Industry raked in more than $40 million yet again, with no signs of slowing down. The state’s population centers of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Hobbs, and Rio Rancho saw the highest July & Aug sales numbers.
The Land of Enchantment’s Green Rush is in full swing. After an impressive July, sales records were set again in August hitting over $40 million beating the previous month by around $300,000. Adult-use sales made up a whopping $23 million of that total in August, eclipsing July by over $1 million.
Analysts continue to be pleasantly surprised by New Mexico’s impressive cannabis sales numbers, bucking trends in other newer markets and setting the bar high (no pun intended). The state’s market remains robust, indicating there are good things to come.
“In most states, you see very early sales during the first few months. Typically sales will fluctuate after that,” explained Andrew Vallejos, Interim Director for New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division, in an interview with KOAT news. “ We don’t know if there will be seasonal variations in sales. Right now, it looks very encouraging.”
Lucky Leaf Expo will bring two days of high-impact networking, education, and expositions to the Albuquerque Convention Center October 21st and 22nd. The conference is considered a must attend for licensed operators and industry newcomers, offering something for anyone wanting to be a part of New Mexico’s thriving cannabis marketplace.
Join us at our Albuquerque, NM event to catch up with canna industry experts and businesses.
* Explore more than 100 exhibitors
* Hear from a variety of speakers
* Network with other industry professionals and more at the Lucky Leaf Albuquerque business convention and seminars
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide in people under the age of 45. Many who survive severe head injuries suffer permanent behavioral and neurological impairment that adversely impacts learning and memory and often requires long-term rehabilitation. An estimated 5.3 million Americans are living with a TBI-related disability.
Even so-called mild cases of TBI can result in post-traumatic seizures, impaired brain function, and lower life expectancy. People can also suffer an acquired or nontraumatic injury, such as in the case of stroke, which causes similar damage to the brain by internal factors like lack of blood flow and oxygen (ischemia).
Cannabinoids like THC and CBD may reduce the trauma and the symptoms that follow brain injury thanks to their positive interaction with the endocannabinoid system (ECS). A 2011 article in the British Journal of Pharmacology describes the ECS as “a self-protective mechanism” that kicks into high gear in response to a stroke or TBI. Coauthored by Israeli scientist Raphael Mechoulam, the article notes that endocannabinoid levels in the brain increase significantly during and immediately after a TBI. These endogenous compounds activate CB1 and CB2 receptors, which protect against TBI-induced neurological and motor deficits.
By manipulating the endocannabinoid system with cannabinoids, medical scientists have been able to reduce brain damage and improve functional recovery in animal studies of stroke and TBI. According to a 2010 report in the British Journal of Pharmacology, CBD can limit the amount of damaged tissue and help normalize the heart rhythm disturbances like arrhythmia that are common after a closed head injury.
A damaged brain can be remarkably plastic, but there is only a limited window of opportunity — generally thought of as 10 to 60 minutes — for therapeutic intervention to prevent, attenuate, or delay the degenerative domino effect of brain cell death and damage to the protective blood-brain barrier that occurs during a secondary injury cascade (a wave of further damage that occurs as a result of the lack of blood flow to the brain following the initial injury). CBD expands that window of opportunity. Researchers have learned that CBD can convey potent, long-lasting neuroprotection if given shortly before or as much as 12 hours after the onset of ischemia.
In 2016, scientists at the University of Nottingham (UK) reported that CBD shields the protective blood-brain barrier from the damaging effects of lack of oxygen and fuel after an injury. CBD prevents your blood-brain barrier from being damaged and becoming more permeable by activating the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor and the PPAR-gamma nuclear receptor.
CBD also protects the brain by increasing the concentration of endocannabinoids in the brain.
The researchers at the University of Nottingham have also conducted preclinical animal or laboratory research that examined the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), the raw, unheated version of CBD found in the cannabis plant. “Like CBD,” the researchers concluded, “CBDA is effective in reducing blood brain permeability and inflammation in a cellular model of stroke.” CBD and CBDA both restore blood-brain barrier integrity by activating the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor, which mediates CBD’s and CBDA’s anti-inflammatory effects.
Several athletes claim that CBD can help to ameliorate the lingering neurological problems associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a particularly severe form of TBI caused by the accumulation of numerous concussions.
CTE increases the risk of neurological problems later in life and hastens the progression of dementia. The anecdotal benefits of CBD-rich cannabis oil for CTE are well known among football players, boxers, and other professional athletes who are prone to head injuries.
Project CBD’s 2019 survey found that among people using CBD for a brain injury, CBD proved most helpful for relieving headaches, irritability, and agitation. CBD was less helpful for balance issues. In a small percentage of participants, CBD seemed to make issues with memory, concentration, and self-expression worse, but it’s unclear if that was the result of CBD or THC or if there were other unknown factors at work.
Frank Rodriguez and his family have paid the ultimate price for farming marijuana. Collectively, Rodriguez said his father, his brothers and himself have spent decades in federal prison for their crimes. But today, Rodriguez is redeeming his family legacy through his legal business, Gulf Coast Hemp Farms in Harlingen, Texas.
“I spent 10 years in federal prison for doing what I’m doing now,” he said. “This is very, very important to me. … It means the world to me. I’m very passionate about what I do. I love my job. I love the scientific part of the plant. I love to research the cannabinoids, terpenes, flavanoids.”
When it comes to his farm, Rodriguez said there’s no place on Earth he’d rather be.
“I live here on my farm. I don’t really leave too much from my farm. I’m here 20 hours a day, every day. I really don’t sleep. I’m just kind of vibing with my plants.”
Flourishing fields
When he launched his current business, Rodriguez said he tested seven different seed strains from Halcyon Seed Company in Colorado to see which would work best in the South Texas drought-prone climate.
“Out of my seven strains, four did well,” he said.
According to Rodriguez, planting 2,500 plants per acre is a widespread best practice in hemp farming. However, he said he came up with a way to plant 9,000-10,000 plants on a one-acre plot of land.
“Everyone was telling me I was crazy and wouldn’t be able to do it,” he said. “I have a beautiful field right now. I don’t have patches or dead plants. My field is complete.”
While there are concerns about the lack of essential air flow in overcrowded fields — which can lead to root rot — Rodriguez engineered a way to make it work. In late September, he began harvesting 85,000 plants from his 10-acre farm.
He also nurtures his plants with plenty of TLC, even playing music for them.
“Whatever I’m vibing to, whatever I’m feeling, I just play something that makes me feel good,” Rodriguez said. “I figured plants are alive, so they work off the vibration. So, you just put some good vibration for them, and they’ll be fine.”
Rodriguez said the yields from his hemp farming operation in Harlingen are used to create CBD-infused oils, and he works with a business partner in Oklahoma to grow cannabis.
“I have 10 greenhouses and a 6,000 square-foot warehouse, and I grow all my high-quality flower up there,” he said.
Plants over pills
Rodriguez said his nephew’s journey with post-traumatic stress disorder ignited a passion for exploring hemp’s medicinal benefits. He said his nephew served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is haunted by horrific wartime experiences.
“He spazes out a lot, and the medicine I make really calms him down and makes him a totally different person. The VA prescribed him so many different pills, and he was a zombie.”
Lately, Rodriguez said he has been working with a few doctors and cancer specialists to develop products for patients.
“The sky is the limit as we’re discovering what all the different cannabinoids do. I just want to keep pushing and keep discovering and see how I can make existing medicine better or create a new medicine from my plants.”
