While the legalization and participation in the hemp industry is growing in the US, the lack of banking support with funding these businesses remain a national issue. Herring Bank is making strides right here in Texas to change that narrative with their CBD & Hemp Banking Program.
Herring Bank is a FDIC insured institution that must adhere with federal, as well as state regulatory requirements. In banking the Marijuana Related Businesses, Related Entities, Hemp and Hemp Derivative businesses, Herring Bank, if not in compliance with federal and state regulatory requirements, faces the potential of severe penalties.
The bank began serving the Marijuana Related Business, Related Entities, Hemp and Hemp Derivatives industry in April 2019 and has since built a multi-state program that now services over 20 states. Headquartered in Amarillo, Texas, Herring Bank has branch locations in Texas, including Grand Prairie, Vernon, Azle, Clarendon, Seymour, in Colorado (Colorado Springs) and in Oklahoma (Altus). Herring Bank has also grown outside of their branch footprint to other Texas cities such as Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and McAllen in which to serve the hemp and hemp derivative industry. Herring Bank’s Marijuana Related Business, Related Entities, Hemp and Hemp derivatives strategy has positioned the Bank to take advantage of opportunities that may be available with the passing of any future cannabis legislation.
Andrew Escamilla is Herring Bank’s Hemp and Hemp Derivative Product Manager. With nearly 15 years banking experience behind him, Mr. Escamilla has the knowledge and excitement to assist businesses in obtaining banking services. Herring Bank has, and continues to, learn about and reach out to the industry. Mr. Escamilla explained that the regulatory/legal environment and the required resources and infrastructure required to support a compliant program. Mr. Escamilla explained that it is important for a bank to understand the industry to know the challenges experienced by industry businesses and individuals, to ascertain the importance of providing a banking service solution as well as identifying the various state compliance requirements the industry must adhere with.
Mr. Escamilla explained that industry clients must provide certain information to the Bank in order to receive access to banking services. The information provided to the Bank is carefully reviewed by the Bank prior to providing any banking service to a potential client. The submission of the information is important to ensure that Herring Bank meets its federal and state compliance requirements as well as it allows the Bank to monitor the respective client’s adherence with its applicable state’s compliance requirements. Mr. Escamilla explained that information prospective clients must submit, includes such things as, information about their respective location(s), the intent of business, type of products being sold, the business structure, business ownership details, supporting documentation such as lab reports on crops, state licensing, etc.
Mr. Escamilla explained that the Banks willingness to Bank the entire spectrum of cannabis related businesses, of all sizes and types. Mr. Escamilla enjoys working with and assisting, potential and existing hemp and hemp derivative clients with their banking needs. Mr. Escamilla believes in staying up to date with what is occurring in the industry and continuing to learn as much as he can about the industry, including the associated federal and state laws that impact the industry. Escamilla has seen many customers come in who have been closed out 2-3 times by banks before they get to him, just trying to operate but encounter limited tolerance of the industry or simplistic pilot programs that cannot fully support their needs.
Herring Bank paves the way in cannabis related product banking to help the industry. Herring Bank’s moto is “Building Relationship for a Lifetime”, which is something the Bank lives every day. Herring Bank would like to establish a relationship with everyone in the hemp and CBD industry. Mr. Escamilla would love to meet you and discuss what Herring Bank can offer you.
The State of Recreational Cannabis (Is Texas Playing It Safe? Or Just Missing Out?)
Texas Cannabis Laws are conservative at best in the Lone Star State. New representatives at the Capitol need to be voted in for a real cannabis program to begin to take place in Texas.Be sure to know your candidates this coming Spring Election in 2022 to act with your Vote on Cannabis.
The fact that the Lonestar state is still vehemently anti-cannabis (at least in legislation at the state level) despite being surrounded by a sea of green is a true testament to the independent Texas spirit. It seems Texas is more likely to secede from the United States than it is to legalize recreational cannabis.
America’s coalition of green – or pro-weed – states is vast, snaking from Washington state down the West Coast, then east to Arizona and New Mexico, up over the Texas panhandle into Oklahoma; and from Arkansas, it goes straight north to Canada and all the way along the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. And that’s not including several other Southwestern states, as well as most of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states.
As of this writing, a grand total of 18 U.S. states have legalized recreational cannabis for personal use, including our immediate neighbors Colorado and New Mexico; and three others, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, are part of 18 states that allow only medical cannabis (and, therefore, have the infrastructure to fully legalize in the coming years.)
The 12 states without some kind of cannabis industry, aside from hemp and CBD, are now the minority. We can’t blame it on politics either. Even blood-red states like Montana, Alaska, Alabama and West Virginia have some version of legalization.
But don’t think Ol’ Big Red is bone-dry on the sticky-icky. Far from it. Consider these numbers:
Given the likelihood of steady, easy transport of cannabis into Texas from these red-eyed neighbors (in addition to the cartel-sponsored black market already operating here), the state of about 30 million people likely has, at any time, more illegal cannabis than several other legal states. Just look at population alone: Less than 750,000 people live in both Alaska (legalized in 2014) and Vermont (2018); Montana’s (2020) population is just over 1 million.
If that probability doesn’t convince you that Texas is one of the most weed-heavy states, consider the average age of a Texan is just 34.6 years old, a Millennial; and Millennials love getting down on some ganja. A new Gallup survey says as much as 20 percent of those belonging to my generation say they currently use cannabis. But that number doesn’t include much of the other 80 percent too stoned to complete the poll.
Perhaps Texas is just being strategic in entering the country’s multi-billion-dollar legal cannabis market that is reported to reach $41 billion in annual sales by 2026. That means it could soon be about the size of the craft-beer market. In 2020 alone, legal sales across the U.S. hit a record $17.5 billion, up 46 percent from 2019. Colorado, one of the first to sell recreational cannabis, grew by 26 percent to hit $2.2 billion. California, America’s largest cannabis economy at $3.5 billion, increased sales by more than half a billion dollars. (Yet illicit cannabis sales, via the black market, are estimated at more than $100 billion every single year.)
