrome.

Another us the establishment of the Internal Review Board for Medical Marijuana. Now in-state research and science can promulgate the myriad reasons for expanding legality of cannabis.    It’s silly really how we banter between .5% 1% 5% THC content when it really should be doctors trained in the field concerning dosages.    It was leaked that hearings concerning the cannabis bills were hijacked by the Lt. Governor’s Office which was meeting secretly without public access. These are the draconian measures our officials are taking to stall progress.    Other bills still in the twilight are SB181 (Rep. Johnson) which would take Texas off the list that suspends drivers licenses for “drug convictions” hoping to alleviate the already 50,000 arrested annually for marijuana-related charges. HB1694 could save lives ensuring medical issues are not exploited to arrest people for possession. And HB567 (Rep. Frank) to protect TCUP patients (minors) from being extracted from their homes for failing a THC test.


THR: How did you personally get involved in medical marijuana?

Witnessing one hundred years of suppression of uses and benefits of hemp and with the issue emerging so strongly. I was involved with Texans for ResponsibleGovernment and a member of the Libertarian Party. I saw it as unconscionable. I was involved with grassroots organizing, community building coalition making. After joining Texas NORML I was chosen as Advisor for the Marijuana Activist Manual. The next logical step was Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.


THR: There now exists a 27 member coalition that coalesces around the issue.


Yes. Our situation is we live in a polarized political environment. We began to seek allies that could bond to institute policies that mattered. As we discussed I come from a libertarian perspective; a bipartisan grouping, democrats and republicans, ACLU.. it really is a privacy rights issue, a due process issue, civil rights. There are millions affected by dis-regulation, it is liberty versus jailing. Tens of thousands of Texans in jail for marijuana and 92% of burglaries go unsolved.
 

THR: What about Delta-8?
HEATHER:There is an attorney for two companies, one that produces and one that sells Delta-8 products. The DSHS has established that THC from hemp, in any traceable form from .0001% to the supposedly legal 3% is all in the same bucket. The attorney called this a quagmire. By lumping all THC we lose the particulars, our law makers prove they know nothing of the science, nothing about the plant they are dealing with. Our advocates strive to shine light on the variables to avoid misunderstanding.


THR: Can you give us a personal testimony?
HEATHER: A nurse from Wichita Falls, she was diagnosed with cancer. After moving to Colorado she tried cannabis for a second time. She wasn’t sure till one day she left her couch without buckling over, entered her kitchen without pain and began cooking again. For those in pain 24-7 this is life-changing.

Photo Jesse Williams for the Texas Hemp Reporter.


TEXAS HEMP REPORTER:What’s does the future hold in Texas for Cannabis?


HEATHER:The Texas Legislature meets on the odd every two years. So we are looking to 2023. We plan to inject into the campaign cycle, ask a lot of questions of our law makers, create discussions with law enforcement.NORML has collected a marijuana-friendly voters guide. And we seek to start conversations with our civic groups, community centers, PTA (lol) why not? 60% of Texans believe small amounts of marijuana should be legal for any purpose.

THR:Are you optimistic?


HEATHER:Very. This is tug of war, we stand on the backs of several generations of activists that have blazed this trail. We represent a professional effort to secure individual rights. Nothing but our best efforts will bring our movement forward. 

Episode:33 Ilissa Nolan of the Texas Hemp Coalition

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast.

Russell Dowden and Coleman Hemphill discuss the end of the 87th Legislature and address the bills that did not pass, and what did pass.

ILISSA NOLAN serves as the Executive Director for the Texas Hemp Coalition. Ms. Nolan was one of the few lobbyists that worked to pass HB 1325 which made it legal to grow and process hemp in Texas. She also serves as a government affairs consultant for Booth & Associates P.C. where she works to build policy through stakeholder collaboration and educating clients on cutting edge issues surrounding state and federal environmental matters, especially topics involving agriculture, rural affairs, and environmental issues.

lucky leaf podcast day 2 texas hemp reporter

Episode 31: Lucky Leaf Expo Day 2

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast.

Host: Russell Dowden and Jesse Williams

Live from The Lucky Leaf Expo at the Austin Convention Center (May 15, 2021 ) we interview Nishi Whitley board member at Foundation for an Informed Texas (FIT) is a 501c3, tax-deductible, educational nonprofit focused on educating Texans about cannabis through tools, resources and outreach. We also speak to Joe Pedraza TPS Lab who talks with us about soils and farming, Nathan from Hempliance also says hello, and finally actor Daniel Villarreal stopped by for a quick chat. Daniel works with PAKALOLO PLUG in San Antonio and is best known for his work with landing his first acting part in Stand and Deliver playing Chuco, the finger man. Best known as Little Puppet in American Me.

Nishi Whiteley (pronounced Nee-sha), is the COO of CReDO Science, LLC, a biopharma IP holding company dedicated to commercializing patented products generated from CReDO’s investigation of the cannabis plant and the endocannabinoid system (ECS). She is also the VP of Business Development at Breeder’s Best, a cannabis IP genetics company, a cannabis educator, speaker and author. 

Episode 29: H-Empirical CBD & 87th Lesgislature Updates

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast.

Jesse, Russell & Coleman talk about the existing bills with the 87th Legislature that remain on the chopping block; while they also interview H-empirical CBD CEO John Long and head Medical Director Dr. Wendy Askew.

John Long is CEO for H-Empirical, Inc. He is also the CEO for Agronomics of
Texas and investor for Totally Happy Cows, LLC (An CBD Agriculture company
for cattle and horses). He’s has been a nurse for 28 years specializing in ER,
ICU, Rheumatology, Gastroenterology, Neurology and Dermatology. 

Dr. Wendy Askew is a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist in private practice in San
Antonio, Texas. She is also board certified in Functional and Regenerative Medicine. Dr.
Askew is the Chief Medical Officer for H-Empirical, Agronomics of Texas and Totally Happy
Cows LLC.

Episode 28: Oak Cliff Cultivators

Written by Jesse Williams on . Posted in Podcast.

Jesse Williams of Texas Cannabis Collective hosts this week with Coleman Hemphill of the TXHIA as co-host. This weeks guest is Eddie Velez founder and CEO of Oak Cliff Cultivators. Oak Cliff Cultivators strives to engage with the community, educate, and inform on hemp cultivation and the alternative solutions it brings to everyday life. Oak Cliff dominated the Taste of Texas Hemp Cup awards with their hemp products this past year. For more information on Oak Cliff visit Oakcliffcultivators.com