When he was shopping around for land to start his business, Rodriguez said he experienced a special synchronicity when he learned that a prospective piece of property was owned by Dr. Nadeel Sarhill, a medical oncologist. The pair worked out a lease-to-own agreement in a seemingly meant-to-be transaction.
“This is God’s plan. I can not see it any other way,” he said. “I’m growing a CBG strain, and it’s doing very well. It’s known to help with brain cell reproduction and chronic pain.”
Rodriguez noted that there are many cannabinoids inside the hemp plant, but only a few have been researched.
“I just want to push forward and continue to grow and to help move our industry to a better spot,” Rodriguez said.
An evolving legacy
For Rodriguez, his passion for farming hemp and cannabis stretch much further than providing a quality product to customers.
“My mom’s really sick. She had a heart attack last year. She’s felt her whole life was a failure because my dad, brothers and I did so much time in prison, but she didn’t fail. She didn’t do anything wrong. It was us; it was the laws.”
Looking back, Rodriguez said he tries to put himself in his mother’s shoes.
“I could just imagine what my mom went through as a mother,” he said. “Imagine always having to defend your kids, your husband, your whole family. Eveyrone’s talking down. Just imagine what it was like for a single parent. I just couldn’t even imagine being in her shoes and what she went through, and I just want to bust ass and make things better for her.
All photos courtesy Gulf Coast Hemp Farms
“I want to make her proud. I want to make her feel like what she went through wasn’t for nothing. To make the remainder of her years as joyful as possible — that’s all I care about.”
You’ve likely heard of the growing state and hyper localized movement in the cannabis legalization space: Ground Game Texas (GGT).
GGT has been working several cities on progressive measures to include decriminalization of misdemeanor amounts of marijuana flower. The success has already taken root in Austin, and now Texans wait to see if other towns such as Denton and San Marcos will join the ranks after this coming election in November. I had a chance to reach out and inquire with the co-founders Julie Oliver and Mike Siegel to get some insight and see what is in store for the blooming reform group in Texas.
Jesse Williams /TX Hemp Reporter: – How did GGT come to be the organization it is today? I know that both Mike and you have been candidates for congressional office in the past. What happened for each one that y’all made the jump from that to cannabis advocacy?
Julie Oliver: After our congressional losses in 2020, Mike and I knew we wanted to stay involved in helping push progressive issues forward in Texas while also helping turn out voters. Texas has a terrible record when it comes to voter turnout; e.g. in November 2020, 5.7 million registered Texans did not vote.
Mike Siegel – Julie read a post-mortem on the 2020 election, and one page in particular stood out – it was a page on all of the ballot initiatives that outperformed Democrats in red and blue states. Florida passed a $15/hour minimum wage by ballot initiative. Missouri expanded Medicaid. Nebraska reformed the most predatory of lending practices – the payday loan. And both Montana and South Dakota legalized cannabis. These are really progressive issues that won overwhelmingly in these states, but folks aren’t connecting the dots that their elected officials aren’t passing these issues as legislation.
So voters in each of these states took it into their hands to make change; it’s direct democracy. In Texas, we do not have the power of citizen-led statewide ballot initiatives, but we do have the power to make change happen locally in several cities in Texas. So we decided to start in our own city with cannabis decrim.
TX Hemp Reporter: – I know of movements in Denton, Killeen, Harker Heights, Austin, and San Marcos here in Texas that are doing decriminalization measures. Are there any other cities currently trying to get a ballot initiative going?
JO – We completed signature collection in Elgin as well. More cities to come in 2023.
TX Hemp Reporter: – Are there any other cities that Ground Game is looking to focus on next with an attempt to decriminalize misdemeanor marijuana possession?
MS – We are looking at a number of cities for 2023, but Houston is likely one of the cities we will work in with a group of activists there.
TX Hemp Reporter: – The Ground Game website states, “We’re not waiting for politicians to make change. We will work to put popular policies on the ballot and engage voters on the issues.” In Austin the decriminalization measure was also with a measure to end no-knock warrants. Are there any other policies that ground game is looking at in Austin, or any other city for that matter?
JO – In South Texas, we are working on $15/hour minimum wage increases for city employees and city contractors. In El Paso, we are finalizing signature collection for a climate initiative that would require the city to take steps to meaningfully address climate change. I think we can also have meaningful reform through the ballot initiative when it comes to civil asset forfeiture.
TX Hemp Reporter: – Some ballot initiatives like the one in Austin are aimed at getting the vote done during the primary election season/statewide election off season votes. Others are aimed at getting the vote on a midterm election ballot. Can you elaborate on why those votes take place at separate times. Is it because of when voter signatures are due?
MS – We think that putting popular, progressive issues on ballots across our state will help drive turnout in a state that ranks near bottom in terms of voter turnout. Texas had 5.7million registered voters who did not vote in November 2020; that means more folks didn’t vote in Texas than voted for President Biden.
When a ballot initiative shows up on a ballot is a function of when signatures are turned in to the City Secretary or City Clerk, when the City Secretary/Clerk verifies the requisite numbers of signatures have been submitted, and then when City Council takes it up for vote. Ultimately, we’d love to help drive turnout in lower-turnout elections (like the midterm election later this year).
TX Hemp Reporter: – What other organizations has Ground Game partnered with that are local and statewide organizations to fight for change? I know of Mano Amiga, Texas Cannabis Collective, and Decriminalize Denton, as I have personally worked with all three in some capacity on campaigns for signature drives and events to change cannabis law in San Marcos and the state?
JO – Yes, we’re grateful for the boots-on-the-ground partnerships we’ve made in the cities you mentioned. We couldn’t do any of this work without local partners. In Killeen, we are working with local activists and the former Mayor Pro-Tem, who retired from City Council but still wants to see meaningful criminal justice reform in her city. In El Paso (which is probably our most ambitious and comprehensive initiative), we partnered with the local Sunrise Movement hub. In South Texas, we are working with Lupe Votes. And as I mentioned, if we do work in Houston next year on cannabis decrim, it will be in partnership with local advocates there as well.
TX Hemp Reporter: – Are there any other big names whether they be current officer holders, former office holders, celebrities or the like that have shown support for Ground Game Texas? Or are there any names that would come as surprising to show support? I know that Beto O’Rourke has made cannabis a talking point of his campaign for Governor, I can imagine he supports GGT.
MS – I’m sure there are 🙂
TX Hemp Reporter: – What does the organization see as its future after the 2022 elections?
JO – Texas is a huge state, and we see the opportunity in many cities to put “workers, wages, and weed” on ballots across our state.
TX Hemp Reporter: The website for Ground Game Texas is https://www.groundgametexas.org/. Are there any other avenues of information for readers to check out to get a better grip on what’s going on with the policy changes you’re tackling that you all could recommend?
MS – In addition to our website, we also have a social media presence – IG, Twitter, FB – @groundgametx
Every now and then a customer walks into my CBD store, RESTART CBD, and asks for a product or cannabinoid that we don’t currently sell. And as a business owner, I take the ownership of filtering through all the requests we get and ultimately deciding on what product to put on the shelf. That paired with tracking industry trends, requires businesses to stay on top of consumer demands.
While consumers ask and demand, that doesn’t always necessarily mean that businesses need to deliver. It’s why Walmart and Target both exist, in reality, they sell similar products, but they also have two different target demographics.
So with that information in mind, I am constantly filtering what customers are looking for and balancing that with what I’m interested in and willing to sell.