But here’s some relief: At least local governments are getting on board. Several of Texas’s most populated regions have decriminalized possession of cannabis, including the cities of Austin, Dallas, Cedar Park and El Paso, as well as major counties (Bexar, Harris, Travis and Williamson).
Then there’s hemp, at least. Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, Texas politicians are embracing the hemp-derived CBD market, expected to reach $23.7 billion in 2023.
And at least Gov. Abbot is starting to come around to this magical plant. When he’s not crusading to ban books from children, he’s doing what he can (but not all he can) to help Texans suffering from cancer and PTSD. In 2021 he very compassionately signed a bill into law that allows the increase of the current 0.5 percent THC cap on “medical cannabis” to a whopping 1 percent! Tax dollars well spent.
If this legislation is any indication of cannabis progress in the Lonestar state, start saving your beer money for a trip to New Mexico or Colorado. Because it’s going to be a long while before legal weed comes to Texas.
Grassroots and Hemp Seeds: How Traditional Political Action Has Failed TX Cannabis
With the 87th Texas legislature having come and gone without any particularly exciting progress on cannabis, it is clear that efforts on selling the conservative voting bloc on legalizing it have not been as fruitful as we might have hoped. Sessions come and go, and while other states are generating billions of dollars in tax revenue through recreational cannabis markets, funding education and social programs, and generally not being the worst to their voting constituencies, Texas continues to push the bar on careless legislating.
It might be fulfilling, even entertaining, to blame the legislature and the politicians, but keep in mind we vote them in, and remember this when considering whose name to tick off next time. Willie Nelson for governor anyone? He does claim to have begun the “Teapot Party”, but let’s hope he doesn’t take to tossing bales of cannabis into a harbor should Texas ever decide to legalize and tax the agricultural commodity.
Cannabis is Not from California, Nor Will It Turn Texas Into California
marijuana leaves cannabis plants a beautiful background
Texas does not have to become California to make progressive steps towards generating billions of dollars in tax revenue. Instead of hippie weed, why not country wildflower? It’s all about framing and packaging, and given that some of the worst political presents in history were wrapped in the most wonderful cutest little boxes that the nation just could not wait to tear open, why not repackage the cannabis market for the Texan psyche?
The drastic leaps backwards concerning women’s reproductive rights notwithstanding, the 87th Legislature of Texas denied cancer patients and veterans the ability to purchase cannabis with sufficient levels of THC to do what the entire purpose of medical marijuana is to do: provide adequate levels of THC to impactfully support treatment.
If the government were to limit the amount of alcohol allowed in beer to ineffective levels, or deny sufficient amounts of cheese to populate the space between patties and buns on a Big Mac, the nation would explode like a powder keg into a second civil war, complete with patriotic psychedelic fireworks (more on psychedelics in a future article).
So how do we get the conservatives on board and actually make some godforsaken progress this next legislative session? Pitch them not on the lifestyle benefits of pot, but on the economic value of the complete cannabis plant. Hemp is cannabis. Hemp is legal, employing thousands of citizens and generating millions in taxable revenue for good ‘ol Tejas at this very moment.
The mainstream asks, “so how is hemp legal and weed is illegal if it comes from the same plant?” Great question, mainstream, let’s draw a parallel they’ll all understand.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Analogy Pushes the Dials and Doesn’t Just Run the Wheels
Alcohol is to wheat what marijuana is to hemp and nicotine is to tobacco: an agricultural byproduct. All three are intoxicants, all three can alter one’s consciousness, although only two kill hundreds of thousands of Americans annually, the two that are legal. Why again is marijuana illegal?
It’s Already Here, Why Not Tax It and Save on Useless Law Enforcement Efforts?
Cannabis herb and leaves for treatment.Buds. Skunk. cbd, hemp buds and money,Closeup of assorted American banknotes.World economic crisis associated with coronovirus.
The character played by actress Michelle Rodriguez in the film “Machete” by director Robert Rodriguez says something like “We didn’t hop the border, the border hopped us.” The historical and political poignancy of this quote from an otherwise grindhouse feature of ultraviolence and Danny Trejo-driven awesomeness aside, cannabis in a similar manner has already transcended the borders of Texas. We have legal hemp, and if you might be looking for a product of the cannabis plant containing more than the legally allowed .3% THC, you likely know a person, or know a person who knows a person. You dig? It’s around, man, don’t be a square and it just might find you.
Marijuana Enforcement Measures are Exceptionally Discriminatory
As reported by the New York Times, Willie Nelson was caught by canine officers in the West Texas Town of Sierra Blanca with a quarter ounce of “high-grade, domestically grown marijuana”. Way to keep it ‘Merican Willie. The Hudspeth County Attorney on the case, Kit Bramblett, stated to local publication The Big Bend Sentinel, “I’m gonna let him plead, pay a small fine, and he’s gotta sing ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ with his guitar in the courtroom. I ain’t gonna be mean to Willie Nelson.”
Now, substitute out “Willie Nelson” for “a Black teenager in a hooded sweatshirt”, and take a moment to envision what might have happened to our theoretical teenager if caught in West Texas with a quarter ounce of “high-grade, domestically grown marijuana”. I think it is safe to assume the canines and officers would have taken a different approach during the arrest, and the prosecutor would not be asking them to sing ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ in the courtroom then let them go with a small fine.
Making the Effort? Reaching Out to Your Representatives
While you might think that the hemp companies generating hundreds of millions annually and their lobbyists will sway the minds of the Texas Legislature to legalize marijuana, don’t. It hasn’t happened yet, while recreational cannabis has been proving it value across the nation for nearly a decade at this point. While niche progress is made here and there to support commerce and the interests of the companies paying the lobbyists, as with the smokable hemp ban, broad political change takes broad effort on behalf of the body politic. Us.