For example, we get asked from time to time if we sell Kratom, which we do not at my store. My brand focuses on selling high-quality cannabinoids vs a more broad smoke shop store type approach. We can’t be everything to everybody, and I think that’s an important piece of discernment for today’s story.
On the other hand, we get asked for products like HHC and THC-P, which are naturally occurring cannabinoids but are more mysterious with less known information about the long-term effects.
It’s interesting because in our industry there are a dozen or so cannabinoids on the market, but the cannabis plant has over 100 different phytocannabinoid compounds and just because we don’t know enough about something doesn’t mean we should demonize it, does it?
This takes me back to when Delta 8 THC hit the market back in 2019, we didn’t know enough about it and everyone was reluctant to introduce products to the market. But a few years later, not that we aren’t still facing some of the same battles, there is more adoption and acceptance of the minor cannabinoid.
So as a brand, how do you determine what is the best product to put on the shelf? And even more critically to consider is what is the quality of the product you are looking to put on the shelf because 80% of something is different than 90% of something, etc.
We now see the emergence of chemically derived cannabinoids. This does get confusing because even though the cannabinoid is naturally occurring like CBN, for example, there is a whole market emerging for chemically creating and synthesizing these cannabinoids.
And thanks to the chemistry you can create a lot of cannabinoids with a lot more stability than when produced naturally, which is an integral part of repeatability for a consumer.
Is it right, is it wrong?
I understand the concern from within the industry, from the purists, the full plant people, and the cultivators, struggling with this recent shift in the market.
I remember having a conversation with a friend who is cultivating hemp here in Texas and he was asking if as a retailer I sell more hemp flower vs Delta 8 flower, and the reality is consumers want the Delta 8 experience.
My advice to the cultivator was to get creative and pay attention to where the market is going if he wants to move his products because consumers are driving the demands.
I also look at the fragility of our industry, without proper avenues for operation we’re left to interpreting the law and getting creative with what some would call loopholes.
I don’t fully think cannabinoids like Delta 8 THC or HHC are outright loopholes, but I do believe that we have yet to bust the door wide open and are just getting a crack at what is to come.
Ultimately we have a choice, as operators, as consumers, as an industry and until we can look at the whole picture instead of just one frame at a time, we’re neglecting the realities and all I’m trying to do is to get us to be on the same page.
A regroup if you will. Texas is heading into our next legislative session in 2023 and the smokable hemp ban just got reinstated for manufacturing and processing.
Will we go another year introducing more minor cannabinoids? We flinch at the idea of chemically synthesized Delta 8 but what about nonpsychoactive cannabinoids like CBN? Where does the line get drawn? And what is this going to do to cultivation of you can produce everything stably in a lab?
I don’t have a definitive answer on what is going to happen or can even speculate on what could happen. Especially with so much up in the air still with the Delta 8 lawsuit still open and an upcoming legislative session.
But as always, I encourage the continuation of this discussion and invite you to tune into my recent episode with Tyler Roach of Colorado Chromatography, one of the leading manufacturers of HHC and CBN amongst other cannabinoids. We dive into the future of chemically creating cannabinoids and what impact that will have on our industry, you can listen at tobeblunt.buzzsprout.com.
The status of hemp has changed much over the years; after being the world’s most traded commodity, it fell into a state of neglect. Then it was restored, as the hemp movement led by the likes of Jack Herer, rallied the public to support a change in the laws. When I wrote my book in 2006, hemp was for the most part illegal in the US. It was made legal in the past few years on the federal level, and many states now allow it to be cultivated.
Part of the reason for the change in attitude was the overall usefulness of hemp, which provides many raw materials to industry. This fact is putting hemp more in the spotlight today, as the world is changing faster than ever. Wars and scarcity of supplies are making people think more about the basis of the economy, which, as Adam Smith noted, is agriculture.
One aspect to agriculture is food, as most would readily agree. Another, that is not so apparent, is fuel. Simple biomass, mostly in the form of cellulose, provides raw material for methane and ethanol. The latter is a much debated issue, as in some areas ethanol is mandatory, seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum. Economists are now joining forces with ecologists on this issue, as petroleum, much of which is produced in Russia, the Middle East and other areas that are not entirely friendly to the United States at this time, has gone way up in price.
As the price of a gallon of gas rises, so does the price of a gallon of milk.
This simple logarithm is not so simple, however, when politics and journalists get involved.
Recently Tucker Carlson of Fox News was on the air talking about the use of corn for ethanol, and how this would lead to an increase in food prices. I remarked that there ought to be debate about the fact that corn kernels need not be used, but rather, the waste parts of the plant, known as stover, ought to be in the ethanol vat while the kernels ought to be reserved for the grocers.
Looking over the blog ‘hempforvictory’, I was reminded that this debate has been going on for decades. In the very first year of posting, 2006, I wrote about a New York Times article which expressed the same concerns as Carlson. Most US readers would note that the NYT and Fox News are at opposite ends of the political rainbow.
Bipartisan concern happens when a nation is faced with a rise in food prices; we all need to eat, democrat or republican. At that time the rise in a bushel of corn went from $2.00 to $2.10. This sharing of ideas from both sides of the aisle did some good, and the NYT article, by Matthew Wald, suggested that we reduce our driving. Decades later one sees SUVs everywhere, but less on the road as it is costing so much to get them going.
In 2007, corn was again in the news, as a new breed entered the market: MON863, a genetically modified corn approved for use in Australia, Canada, the Philippines, the EU and the US. It has a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Researchers were finding effects including liver damage and hormonal changes.
The debate on the issue of corn vs. hemp had a new angle to it. No hemp on the market, by the way, has been genetically modified. This was a hotter issue in the EU, where I was working, than in the US (to which I returned in 2009).
Discussion about using corn, and possibly hemp, as an energy source, continued all over the world. There were food riots in 2007 in Mexico, due to the rise in the price of a bushel, with most leaders missing a major point: the fact that farm waste could be used to produce energy, while leaving the edible parts of a crop for the plate. Jonathan Watts in the Guardian that year talked about biofuel production as if it were an enemy to food production, while George Monbiot of the same paper thought that the waste parts of these plants were most suitable as fertilizer. Clearly journalists did not do a lot of research into economic botany and the public was being given sound bytes, not facts.
This situation continued for years; in 2011 the NYT, along with other US papers, most quoting from the Associated Press, again noted the use of the entire corn plant for ethanol. The story also pointed out that corn is used in high fructose corn syrup and junk food, a fact that might well be noted by those interested in making policies to ensure a steady, and healthy, food supply. Rarely if at all noted in these articles on corn was any mention of the amount of water used in its growth, which is significantly more than that of hemp.
That same year a major article appeared on the front page of the NYT business section informing the reader that US farmers were dedicating more land than ever to cotton – due to a rise in cotton prices. This would mean of course less land for food, with a resultant rise in prices. The author, William Neumann, quotes farmer Ramon Vela, of the Texas panhandle, as saying he would plant 1,100 acres of cotton that year, up from 210 the previous year. The panhandle had not been a traditional cotton belt, but new strains of cotton that worked well there made cotton very popular. Too popular, and it is now a monocrop in some areas of North Texas. The state grew over one million acres, while the US grew 10.8 acres, and was expected to grow 12.8 acres of this crop by 2012 of ‘King Cotton.”
As it floods the market, it empties the reservoir; it is a thirsty crop, though it takes less water than corn. Texas growers that year had to tap into the Ogallala Aquifer, which was already getting depleted.