Reaching out to your local representatives and communicating your position in support of legalizing recreational cannabis might be helpful. Before voting, determine who supports cannabis, and ask them what they plan to do in support of it if they make it into office. Vote with your voice, and inform your choices with hard data not glossy propaganda. Instagram is not news, but do slide into people’s DMs whom you find attractive, that’s what it’s for they tell me.
Money with sheet of marijuana close-up on background of one hundred dollars with an artificial ray of light, high quality image. Thematic photos of hemp and cannabis
Recreational cannabis is not far away from Texas, in fact there’s a market just above us in Colorado, and quite a bit of products diverted from other markets already here. Whether or not Texas decides to do what is best for the citizens of the state depends upon us. Or not. In all likelihood the Fed will legalize cannabis before Texas ever does, so advocate and vote, or don’t, it ultimately might not make any difference in the end. Just do you, live long and prosper, and maybe at some point you can legally buy a joint at a recreational dispensary in Texas to get over the futility of it all while allowing a moment in time to go up in smoke.
South Austin is known for its food trucks and funky vibe, tight-knit retail communities and lack of parking, and yeah, we’re the meat eaters. But a new wave has hit South Austin, and Austin as a whole: CBD dispensaries. Texas is still anxiously awaiting legalization. As of Sept 1, the availability of medical cannabis was widened and the dam was broke on the legal THC levels for medicinal purposes, a win for those suffering from PTSD and cancer. A step in the right direction.
For the time being, we must take our victories where we can. Hemp and CBD were made legal to grow and consume in the state of Texas in 2019. Industrious entrepreneurs eagerly seized the opportunity to fill a niche and pioneer the CBD startup.
Locally, we have seen the rise of a new market, and pandemic be damned! The owners of these boutiques have survived the long quarantine and are severely knowledgeable and, in many cases, you will find them on-site.
My first stop was American Shaman, where owner, Julien Lamb, greeted me in the well-lit, cozy showroom.
“Shamanism has roots in many cultures, in terms of healing and bringing knowledge back to help people. American Shaman is kind of a play on that. I think that’s the inception of the name.”
“We used to grow this stuff back in the 1800s, and make clothes out of it. And during WWII all the rope was made out of hemp for the Navy. In Australia they’re doing 3D printing of houses with hemp paste. It could replace a lot of industries but there’s a lot of investment in that pre-established stuff. We must have progress, progress by going back to what we used to do. I grew up with D.A.R.E and that kind of fear-based rhetoric is the opposite of progress. The lumber industry was huge against growing and cultivation of hemp because it’s a threat. Hemp has a 90-day growing cycle, you don’t have to chop down forests anymore. There’s been a hundred years of ‘reefer madness’ thanks to Harry Anslinger and the DEA. My favorite thing is, D.A.R.E. has actually sent out a message of, ‘hey, we’re sorry about all the things we said about marijuana’. That was actually posted on social media.”
“I grew up with D.A.R.E and that kind of fear-based rhetoric is the opposite of progress. The lumber industry was huge against growing and cultivation of hemp because it’s a threat. Hemp has a 90-day growing cycle, you don’t have to chop down forests anymore. ”
“I grew up with D.A.R.E and that kind of fear-based rhetoric is the opposite of progress. The lumber industry was huge against growing and cultivation of hemp because it’s a threat. Hemp has a 90-day growing cycle, you don’t have to chop down forests anymore.”
Hit Julien up to get some quality CBD products for you and your pet, cbdamericanshaman.com, 1901 W. Wm Cannon, Ste 109.
My next stop was Joy Organics, at 902 N. Lamar. Owner, Danielle Smith, was on hand in the chic boho boutique and excited to show me the array of products they have available, from tinctures, gummies and dog treats, to energy drinks and bath bombs.
A particular source of pride for Danielle is the launch of her own line of personal care products, Wild Bloom. “I grew up conservative, and I want people to be able to feel comfortable about expressing their needs to achieve sexual wellness.” Wild bloom is about inclusivity, and “facilitating a space of healing mind, body and spirit and empowering others to be their most authentic selves”. Danielle actually had a hand in formulating the Wild Bloom CBD Pleasure Gel, a water-based gel that is safe for use with condoms and toys.
Visit Joy Organics or joyorganics.com to put together a holiday gift set for your loved one.
Next was MaryJae, at 2110 S. Lamar Ste E. Jae Graham, owner and founder of Mary Jae, knows firsthand the positive effects cannabis can offer to those suffering from cancer. In 2000, Jae and her brother shared cannabis with their father, Larry, who was diagnosed with cancer and cirrhosis. When doctors questioned why Larry’s quality of life had increased so dramatically, Jae was reluctant to share the truth with them, fearing prosecution. After all, Hispanics are more than twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites. But Larry lived another 10 years.
This experience inspired Jae to “create a safe space where the elderly could come in, women, people of color, the queer community, everything that we are”. Jae says that people have read Larry’s story, and they actually come in to her store seeking help for themselves or a family member. Often, especially with older people, it is a moral issue. They think CBD will get them high. But as attitudes change and trends emerge, those in need will open their minds to the benefits of cannabis.
Stop in to Mary Jae, or check out their website, shopmaryjae.com.
This is the first in my series, “CBD Crawl” (think: “Pub Crawl”). Hopefully I can entice you to visit one of these shops soon!
As a child Josh Kesselman would watch his father’s trick- lighting a rolling paper on fire throwing it in the air and POOF! It would vanish. Josh became obsessed with rolling papers and amassed a large collection as a hobby. In college during the 90’s he researched a class project of the aspects of opening a small smoke store in Gainesville Florida. “I got an A then decided hey what about really opening an actual store.” Josh tells. But nobody would fund or rent to a hippie, Harley-riding wannabe entrepreneur who would attract a stoner clientele. Finally someone agreed to lease an old record shop for 400 dollars a month. Being poor Josh moved into a friend’s shed. He was quite blank on how to move forward. He employed his “Tom Sawyer” theory of questioning customers what they wanted to see displayed, and would promise to have the product within two weeks. He always did and satisfied his clientele. People wanted oddities and Josh found that selling rarities increased his margins.
Then Josh sold a bong to the daughter of a US Customs Official. The police closed the store, confiscating bongs, pipes, but not the rolling papers.
Josh relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, a mecca for counter-cultural smokers. Josh found a pro-marijuana movement in the city as Arizona has become an adult-use state now. He did well with a shop selling hi-end European rolling papers. A Spanish craftsman came on and they developed an all natural product, no bleach, no chalk, vegan, plant-based. Some detractors called them brown bags but Josh was unmoved. Persistence paid off and RAW was born. In a year the papers had flooded the local market.
He approached a mill and promised to purchase one million tons. Once again he put all his money in his mouth. In 2008 hip hoppers began singing about RAW papers, Currency, Wiz Khalif, then 2Chainz, Chance, Rae Sremmund, Action, Chief Keef, and of course the Raw Song itself. Next Dom Kennedy, Ozworld and RAW became the shit.
Then there’s Josh the celebrity himself. YouTube, social media, gatherings, conventions, podcasts. Giving to charity: forming the RAW Foundation for philanthropy. Water is Life Intentional and Wine to Water, Trees for the Future, CarbonFund.org, Home “Fur” Good (for homeless animals), and KIVA, a crowdfunding source for the underprivileged.
Josh fought the FDA in their Tobacco Bill which banned flavored blunts, and there was a huge consumer backlash. “I believe in humanity strongly” Josh says of how inspiring it was to see regular people standing up for thier rights. Today Josh Kesselman employs over 2000 people and has a net worth of 42million. RAW is the most popular rolling paper brand in the world.
In 2020 a Spanish company HBI International sold rolling papers four times to hired investigators that were of an inferior quality under the RAW label. Mark Giangiuli and his partner Dawn were defendants as alleged operators. A lawsuit claimed the couple sold papers likely manufactured in China and India, whereas the bulk of rolling papers are made in Alcoy Spain. Pay Pay was the first rolling company in the world, in the 1700’s cigarettes used to be rolled in leaves and even newspaper. Mark Giangiuli responded to press inquires blaming HBI calling them “thugs” and referred to a prosecuting attorney as an “asshole”. Dawn his wife also left seriously viscous voicemails for inquiring journalists. Cited in court documents Giangiuli repeatedly denied selling counterfeit products and counter-sued. HBI also counter-sued asking for profit-loss of 2 million in damages. Neither side responded to journalist inquiries. In late 1990’s HBI had invited CEO RAW Josh Kesselman to Spain for a business meeting. In an article called “The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers and Tommy Chong’s Big Jamaican Vacation” Kesselman admitted that he contacted a Niles from HBI.
Although the pandemic hurt sales RAW came out on top as the most health-conscious innovation in the smoker’s world. It’s hemp-based, burns slow, even, smooth and Josh reminds us “Blunts are not to be inhaled, just as cigars are not to be inhaled.”
While writing Hemp for Victory, I was presented with stories about hemp growing 30′ tall. However, there is scant, if any, record of this. Not that it isn’t true, or entirely lacking witness thereof. One account of super tall hemp that I found was in a German language pamphlet on hemp cultivation in Nepal from 1914. From personal observation, I found that most grew 6-10′ tall. The Chameleon variety that I saw in England, and all the rest that grew there, and in Europe at the time of my writing, were at best 8′ tall.
Lyster Dewey of the US Department of Agriculture in 1913 wrote that it grew 1-5 meters. I noted all of this and gave 25′ as a possible height.
Last month I got a call from Mina Hegaard telling me that in California, Wade Atteberry stated that the team at the Riverdale Hemp Factory had surpassed such figures.
Talking to Atteberry, I was able to confirm that. They had measured some at 24′ 1 5/8”. He also had measurements for the stems, some of which were up to 2 ½” across. Similar records of thick stems exist from Berti’s 1657 La Coltivazzione delle Canape and an 1839 record from Rev. Daniel Smith. Berti gives a thickness of 3 7/8” while Smith writes that it was over 3”.
With a credible record to work with, I picked his brain to find out how he they made a skyscraper out of Cannabis sativa. First, there was the variety:Yu Ma, a Chinese land race strain, that Larry Serbin of Hemp Traders had procured from his Asian trading partners.
Mike McGuire, Tom Pires, Patrick Flaherty and Tony de Veyra who were involved in this project, decided to use this as a learning experience; they sowed seed 4” apart in one plot, and 6” apart in another, then watched them shoot up in the San Joaquin heat. The thermometer there registered up to 108 degrees F, some days a constant of 106-108 degrees F. Irrigation did not exceed 17 inches of water per acre (note that cotton uses about 24-30” of water per acre).
The taller specimens were not however harvested at the end of the season, but left to continue their growth well after the season.
For some application, such as seed and CBD, this is counterproductive. The plant uses more energy, water and time to grow.
But for those selling the cellulose, this greatly multiplies the yield. The cellulose in the bast can be used for paper, cordage or textiles. I have been writing lately about paper, as this is a good start, giving the farmer a product that is not too demanding to grow, but for which there is constant demand. And not just bast, but hurds as well, in contrast to cordage and textiles, can be used for paper. Wade explained that the softer hurds are more absorbent, and while they might not make the best writing paper, they have applications in paper towels and art paper; and next time you squeeze the Charmin you just might be pressing on hurds. Dewey wrote about making hemp paper from hurds ca. 1917.
But Wade and the team at the Riverdale Hemp Factory were not selling this for pulp. They had higher ideals: textile production and building materials.
The bast that they got from these stalks received top grades. It will be shipped to China for processing, and we await more results.
This is a personal victory, or at least partial victory for me, as I have always been pushing for hemp to be grown and processed in the US. Minawear Hemp Clothing, which I founded with my sister in 1999, had to buy Chinese hemp, and I once complained about this to Serbin. Had the laws been different in the US at the time, he could have made these moves a long time ago. Now that the federal government gives each state the right to decide on the legality of hemp, we have made some headway.