Had we grown hemp, this would not be – and hemp is both a food and a textile crop, which uses less water than either corn or cotton. But in that year hemp was still not legal in Texas.
Cannabis herb and leaves for treatment.Buds. Skunk. cbd, hemp buds and money,Closeup of assorted American banknotes.World economic crisis associated with coronovirus.
Now it is time to figure out its place in the state, and national, economy. Presently the major uses of Cannabis sativa are recreational and medicinal. It could play a much larger role in the US economy, without changing production in its present role. The stalks of hemp are raw material for energy, reducing the need for corn, but also of importance they are a raw material for paper. If all these stalks were pulped and matted into any form of paper – as I have written about already in the Texas Hemp Reporter – we could retrieve the US paper industry. Presently most paper is produced in Southeast Asia, where trees are felled to the detriment of the environment.
These issues have been simmering in my mind for decades, and I can see that most politicians and journalists are wasting our time. Both ought to take courses in farming before they are allowed to plow the fields of politics, which field that I feel obliged to enter. One of my major reasons or this is to sow common sense into the debate so that the basis of our economy, that is, I repeat in closing what I noted in my opening, agriculture, will be managed properly.
Which may not seem like a major issue in the 13th Congressional District of New York State (Upper Manhattan and part of the Bronx) but is one which does affect everyone. Should farming in Texas become inefficient, the residents of every US city will feel it. I will have to run as a write-in candidate, with no party affiliation, against an incumbent with ties to Big Pharma. Other issues, of course, will be in my campaign, including the creation of a tidal turbine in the East River (to reduce dependency on petroleum while introducing a green energy initiative) and the improvement of the NYC education system (which is currently very bad).
Should I win the seat, the House will be hearing more about hemp, along with other agricultural issues, for which I aim to achieve bipartisan support. On rare occasion, this has been known to happen, especially when people are faced with food scarcity.
If you’re looking for an eclectic mix of local glass, CBD products, delta strains and more, check out Mr. Nice Guys in north Austin.
Located at 13201 Pond Springs Road, Suite 105-A, Mr. Nice Guys is far from your run-of-the-mill smoke shop, according to owner Kelly Gartzke.
”We have an amazing selection of local glass as well as work from artists around the country,” he said. “We try to be the shop that carries something for everybody, and we always have a friendly, knowledgeable person working.”
The shop takes its name from the 1998 movie Half Baked — the popular marijuana culture comedy. Through the years, it has grown a loyal customer base.
“When new customers come in, we hear them say, ‘I found my new smoke shop’ all the time,” Gartzke said.
Gartzke first opened the shop in south Austin with his business partner, Jeff Turner, in 2006, but it wasn’t their first business venture. They also own Chief’s BBQ on South 1st Street. Four years ago, Mr. Nice Guys moved into its north Austin location — close to The Local Outpost Saloon and Shenanigans Nightclub. In addition to its broad selection of products, the shop strives to provide top-notch customer service.
“We want every customer to leave with a smile,” Gartzke said. “We take really good care of our customers. One of the things we do that most shops don’t is that if you come in and ask for an item we’re out of or we don’t carry, we put you on a list and call you as soon as the item comes in.”
Gartske calls the store a “one-stop-shop” for CBD, vapes, glass and more. In addition to hand-blown smoking accessories, Mr. Nice Guys carries glass jewelry, marbles and millefiori (decorative glass pieces with distinct, intricate patterns). It also carries CBD treats for dogs and humans, as well as a unique collection of apparel and backpacks. They are also planning for an 1,800-square-foot expansion. Be sure to follow them on Instagram (@mr_nice_guys_austin) for emerging details
Gartzke said business is good and that the shop’s sales have doubled since the pandemic struck in 2020. “We’re headed for another record year this year,” he added.
‘Type V’, cannabinoid free hemp’–compared to Type I (high THC), Type II (moderate THC & CBD), Type III (high CBD), and Type IV (high CBG) cannabis–would ensure THC compliance regardless of crop maturity. Development of Type V hemp with combined fiber fractions on lower stalks and seed production on upper branches is underway to provide a dual-use alternative crop for Texas producers across millions of acres currently cultivated in cotton, sorghum, and other crops.
The nutritional value of hemp seeds is remarkable, having an ideal balanced omega-6: omega-3 fatty acid ratio (2.5 : 1) that is similar to salmon and far superior to soy (6.9 :1 ), corn (60 : 1), olive (> 100 : 1), or sunflower (> 100 : 1). Hemp seeds have been consumed throughout history, and Texas A&M University researchers are working to further improve their nutritional value. One PhD student in the Industrial Hemp Breeding Program (Christopher Garcia) is currently working to induce plants to double their chromosomes. This results in exceedingly large seeds, increasing their value as a grain crop and luxury food.
Another PhD Student in the program (Joshua Van Dyke) is working to develop hemp completely free of cannabinoids in order to reduce the THC-compliance risk for farmers seeking to grow hemp for its grain and/ or fiber commodities.
Interest and funding in grain: fiber hemp in TX has to date been very limited, but if successful his project would essentially guarantee farmers 100% compliant hemp crops. Providing this level of security could alleviate the hesitancy that significantly hinders mass cultivation of hemp.
Texas A&M University’s industrial hemp breeder (Dr. Russ Jessup) has prioritized both Christopher and Joshua’s projects in order to develop dual-use (grain: fiber) hemp cultivars that are economically attractive to farmers, industrially suitable for fiber markets, and nutritionally superior for consumers.
Today, in a unanimous decision, the Texas Supreme Court held that the Texas Constitution does not protect an individual’s right to process and manufacture smokeable hemp products, and therefore upheld two 2019 laws that prohibits the processing and manufacture of smokeable hemp in Texas. Texas Dep’t of State Health Services and John Hellerstedt v. Crown Distribution LLC e. al, No. 21-1045; 25 Tex. Admin. Code § 300.104; Tex. Health & Safety Code § 443.204(4).
Importantly, the Decision does not ban the “distribution” or “retail sale” of smokeable hemp products, actions which had previously been banned by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). A trial court enjoined the provisions of the law related to distribution and retail sale, and the state declined to continue its defense of those provisions in its appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. Therefore today’s Texas Supreme Court decision leaves the trial courts injunction intact.
Overall, the decision is a significant blow to the hemp industry in Texas, and a glaring reality check as a new legislative session looms, and another Texas Supreme Court case on the legality of Delta-8 THC is expected any day.
The lawsuit decided today by the Texas Supreme Court stemmed from Texas’s first hemp legalization bill in 2019. When Texas established a hemp production program through HB 1325, the law specifically prohibited “the processing or manufacturing of a consumable hemp product for smoking.” Tex. Admin. Code Title 25, § 443.204(4) (emphasis added). “Smoking” was broadly defined to essentially prohibit the processing or manufacture of any sort of hemp vape devices or prerolls in Texas. Tex. Health & Safety Code § 443.001(11). The law also directed the Texas Department of State Health Services (“DSHS”) to promulgate rules to govern the consumable hemp industry. DSHS initially went two steps further than the Legislature’s smoking ban and further prohibited both the distribution and retail sale of smokeable hemp products in Texas—those provisions remain enjoined and unenforceable. § 300.104.