With 25′ tall plants, we have much larger cellulose yields. For which I hope that we will have paper mills going full steam in the United States, and that the paper industry, which was in the last century much a part of the economy, employing over a million Americans, will be back in business.
Since Atteberry, Serbin, McGuire, Pires, Flaherty and de Veyra have focused on bast production for textiles, the hemp industry in the US has taken a step further than paper, which has been my focus in this and the two previous articles.
And while improving hemp’s market as a textile, they have at the same time improved hemp’s market as paper pulp, in that the hurds not made into shirts and trousers are in greater supply and more readily available to the paper mills.
Expect more jobs to be created as the Riverdale Hemp Factory and partners continue their research on industrial hemp. And no shortage of Charmin in the supermarket aisles
Be sure to follow us and Subscribe to our YouTube page for the updates when new podcasts are uploaded and new shows appear. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYCttR5Q4KIUTyi_UVdvcWg
Robot Pharmer: We began farming in September of 2018, immediately after our licenses were granted. The founders are Jeff Ely, Isaac Ramirez, Josh Wheat and Brandt Hamilton.
THR:Where are you located?
RP: Our farm and extraction lab are on a 20-acre property in Broken Bow, OK. The first of our 2 dispensaries, Robot Pharmer Dispensary, is located in Broken Bow as well. Broken Bow is in the southeast corner of the state near the borders of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Our 2nd location is in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We have a warehouse on the edge of downtown that has our Tulsa dispensary, as well as our cannabis kitchen, a processing lab and a small container grow for pheno hunting.
THR: Can you describe your growing/processing operation?
RP: We grow indoor and in greenhouses. We have 5 indoor grow buildings consisting of 40 lights each. We grow organically in raised beds using living soil. We have three 3000-sq. ft. greenhouses also grown in living soil.
As far as processing, we process our own product through hydrocarbon extraction. We began the extraction portion of the business about 1 year in (Sept 2019). We make concentrates such as diamonds, batter, budder, shatter and sauce. We also utilize these concentrates to make vape cartridges, RSO and edibles. Our live resin edibles are a favorite here in Oklahoma! We recently won 2nd place for edibles at the High Times Oklahoma Cannabis Cup for our Robot Pete’s Live Elixir. It is a live resin syrup that can be added to any drink or beverage. We have an amazing chef, Branden Bentley, who has taken marijuana edibles to another level! Chef Branden utilizes real fruit purées and other great ingredients to create the best-tasting edibles around. On top of the great flavor, we use live resin cannabis oil. Most cannabis edibles are made using THC distillate. The problem with THC distillate is that many of the other cannabinoids and terpenes are lost through the distillation process. Live resin is a full-spectrum cannabis oil. Whatever was in the strain of flower shows up in the live resin oil. This is why the effect of our edibles is more like the effect you feel from the actual flower.
THR: And what is the origin story of Robot Pharmer?
RP: Our partner, Josh Wheat, created the brand Robot Pharmer originally as a cannabis culture brand featuring great artwork, apparel, posters and stickers. His vision was to create a global cannabis brand to help de-stigmatize medical cannabis and the industry as a whole. He decided a character would be the perfect way to do this. That is when the idea of Robot Pete was born…a robot “pharmer” who could educate people on all aspects of medical cannabis. Once he came to this revelation, Josh was on a mission to find an artist that could pull off his vision. Eventually he came across John Ortiz, an artist out of Los Angeles, California, that had helped several mainstream streetwear brands get off the ground. With Josh’s vision and John’s artistic talent they created a series of art pieces that would eventually become the base of the company we have built here in Oklahoma.
When this opportunity came about in Oklahoma, the 4 of us decided to partner up and apply for licenses. Brandt owned a property with a couple buildings and a couple cabins. We applied for our 3 licenses and to our surprise we were approved for all 3! I say surprised because at the beginning it was taking a real shot in the dark. No one really knew if the state of Oklahoma was going to do what it said it would do and approve anyone who qualified or, because of the volume of applicants, only accept a certain number of us. Luckily for us it was the former. As soon as our licenses were approved Jeff and Isaac moved up from Austin, and Josh moved down from Seattle. Together, the 4 of us began building and growing. After our first crop was ready, Jeff and Josh drove all throughout the state meeting dispensary owners and getting our flower on to their shelves. That is how it all started. Today we are on the shelves of over 100 dispensaries in the state.
For more information, visit robotpharmer.com, or in person at 1212 E 1st St in Tulsa, or 208 S Park Dr in Broken Bow, OK.
On August 21, 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration (the “DEA”) published a rule regarding the scheduling of hemp and marijuana, effective immediately (the “Rule”). The cannabis community swiftly reacted with an interpretation that this Rule outlawed Delta-8 THC, the hemp industry’s new favorite cannabinoid. The impact is that if Delta-8 THC is, in fact, a Schedule I controlled substance, the threat of felonious criminal prosecution would thwart the commercial viability of this cannabinoid. We dug into the Rule and other materials, and we disagree with the “now illegal” conclusion. Instead, we theorize that so long as the Delta-8 is derived from cannabis that meets the definition of hemp, it does not appear to be illegal under the federal CSA and we don’t believe the DEA Rule alters this.
What Does the DEA Rule Say?
The DEA repeatedly stresses throughout the publication that the Rule’s purpose is to simply codify what was already changed via the 2018 Farm Bill: “This interim final rule merely conforms DEA’s regulations to the statutory amendments to the CSA that have already taken effect, and it does not add additional requirements to the regulations.” The Rule states there are only four conforming changes:
The definition of “Tetrahydrocannabinols” on Schedule I of the official “Schedule of Controlled Substances” (21 CFR 1308) is modified to carve out “any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that falls within the definition of hemp” (as defined in the 2018 Farm Bill). What does this mean?
Regardless of what any product label may say (i.e., “hemp” or otherwise), if a product has more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, it is a controlled substance. Regardless of being hemp-derived, if the derivative, extract or product has more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, it is a controlled substance. None of these changes, alters or affects the FDA’s jurisdiction over products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds. Naturally occurring THCs in cannabis are not controlled substances so long as they are at or under the 0.3% Delta-9 THC threshold. Any of those that are above the 0.3% Delta-9 THC threshold are controlled substances. Synthetically derived THCs are all controlled substances, regardless of THC content.
Essentially removes Epidiolex (and any generics the FDA may subsequently approve) from control in schedule V (21 CFR 1308). Also removes the requirement for import and export permits for Epidiolex (and any future generics). The definition of “Marihuana Extract” on Schedule I is modified to be limited to extracts “containing greater than 0.3 percent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on a dry weight basis.” What does this mean?
Regardless of whether the extract comes from hemp or marijuana, if it exceeds the 0.3% threshold, it is illegal. It is important to point out that this definition, even before the Rule, includes the following exception: “other than the separated resin (whether crude or purified) obtained from the plant.”
The Rule reiterates these changes were already mandated under the 2018 Farm Bill: “DEA’s regulatory authority over any plant with less than 0.3% THC content on a dry weight basis, and any of the plant’s derivatives under the 0.3% THC content limit, is removed as a result.”
What is Delta-8 THC and is it legal?
Our clients frequently ask us about the legality of Delta-8 THC and our view has been that the cannabinoid, if derived from hemp and the end product remains at or below Delta-9 THC, then the substance is likely legal, but to keep in mind that Delta-8 (when not derived from hemp) is on the controlled substances schedule and the government probably did not intend to create a pathway to legally get high from THC, so be prepared for the law to change at any moment. Delta-8 THC is one of hundreds of cannabinoids that are found in the cannabis plant. Delta-9 THC is the most widely known cannabinoid and causes a psychotropic reaction felt as an intoxicating “high.” Delta-8 THC, on the other hand, is nowhere near as well known and has been gaining in popularity over the last year, largely due to its alleged ability to have a substantially different and significantly less intoxicating but still mind-altering effect. There is also research dating back to 1975 regarding its potential for treating cancer and other studies exist showing various potential health benefits (see here, here and here).
As mentioned, the DEA does include Delta-8 THC on its list of controlled substances (updated August 2020) under “tetrahydrocannabinols,” but the 2018 Farm Bill expressly carved out “tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp” (See Section 12619(b) of the 2018 Farm Bill the very last provision of the entire bill). This carve out indicates any type of THC from a cannabis plant with Delta-9 THC at or below 0.3% is legal (at the federal level). It is important to note there may be states with more restrictive laws that do criminalize Delta-8 THC, even when derived from hemp. There may also be states where marijuana-derived Delta-8 THC is legal (but illegal at the federal level).
We don’t believe the USDA intended to create a mechanism for people to legally get high, but the focus on hemp has been the Delta-9 THC concentration, because of its known psychotropic effects. Delta-8 THC may have gone under the radar, but perhaps not. The DEA doesn’t schedule every substance that produces mind-altering effects, such as kratom.
Is hemp-derived Delta-8 THC synthetically derived? The DEA Rule published on Friday repeatedly states that it is merely conforming other statutes to comply with the 2018 Farm Bill so the laws are consistent. The language in the Rule causing uproar is this:
“The [2018 Farm Bill] does not impact the control status of synthetically derived tetrahydrocannabinols (for Controlled Substance Code Number 7370) because the statutory definition of “hemp” is limited to materials that are derived from the plant Cannabis sativa L. For synthetically derived tetrahydrocannabinols, the concentration of Δ9-THC is not a determining factor in whether the material is a controlled substance. All synthetically derived tetrahydrocannabinols remain schedule I controlled substances.” (emphasis added).
Where people are getting caught up is the term “synthetically derived.” Delta-8 is a phytocannabinoid naturally existing in the cannabis plant – it is organically derived. Its natural occurrence is too low to be extracted outright, but – and we do not claim to be chemists – it is our understanding there is an isomerization process that can take place to convert CBD to Delta- 8 THC. Isomerization is the transformation of one isomer into another, isomers being molecules with the same molecular formula, but having a different arrangement of the atoms in space. We don’t believe that isomerization converts a phytocannabinoid into a synthetic one in the manner “synthetic” is used by the DEA. The 2018 Farm Bill definition of hemp includes all “isomers” of hemp. Therefore, any isomer of a hemp plant is also hemp and, pursuant to the 2018 Farm Bill, does not fall under the Controlled Substances Act (the “CSA”).
We believe the reference to “synthetically derived” is referring to a man-made chemical, not a process by which someone at a lab isomerizes one organic molecule to another (i.e., CBD to Delta-8 THC). If the concept that any material formed from any sort of human controlled chemical action taking place means that material is “synthetically derived,” then that would mean all of the hemp-derived products that go through processing are synthetic, and that is simply not the case. This article does a good job explaining the differences between synthetically derived cannabinoids, biosynthesis, and plant-based extraction. The first two take place without the plant at all. It does not seem feasible to conclude that isomerization of a hemp-cannabinoid equates to material becoming “synthetically derived.”
Synthetic cannabinoids (“SCs”) that the DEA targets are products like Spice and K2 (recall several years ago when the market was proliferated with “fake weed”), which are synthesized in labs to mimic the biological effects of THC. This DEA Fact Sheet on K2/Spice says SCs “are not organic, but are chemical compounds created in a laboratory.” SCs are part of the designer drug market and are typically liquid agents applied on plant material to look like marijuana. They were initially developed by researchers decades ago to study effects on the endocannabinoid system (in the absence of being able to study real cannabis as it has been illegal), but began to enter the consumer market in the U.S. around 2008. The DEA has identified the chemical makeup of various SCs and added them to the list of controlled substances to try to thwart the illicit market, but some actors continue to modify chemical structures to create new unscheduled SCs as a loophole to the CSA. A history of SCs is laid out in a recent DEA temporary scheduling order. Understanding the background of SCs is important because of how the legislature intended the term as it used in the CSA and how the DEA has historically treated these inorganic, lab-created chemicals that attempt to mimic THC and skirt the CSA. We have also looked up several federal cases that discuss SCs and the bulk of those relate to products like Spice and K2, as mentioned above. We found no federal case law on Delta-8 THC.