Hemp retailers, distributors, and manufacturers challenged the smokeable hemp prohibition in 2020 in Crown Distributing LLC et al. v. Texas Dep’t of State Health Services and John Hellerstedt. The hemp company plaintiffs submitted a petition on August 5, 2020 for a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and permanent injunction—the impact of which would effectively prohibit the State from enforcing the smokeable ban. A Travis County trial court issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the State from enforcing the smokeable hemp ban on September 18, 2020. The State appealed the injunction. The Court of Appeals affirmed the injunction in part, reversed in part, and remanded the case back to the trial court in Travis County.
Delta 8 Texas
Following a trial on the merits in Travis County, on November 16, 2021 the trial court declared the statutory smokeable ban unconstitutional and therefore the entire DSHS rule to be invalid. The court enjoined DSHS from enforcing the statute or rule that created the smokeable hemp prohibition. However, on December 3, 2021, the state again appealed the case, this time directly to the Texas Supreme Court, which can be done when a trial court issues a ruling on the constitutionality of a law, as was the case in Crown Distributing.
At the Supreme Court, the state stopped defending the portions of the law that dealt with “distribution” and “retail sale,” but continued to defend the prohibition on manufacturing and processing. The hemp companies asserted the law violated a section of the Texas Constitution which reads that “[n]o citizen of this State shall be deprived of life, liberty, property, privileges or immunities, or in any manner disenfranchised, except by the due course of the law of the land.” Tex. Const. art. I, § 19. The companies argued the smokeable hemp prohibition was a violation of the guarantees of art. I, § 19 of the Texas Constitution, but the court did not agree. The court ultimately found that the legislature’s decision to adopt a new framework of regulations for cannabis in the 2019 hemp bill does not transform the hemp companies’ desire to produce smokeable hemp products into a constitutionally protected interest.
While this decision will unlikely slow the growth of sales of smokeable hemp products in the state, it will guarantee that businesses who make such products in Texas will need to shut down their manufacturing operations, and out of state businesses looking to establish manufacturing operations in Texas will now look elsewhere. The decision and law also generally paint Texas as not-friendly to the hemp industry, which will likely stop an unknown number of companies from expanding or growing their operations in Texas, and therefore deprive Texas of the potential jobs and tax revenue those companies will provide.
The industry will likely have a knee jerk reaction against the Texas Supreme Court for this decision, but the decision is a legal analysis of a law passed by the legislature and DSHS. Delta-8 will likely be dealt a similar blow by the courts in the coming weeks. The industry’s frustration and efforts need to be directed toward the legislature and DSHS authorities that continue to pass rules that hamper rather than support the hemp industry.
Cameron Field is Senior Counsel and Co-Leader of the Cannabis Industry Group at the Law Firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in Austin, TX.
What’s so special about CBD? Why all the hype? Let’s strip it down to the basics.
Discovered more than 80 years ago, CBD/cannabidiol is a chemical compound found only in the cannabis plant. In high-THC/tetrahydrocannabinol cannabis “strains” – those with the most pronounced psychoactive effect – CBD is typically the second-most abundant cannabinoid. But there are also cannabis varietals with more or less equal parts CBD and THC, as well as CBD-rich cannabis and “hemp” plants with little THC.
Though structurally similar, THC and CBD act in different ways on various receptors in the brain and throughout the body. Both compounds are hypotensive, lowering blood pressure, and neurogenic, stimulating brain cell growth. But CBD and THC also exert opposing effects at the CB1 cannabinoid receptor. THC is notorious for inducing “the munchies,” for example, while CBD lessens appetite and lowers the ceiling on the THC high.
Overall, CBD has a significantly broader range of pharmacological action than THC or any other known plant cannabinoid, of which there are more than 100. A recent paper highlights the role of transient receptor potential [TRP] ion channels in mediating CBD’s effects on seizure, inflammation, cancer, pain, acne, and vasorelaxation. CBD also binds to serotonin receptors and PPAR nuclear receptors that regulate lipid metabolism and gene expression.
It’s this “promiscuous” nature, coupled with the extensive reach of the endocannabinoid system anchored to CB1 and CB2 receptors throughout the human body, that explains why CBD can affect such a broad range of physiological processes – and why there continues to be so much clinical and pre-clinical research focused on its therapeutic potential.
Below are some of the latest medical science findings: evidence of, if nothing else, CBD’s sheer versatility.
Killing Harmful Bacteria
The authors of a new study in the journal Scientific Reports
suggest that CBD could be “repurposed” as an antibacterial agent in clinical trials given its ability in lab experiments to counteract a variety of harmful bacteria, including some classified as multidrug-resistant. Pure CBD exhibited antibacterial activity against all 21 strains of Gram-positive bacteria tested, as well as against lipooligosaccharide-expressing bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the cause of tuberculosis).
But CBD performed better, especially against problematic Gram-negative bacteria, when paired with low concentrations of the powerful antibiotic polymyxin B, suggesting an additive or synergistic effect that could reduce reliance on this drug of last resort – and thus help maintain its efficacy. “We highlight the promising translational potential of CBD repurposing as an antibacterial agent, mainly in the combination [of] CBD plus polymyxin B against Gram-negative bacteria, for rescue treatment for life-threatening infections,” the authors write.
Healing Depressive Symptoms
The downstream effects of CBD’s wide-ranging activity in the brain are key to a recent study of depressive-like behaviors in mice. Here’s the rationale followed by the China-based researchers, whose work was published in February 2022 in the journal Frontiers of Medicine:
A growing body of evidence suggests CBD may be an effective antidepressant, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. It’s known that chronic stress impairs neural stem cell differentiation and adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN), and that promoting AHN can increase stress resilience against depression, the study authors write. So could this be a pathway through which CBD exerts an anti-depressive effect?
Based upon an experiment in which CBD administration relieved depression and anxiety symptoms in stressed mice, the authors think so. While the findings don’t implicate a specific receptor or molecular target, they do reveal a previously unknown mechanism for neural differentiation and AHN in depression, the researchers write, and provide mechanistic insights into the antidepressive effects of CBD. While they’re optimistic about the implications (“undeniable direct evidence that CBD could be a potential treatment option for depression”), the authors acknowledge that much more is left to learn – especially in humans. “This study highlighted the need to deepen our understanding of CBD-induced neurobiological effects to understand fully the therapeutic potential of this phytocannabinoid in psychiatric disorders,” they conclude.
Reducing High-THC Cannabis Use
Could CBD-rich cannabis help people who engage in problematic use of high-THC cannabis? A March 2022 paper in Frontiers in Psychiatry describes a survey out of France in which 11 percent of cannabis-consuming respondents (n=105) reported using CBD (mostly via smoked hemp-CBD flower) for the primary purpose of reducing consumption of illegal, high-THC cannabis. Of these, more than half reported a “large,” real-world reduction in high-THC cannabis use.
But the next survey question was even more interesting: when asked how, exactly, CBD use reduced overall consumption, most respondents cited “reducing cannabis withdrawal symptoms.” (Other options included “delaying first illegal cannabis joint of the day,” “using less illegal cannabis in joints,” and “increasing the time between smoking joints.”) This suggests they weren’t using high-CBD flower as a simple placebo or filler, but rather because the CBD actually diminished their desire for high-THC cannabis.
Again, these findings appear at least partially predicated upon the fact that in France high-CBD hemp flower is legal and high-THC flower is illegal. But the notion that CBD can ameliorate some unwanted side effects of too much THC is sound. In fact, earlier this year researchers in Colorado reported that cannabis with a balanced 1:1 THC:CBD ratio was associated with similar levels of positive subjective effects, but significantly less paranoia and anxiety, as compared to high-THC, low-CBD bud.
Nate Seltenrich, an independent science journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covers a wide range of subjects including environmental health, neuroscience, and pharmacology. Copyright, Project CBD. Reprinted with PAID permission.
Russia, the Ukraine, the United States and hemp have long had an interesting relationship. John Quincy Adams, as the American Minister in St. Petersburg, wrote an article on the culture and preparation of hemp in Russia. This he penned in 1810, 14 years before winning one of the most contentious elections in history to take up residence in the White House.
In his day, navies ruled the seas, and Russia was the number one provider of hemp to the maritime powers. Countries like Britain needed vast supplies of rope and sail to stay afloat. A 1797 record of its hemp purchases states that “no less than 40,000 tonnes” were imported from Russia.
Napoleon saw fit to thwart Britannia’s rule by making an agreement with the Czar that he would sell no hemp to the ‘rosbifs’. The French and Russian rulers had often been at odds, but after meeting on a raft in the middle of the Neman River, they found common ground when Napoleon I told Alexander I that he hated the British as much as he; the Russian replied “with those words we will ever be friends.” That was in 1807. By 1812, the beautiful friendship had come to an end over the issue of hemp, which the Russians were selling secretly to France’s enemy. Ships with flags other than the Union Jack would purchase this staple and then transport it to London and Liverpool. Napoleon was not fooled by the ruse, but rather, enraged; he ordered his troops to invade Moscow in the fall. They came to the city, followed by an early winter. The unusually cold weather, along with the Russian swordsmen, deprived France of 500,000 men. Invasions often don’t work out.
At that time, the Ukraine was included in Russia, and took part in the cultivation of hemp. During the Russian Revolution era, it made a bid for independence, going so far as to issue its own stamps. None of them were ever put to use, as the Ukraine’s autonomy was cut short and it remained a part of Mother Russia. After the Bolshevik Revolution, Glokhiv, a city in the Ukraine, became home to the Institute of Bast Crops. Founded in 1931, when the Ukraine was part of the CCCP, it was renamed in 1992; presently it is known as the Institute of Bast Crops of the Ukrainian Institute of Bast Crops. With the guidance of that institution, hemp production reached a peak of 974,000 hectares under cultivation in 1960. But as world demand decreased, that figure dwindled to 60,000 hectares in 1993. By which date, the Ukraine was an independent nation. Again, it issued its own stamps, which have been in use ever since.
As for hemp, the Ukraine has been providing the world with hemp products including oil, which, until this past month, was available in New York.
There is concern that all Ukrainian and Russian hemp products will not be available here. And that concern is not limited to hemp products. The Ukraine is the bread basket of Europe and sells much to Asia and Africa. Soybeans, wheat, maize, honey, buckwheat, rye, barley and other staples – along with fertilizer – are expected to be in short supply.
The world turns its eyes on these northern nations for basic supplies, as it did for centuries in the case of what was once the world’s most traded commodity – hemp.
Which can be grown quite well outside of the frigid regions of the north. The American south, Texas included, grew hemp. Kentucky led the nation in this effort, and cotton growers even sowed hemp before planting cotton to rid the fields of pests.
But despite the widespread US cultivation of hemp, Yankees paid top dollar for Russian. Which led to a lively debate in the House, where it was explained that Russian hemp was processed to a higher grade, allowing it to be of use to the US Navy. Practicality prevailed over patriotism. The attempt of some congressmen to impose sanctions on Russian imports failed.
Britain also paid a top price to the Czar, of which then Duke of Wales (later King George IV) expressed concern in 1810. At that time over 5 million pounds sterling were spent on Russia’s hemp. More attention to this issue was paid by Lord Somerville, but since transport costs by ship from Riga and St. Petersburg were much less than domestic overland transport costs, Moscow continued to hold the West to ransom over hemp, until the day of steam and metal ships made hempen sails redundant. A further reduction in hemp demand for the navies occurred when Manila hemp, or abaca, was found to work well in rope production.
Russia, and the Ukraine, have since found other products that occasion debate in Western parliaments. In place of ships laden with hemp, Russia has pipelines pumping energy to most UE nations, while the Ukraine, which produces a major percentage of the world’s neon, used in semi-conductors, causes major concern in manufacturing circles. Its fate affects us all.
Farmers everywhere prepare for a bad situation. Hopefully, the Ukraine will be able to sow its fields this spring so that wheat, maize, sunflowers, rye and barley will be available to the world, and along with these staples, коноплі, as hemp is called in that land, will also be included in the harvest for 2022.
I was recently handed a box of about 24 unlabeled products in bags and asked to review the quality and effectiveness of said products, which varied from topical’s and oils to edibles.
This wasn’t the first time I had been asked to judge something in the cannabis industry, in fact, I’ve participated as a judge in a handful of national competitions which, I’ll admit, have all respectively had their faults.
Look, I’m not here to pick on this one example, it’s just the most recent one in a series of examples, but rather use it as a jumping-off point for what I would have loved to see happen instead, and encourage how we as an industry should be leaders instead of followers.
For the record, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a standard manual on how to run an effective cannabis event. If you could see me now, I’m half smirking as I write this because I know (from interviewing hundreds of cannabis entrepreneurs all over the world for my podcast, To Be Blunt) just how inconsistent the laws and regulations are in our industry in general, let alone the nuanced world of events.
But as nuanced as it is, it is a massive opportunity for everyone involved. And it comes down to implementing best practices that put safety and education at the forefront.
Prior to founding RESTART CBD in 2018, I used to work in corporate technology, but specifically, I was an event and brand manager for about 6 years. So I will also go out on a limb and say I know pretty well firsthand the benefit of events from both a brand perspective and also as a consumer who has attended hundreds of events in my lifetime.
I’m not here to say don’t go to events or don’t waste your time participating in them, events are great for exposure and connecting directly with your target audiences. Instead, I want to reflect on how we as an industry can put our best foot forward and lead by example.
If you check out the podcast, I encourage you to listen to episode 96 with Tim and Taylor Blake who are the founders and producers of The Emerald Cup, the largest cannabis competition in the world. THE WORLD. Yes, they’ve been producing this event since 2003, and a lot has changed since then which we get into more detail in the episode, but one of the questions I had for them was around the competition aspect of their event.
On one end, the winners of The Emerald Cup go on to experience a huge uptick in their business. Winning this particular competition has bragging rights that go on into infinity, so from a brand marketing perspective, it absolutely benefits brands to compete because winning can do wonders for your business.
On the other hand, you have the operations of the event to navigate. As an event producer, how are you capturing these entries, what do you ask for to gauge quality assurance, and what all goes into your judging process to guarantee you’re evaluating these brands properly?
This was the big aha for me personally at least, while it’s all fun and games to do events and participate in competitions, at the end of the day, all these products, every single one of them are being sold to a consumer. How they’re packaged, how they’re labeled, what COAs are attached, and how they make someone feel are all pieces of determining the “quality and effectiveness”. They are consumer packaged goods after all, and that point is where I continually get hung up on from my own personal experiences with cannabis events and competitions.
You see, I was taken aback at the unmarked products in blank bags. I understood the intention was for blind judging, but as someone who promotes frequently to my own customers to read labels, ingredients, and packaging, to be presented with absolutely none of that information didn’t settle well (and yes I did share this feedback directly, and ultimately decided not to participate until better parameters were set in place.)
Aside from handling it directly, It was equally important to talk about it publicly since this isn’t about one person in particular, but about all of us as a community setting standards and standing by them.