What does the 2018 Farm Bill say?
In order to understand what the DEA is doing in this Rule, we need to first understand why they are doing it. That reasoning is found in the 2018 Farm Bill which, in part, defined “hemp” and carved it out of the definition of marijuana in the CSA. The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as follows: “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”
As mentioned above, the very last section of 2018 Farm Bill amends the CSA and expressly removes tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp” from the list of controlled substances. The 2018 Farm Bill included hemp-derived Delta-8 THC in the definition of hemp as part of the hemp plant and it removed hemp-derived Delta-8 THC from the list of controlled substances as a tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp.
The DEA Rule now follows suit in that it modifies the listing of “tetrahydrocannabinols” on the Schedule of Controlled Substances by adding the following stipulation: “Tetrahydrocannabinols does not include any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that falls within the definition of hemp set forth in [the 2018 Farm Bill].”
This reiterates the notion that so long as the 0.3% Delta-9 THC threshold is met, then the material is hemp. It follows that any derivative THC within such material (so long as the Delta-9 THC concentration is at or below the 0.3% on a dry weight basis) is also hemp and therefore not a controlled substance. The Rule, in modifying this definition brings the Schedule of Controlled Substances in line with what the 2018 Farm Bill mandated.
Final Thoughts:
Delta-8 THC is THC – it is not a lab-created substance with a chemical structurally altered to mimic its own biological effects. Delta-8 THC is organically derived and is the substance it is intended to be. Delta-8 THC has a substantially different effect on the body than Delta-9 THC that has value in and of itself that has shown promise on many medical fronts. Nonetheless, consumers should be aware of any product being consumed, especially those that are not clearly regulated. There are many ways to process cannabis extracts, some of which use solvents that are dangerous if consumed, so it is crucial for end-products to be tested by a reliable third-party for harmful ingredients, including residual solvents, and have accurate certificates of analysis available.
In Hemp Indus. Ass’n v. DEA (357 F.3d 1012, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 1846), a well-known case from 2004 regarding DEA’s treatment of THC in hemp, the court concluded the DEA could not regulate unscheduled drugs without following proper procedures to do so (a great summary of that case can be found here). The DEA Rule from Friday repeatedly states it is not changing any laws, so even if it wants to come down on hemp-derived Delta-8 THC and re-schedule it, this Rule is not the appropriate avenue to do so.
It is for these reasons we do not believe the DEA Rule altered the legality of hemp-derived Delta-8 THC. However, that doesn’t mean the DEA isn’t trying wrangle it back in or isn’t looking for someone to make an example out of. Being the example, even if the end result is a win, would likely be a lengthy, expensive and potentially traumatizing experience. Proceed accordingly.
Despite the immediate effectiveness of the Rule, comments are being accepted through October 20, 2020. Providing comments during a government rule-making process is a great opportunity to make your voice heard and effect change, and the only way you would have standing to make a legal challenge to the Rule later. If you think the DEA should clarify its position on Delta-8 THC or the “work in progress hemp extract” issues that need to be addressed (another area of significant concern laid out in this article by attorney Rod Kight), make sure to send incomments. Details on how to do so can be found in the Rule, and our attorneys can assist your business with crafting them.
THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE, SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS LEGAL ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON IN PLACE OF CONSULTING WITH A QUALIFIED ATTORNEY PRIOR TO TAKING ANY ACTION. NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED BY ANY READING, USE OR REPUBLICATION OF THIS ARTICLE. THE THEORIES PUT FORTH HEREIN ARE STRICTLY NOVEL IN NATURE AND HAVE NOT BEEN TESTED IN A COURT OF LAW.
One Texas cannabis activism group has amassed quite a following in their state and has even caught the attention of national players.
As the Deputy Director of the Texas Cannabis Collective, what exactly is the TCC is a question people have been asking me recently. The easy answer is that it is a project aimed at changing the cannabis laws in Texas and doing so by distribution of information for the voting public about the state of cannabis affairs in Texas. The true technical answer is something much longer.
The Texas Cannabis Collective came to be a thing in 2016 by Austin Zamhariri
out of Dallas, Texas. At first the concept started as a Facebook page. As time went on Austin slowly got a website together with a few friends in the cannabis activism space. From there the site started publishing articles about their experiences and views on the Texas legislature. The first article to go up was in late December of 2018 by Austin.
At the beginning of the site’s history Austin touched on things such as the fact that one could be arrested for possessing CBD oil at the time, veterans weighing on medical marijuana and approaches of legislative leadership to cannabis bills. The first 6 months really took off from the 86th legislative session of 2019 providing plenty of information on the changing landscape of Texas. The federal farm bill had just passed towards the end of 2018 and gave Texas room to grow with a new hemp program. Austin’s current wife Sarah and current writer Josh Kasoff were pumping out articles with Austin.
Toward the end of session El Paso NORML director Colt Demorris started contributing as well. Colt brought a distinct view from west Texas during his prime time of writing with
TCC. El Paso being one of the first cities to bring prohibition of cannabis to reality, Colt shined a light on the topic in the town, and was able to give an insight to another state. Colt works at a dispensary across the state line in New Mexico and was able to help Texas patients get the info needed for out of state patients to participate in the NM program. This is also the district which state Rep Joe Moody covers and DeMorris was able to occasionally get insights to legislative goals with cannabis.
June of 2019 was when Jesse joined the TCC as a writer. Jesse had been writing about the legislative side of things on his own site and was invited to write for the TCC. It’s almost the same thing for him writing for the Texas Hemp Reporter.He started with writing about how we would have to research how to objectively measure impairment from cannabis and how bills on a federal level were moving along. After several months of writing for TCC, Jesse became the web administrator for the website and did a complete redesign it. Then, roughly about the start of COVID in 2020 saw Jesse also take on the role of Managing Editor.