In an industry where 5mg vs 10mg of a particular cannabinoid can produce a different effect, it is extremely important for me to emphasize to the brands as well as consumers reading this that integrity and efficacy are absolutely essential in establishing credibility for our industry.
In previous events I’ve judged, I remember being shocked to see products labeled with QR codes that 404’d, which as a legally licensed brand operating in Texas Hemp is a requirement to have functioning on your packaging. To me, what you put on your label is step one of building quality assurance with the consumer market, and yet here were brands, going after an award with basic information lacking. I genuinely felt and feel bad for consumers who are left in the dark by these brands and their products.
Yes, there are certainly bad actors out to make a quick buck, and I always encourage the buyer to be aware. But I also sincerely believe that there are great Texas cannabis operators who believe in this plant and are looking for best practices, so I hope you hear the heart of my message.
When we avoid or don’t address these discrepancies they continue to pile up, I want to address them so we can improve together. I want to see brands and events thrive, but I also want to remember who we’re in business for at the end of the day, and that is for the consumer.
So how we show up, whether it is on a label, or at an event, really can improve the industry by providing necessary information for consumers to make educated decisions on what they are putting in their bodies.
Listening to my episode with The Emerald Cup on To Be Blunt has a lot of great insight that we can all learn from as we work together to professionalize cannabis for consumer consumption.
For nearly a year, Hunter Robinson had felony drug charges looming over him after he says he grew hemp legally in Navarro County.
“It’s been quite rough on my family, myself, everything. You name it — it’s impacted me. It’s been terrible,” he said.
Robinson, a 27-year-old disabled U.S. Navy veteran who said he greatly benefitted from using CBD products, received a hemp producer license from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) in 2021. He and his business partner, 28-year-old Skyler Purcell, said compliance was at the top of their priority list when they launched Sky & Hobbs Organics, LLC with the intention of producing CBD flower and oil.
“We spent hours upon hours going through every single genetic variety that was on the TDA’s approved variety list,” Robinson said.
Rather than selecting the coolest-looking varieties or strands with the catchiest names, the pair said they picked the lowest testing varieties they could get their hands on. Each time the TDA tested samples of Sky & Hobbs’ products, they passed all criteria.
“All of our product had already been tested previously and deemed by the state of Texas and Texas Department of Agriculture as approved, compliant hemp.” Purcell said. Purcell, who was a 50% co-owner of the business, was never charged with a crime.
“They were trying to produce the best legal quality product they could find, and they took extraordinary steps to do that,” defense attorney David Sergi said.
Robinson and Purcell said they were stunned when their indoor growing facility was raided on June 10, 2021, by the Navarro County Sherriff’s Department, which had a search warrant signed by Navarro County District Judge James E. Lagomarsino. When nobody answered the door, officers used forced entry and seized three product varieties.
Robinson and Purcell said they provided the officers on scene with documentation that proved they were operating a legal business, but that didn’t stop them. For more than two months, the property remained an active crime scene that Robinson and Purcell were not allowed to access.
Law enforcement officers returned to Sky & Hobbs Organics on Aug. 25 with an arrest warrant for Robinson — also signed by Judge Lagomarsino — that alleged he knowingly and intentionally possessed “a usable quantity of marijuana against the peace and dignity of the state.” According to the sheriff’s office, two of the company’s samples contained 0.378% and 0.468% of delta-9 THC by dry weight, which is over the legal limit of .3%.
Robinson was arrested and charged with felony posession of marijuana. He spent 30 hours in jail before bonding out.
The Texas Hemp Program was launched after the U.S. Farm Bill legalized the cultivation of cannabis in 2018. According to the law, if the THC level falls above 0.3% but below 1%, the crop must be destroyed. If a product tests for higher than 1% THC levels, the grower can be cited with negligence by the TDA. If the TDA determines that a grower deliberately produced a crop with 1% of THC or higher, they can face criminal charges. This provision allows for natural variations in THC levels, Sergi said.
“From our point of view, the product was within legal limits and all the testing showed that it was under .03% Delta-9 THC, and at worst there is a reason why there is a negligence factor built into the code, and this is exactly where this falls in,” Sergi said.
The legal battle ahead
In May, the state dismissed the case against Robinson, stating there was not enough evidence to prove he was in possession of marijuana.
“I’m on cloud 9. I’m celebrating every day,” Robinson said. “I’m at work, and I’m celebrating. I’m outside last night, it’s getting reaedy to pour down, the wind is coming through … a storm is coming through, and I’m outside with a cigar and a glass of whiskey just celebrating. I mean, it’s been a year. We’ve been dealing with this for so long.”
Currently, Purcell and Robinson are asking for the public’s help to raise funds for their ongoing legal costs. Those who want to contribute can visit texashempfederation.com and click on the “Donate” button on the home page.
According to Jay Maguire, executive director of the Texas Hemp Federation, everything the organization raises will support this cause until their goal is met.
“We just want everyone involved in this industry to understand what’s taking place is possible, and if they see this as a problem, hopefully they would feel how we’re feeling and contribute,” Robinson said.
People can also help by sharing the story to raise awareness about the fact that — while hemp farming is legal in Texas with the proper licensure — there is an apparent disconnect when it comes to educating jurisdictions about hemp farming laws.
“The Sky and Hobbs case also points to a deficiency in Texas regulations about how to even out, or remediate a crop, which can vary in THC levels from plant to plant,” Maguire said. “It’s a bit like blending different varietals of wine.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, remediation can be achieved by separating and destroying non-compliant flowers while retaining stalks, leaves, and seeds, or by shredding the entire hemp plant to create a homogenous biomass that can be retested for THC compliance. So, even if one batch is a bit over the limit, by mixing it in with lower-THC, compliant biomass, the resulting batch would fall at or below the legal limit.
“My understanding is police here simply took samples from plants that weren’t even in the stream of commerce yet, and which could have been remediated or destroyed according to the current regulations,” Maguire said.
Also questionable, Purcell said, is the fact that the Navarro County Sherriff’s Office never filed an administrative report about the incident with the TDA as protocol states.
“Before there’s any accountability you have to go through the steps,” Sergi said.
Shattered dreams
As childhood friends, Robinson and Purcell dreamed of one day starting a business venture together.
“We wanted to do the right business at the right time and take advantage of a situation,” Robinson said. “We realized that cannabis was coming sooner rather than later and that hemp was the starting point.”
Robinson and Purcell invested $75,000-$100,000 into Sky & Hobbs Organics and continued working full-time jobs while pouring a majority of their spare time into the business.
“We wanted to be able to say we were producing the cleanest, the best legal product that Texas had to offer. Every dollar we got went back into our business. In our five-year plan, me and Sky weren’t going to be taking any money for a long time,” Robinson said.
Now, rather than building a lucrative revenue stream, Robinson and Purcell are scrambling to get back on track financially.
“We had to close our business, our business account, our website,” Robinson said. “We’ve relaunched our website and we’re actually going to start doing stickers and see if people are willing to do a $5 donation for a sticker.”
Throughout the process, Robinson said he feared what a felony conviction would interfere with his job as a mechanical engineer. He also relocated to be closer to his wife’s family so she and their children will have support in case anything happened to him. In addition, both men say they are devastated about what’s been lost.
“We put everything into this — life savings. I’ll never get that time back. We were doing it with something in mind. We wanted to build something for our families, and it’s a shame that there are no protections for us. I have contacted the TDA. There’s no one to help us.”
Robinson and Purcell both say they were robbed of a chance a pursuing the American dream.
“And not only that, I got taken to jail for following the American dream,” Robinson said. “I loved doing what we were doing, but the only way I would ever participate in this industry again is if I knew that the state or the feds would protect the people participating in this legally.”
California-based record label Ripple Music is known for promoting retro 70’s heavy rock, stoner, heavy psych, sludge and doom bands. Texas got a full dose of it’s glory hosting one of their famous worldwide marquee events – Ripplefest – in 2021 and is returning to Austin this July for a four-day string of heavy riffs at Far Out Lounge. THR met with Ryan Garney of Lick of My Spoon Productions – the show’s promoter and organizer, as well as frontman of Texas Desert Rock band High Desert Queen to get the scoop on this year’s festival.
Thanks for taking the time out to speak with us, especially on the heels of your own European tour which sums up right before Ripplefest. Tell us about the origin of this festival on Texas soil and your involvement with it.
First of all thank you so much for having me. RippleFest Texas was spawned when my band High Desert Queen was signed to Ripple Music in early 2020. I talked to Todd Severin (CEO of Ripple) about the possibility of doing a show with all Ripple bands to showcase the bands he had signed from Texas. He gave me the full endorsement to do so, and also mentioned that every “RippleFest” that had every happened across the globe was always put together by the bands themselves. So I got to work and it quickly grew from a show with a few bands, to a show with 15 great Ripple bands in just the first year (July 2021). This year we decided to go all in, and are bringing bands across all kinds of labels from all over the world. One of the things I love about Todd and all the people at Ripple, is that they are all about the scene and don’t care about only having bands from their label. This festival is 100% all about the love of music and people getting together. We know it’s not about making money which is why our 4 day passes are the cheapest you’ll find for a music festival of this size. It’s all about getting the people together to enjoy these incredible bands, and growing our “musical family.”
This year brings 4 days of music to the stages of Far Out Lounge. What all can concert goers expect and how did you go about choosing the lineup?
I”m EXTREMELY proud of the lineup we’ve put together. I brought my brother Shay on board this year to help me organize it and we’ve hand selected each band that’s playing. Many of these bands are some of our favorites and that we’ve never seen in the same lineup before. We go to music festivals all the time and we sat down and made lists of all the things we love about festivals and what don’t we love. One of our biggest complaints about large festivals is having to make a decision which bands you’re going to see and which ones you’re going to miss because their sets overlap or they are at a different venue. We made sure to find a venue that could be large enough to host all the bands and allow us to have absolutely zero band overlapping so that people who buy a ticket, will actually have an opportunity to see every minute of every band. Then we came up with a list of all the bands we would love to see at a music festival, and be sure to include bands that people need to see and don’t get an opportunity to. We didn’t get every band we wanted, but every band we got we are thrilled to have. Then we wanted it to look a certain way so we’ve hired the best stage lighting company in the business in The Mad Alchemist Liquid Light Show. Lance is an absolute artist and he will be lighting up the entire grounds to make it a unique visual experience as well.
We also wanted a festival that would have art, food, vendors, games and all the things we love about some of the music festivals we’ve gone to. There will be plenty of all of that, and we actually still have room for more sponsors and vendors that we’d love to add to help enhance the experience of RippleFest.
How would you best describe the music that Ripple supports and the culture surrounding the genre? Are all of the bands on the bill signed to the label?
Ripple supports ALL music! Now as far as the bands they sign, they typically sign Heavy Rock, Psych Rock and Metal. We have all of all of that and more. We’ve got everything from the Desert Rock sounds of Fatso Jetson, to the punishing metal of Crowbar and Spirit Adrift, to Stoner rock legends Eagles of Death Metal and The Sword, and even some banjo fingerpicking by JD Pinkus of Butthole Surfers and Melvins fame. We also have some acoustic sets from Wino and Nick Oliveri. There are jam sessions planned and even an improvised music and puppet show from desert legend Sean Wheeler and his super group of musicians called Dryheat. So we plan on having all kinds of variety as well as one of kind performances that may never happen again. RippleFest Texas has 55 artists performing and about half of them are on the Ripple Music label. The rest are all family and there to share their love with us.
What is the background of Lick of My Spoon productions and what all does it do for the local music scene?
LOMS came about during the lockdown in 2020 when artists and musicians were really feeling the pain of not being able to share their creativity at a live show. I became very proactive at organizing events even when the world was closed because I knew that the world would open again and people would need to see live music right away. I’ve never had any interest in making money with it and it’s all about the bands and the venues that I can help. Being in a band myself I understand the struggles of getting your music heard and being compensated for your art, so we try and take care of the artist first and foremost. The rest will hopefully take care of itself.
There will be no shortage of pre-parties for Ripplefest – where should we look out for those?
We have just started announcing some shows in surrounding cities like Houston, Dallas and San Antonio that are official RippleFest Texas sponsored events with artists that will be at the fest. As it gets closer to the festival you can anticipate others to be announced, as well as some parties around the weekend of the festival.
Where can everyone follow updates and information on the festival?
The best way to stay updated is to follow RippleFest Texas on Instagram and Facebook. Alsowww.lickofmyspoon.com will have information about the festival and showcases going on around the event. Plus the venue The Far Out Lounge does an amazing job themselves of sending out information or answering any questions anyone has. We really hope to see everyone there! If we can make this a success we will hope to keep making it bigger and bigger every year! Thanks again for having me and much love goes out to everyone who supports live music and the art these incredible musicians make. Cheers!
Michael Weinstein is tapping into hemp’s healing power by crafting savory CBD-infused concoctions
After spending more than a quarter-century as a chef in the Dallas area, Michael Weinstein is making a name for himself as an award-winning hemp chef.
“When my dog got diagnosed with arthritis in both of his back legs, I infused (CBD) into some oil for my dog,” he said. “I started noticing a difference in him getting up and down and thought, ‘Maybe I could use my food knowledge in other ways.’”
His belief in the healing power of CBD was strengthened after his mother used a topical on her back.
“The first time she put it on, the pain subsided on her back,” he said. “Stuff like that makes you go, ‘Hmmm … maybe there is something going on with this.’”
Weinstein said he attended several Cannabis Cup events, and when Texas legalized hemp in 2019, he decided to monetize his knowledge of hemp-infused cuisine. Currently, his product line includes a variety of dessert salsas and caramels, as well as an edible intimacy serum that he said helps to ease menstrual cramps.
“I didn’t want to make gummies because they’re too trendy. I personally don’t even like gummies,” he said.
Weinstein uses a commercial kitchen to create all of his products and gets them third-party tested. He said takes pride in the quality and cleanliness of his concoctions, as they do not contain preservatives, food coloring or high fructose corn syrup.
“You can read the ingredients without using a dictionary,” he said. “High fructose corn syrup has led to the obesity of America because it’s a cheap sweetener. Why not use real sweeteners like sugar and honey?”
Currently, Weinstein is educating people at cooking classes, where he teaches attendees how to make specialty items — like CBD-infused deviled eggs.
“What I’m trying to teach people is if they want to go to the shows and buy flower, and they don’t want to smoke it, how can they infuse it and turn it into a food product? I try to keep it pretty simple and not over-complicated, as we chefs can get complicated with some of the recipes we make. I’m trying to gear (the classes) for the home cook.”
As far as upcoming products, Weinstein didn’t want to give too much away about what’s in the pipeline, but he offered a few hints.
“It’s kind of like a cracker or vanilla wafer, and it’s savory as far as texture. But there’s also cheese involved,” he said.