In June of 2020 the TCC launched its own social network community called Community.txcannaco.com. At the time Facebook and other social networks were facing heavy scrutiny from selling user data. On top of that, even to this day Facebook and its subsidiaries along with Twitter and the like are not fond of allowing users to speak openly about their cannabis consumption.
The rules of the software providers for the social network were that no personal information about members and no posted information by members could be shared or sold to a third party. That community is still up and running to this day and serves also as a backup if Facebook decides to nuke the scene, which isn’t uncommon with cannabis pages.
TCC has remained active on reporting the smokable hemp ban case from its beginnings and reported heavily on the 2021 Texas 87th legislative session. Whether it was the filing of bills testimony at the capitol, or even floor hearings, TCC was reporting in person pretty much every step of the way. It even got to the point where national reporting site Marijuana Moment was following the TCC live streams at the capitol to gain information on what was transpiring.
In June of 2021 TCC decided to officially become a non-profit organization. TCC had officially started lobbying within offices alongside the likes of TXNORML and Texans for Responsible Marijuana policy at the capitol. The organization wanted to make the paperwork official and become as transparent as possible, so that process began to raise funds to create that official entity on paper.
TCC officially held its first meeting on a monthly basis, in June of 2021. The second meeting was the official kickoff party to Lucky Leaf Dallas 2021, and recently held its third meeting on August 11. TCC will be taking a break for the month of September as uncertainty has arisen given the resurgence of COVID and mask mandates in Dallas County. It’s possible that the next monthly meeting will be a virtual meeting.
TCC hopes that it will be able to not just inform constituents from this point forward, but lawmakers in the state of Texas as well. IT wishes to put businesses that are working towards creating a proper business environment for both businesses and consumers in front of the public and doing alongside other publications and activist groups within the great (it’s a big place) state of Texas. TCC plans to launch its own podcast titled Lonestar Collective within the near future.
Anybody wishing to find TCC online can find them on Facebook at @txcancollective Instagram @txcannabiscollective and Twitter @txcannaco.
The Texas Hemp Reporter this November will be blooming itself across the Lone Star State in time for Harvest Season. With the recent expansion of Houston Texas market to receive the September edition, the Austin TX based Cannabis publication is headed north and south this November adding in two more metros totaling over a 1000 smoke shops in Texas. Dallas and San Antonio will begin receiving the free magazine in area CBD stores and smoke shops this holiday season. The expansion is a good thing for the growing Texas cannabis and Hemp market. With recent public awareness about new legislation and readily available medicines , cannabis has a growing fan base with fellow Texans.
The Texas Hemp Reporter is expanding the magazine across the state and will be offering a subscription base option for growers and fans of the industry publication living in more rural areas of the Lone Star State.
The producers of the magazine also host a popular podcast in the Texas arena , The Texas Hemp Show discuses legislative concerns, banking challenges, and often interviews business professionals in the Hemp space around the State. Tommy Chong, Sid Miller, Freeway Rick Ross, and recently Cheech Marin appeared on the podcast that also currently airs on local Talk Radio News Radio 590 KLBJ.
For more information or to advertise your business with the radio show or the magazine reach out to Publisher and Host Russell Dowden at 512-897-7823 or email [email protected] for more details on how to be a guest on the show or have your business profiled in the magazine.
Eddie Velez: Our hemp farm is centrally located in Brady, the heart of Texas.
THR: When did you begin farming?
Eddie: I’m not your typical farmer and I had no farming experience until recently. In my previous life, I spent 15 years responding to disasters across the country, with over 10 of those years with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region 6, in Denton, TX.
In early spring of 2020, my wife and I quit our careers, cashed out our retirement, and dove headfirst into the Texas hemp industry.
THR: Is hemp your primary crop? And what do you produce (pulp, CBD, textiles)?
Eddie: Hemp is our primary and only crop. We cultivate award-winning hemp flower. In December of 2020, we won “Best hemp flower in Texas,” at the Taste of Texas Hemp Cup. Additionally, we won 6 out of 9 categories at the cup, to include: “highest CBD, best indoor, most pungent, most ripe, and final presentation.”
We produce premium CBD and CBG hemp flower.
The Awards Eddie and Oak Cliff took home in the first Annual Taste of Texas Hemp Awards in Wimberley last December.
THR: Do you offer any specialty products you would like to talk about (organic body care, construction materials)?
Eddie: Cultivating Cannabigerol (CBG) has been a great success for us. CBG is still new to many people and offers a great alternative to CBD. Unlike CBD, CBG interacts more directly with your body by binding with your CB1 and CB2 receptors and typically has no THC, which opens the door to many clients wanting to use hemp products without the THC.
Another specialty we have but not necessarily a product, we like to educate and inform our clients about each of our products’ terpene profile and potential beneficial use.
THR: Can you describe your growing/processing operation?
Eddie: We are a family and veteran-owned Texas hemp company. We operate a boutique hemp farm, focusing on cultivating exceptional hemp genetic products for your wellness & culinary needs. Our farm consists of 6,000 sq ft of greenhouse growing space and a 2,000 sq ft indoor climate controlled dry house. We did a lot of research and visited hemp farms across the country, and we noticed that drying was essential in producing premium hemp flower.
THR: What are your hopes or expectations for the future of hemp farming?
Eddie: We involve our children in everything we do with the hemp farm – from planting seeds to the finished product. We hope to instill the knowledge and experience with them, so they can continue to redefine cannabis in Texas.
THR: How have the challenges you encounter every day helped you become a better farmer?
Last year was our first grow and everything was a challenge, from building the greenhouses to go-to-market strategies, to delivering our products. We’ve asked a lot of dumb questions over the past year which has helped navigate us through those farming challenges. Building a network and fostering positive relationships has helped us tremendously.
Lamont Ratcliff and his team are leading the pack in implementing the recent changes of the Texas Compassionate Use Program through a different segment of his practice at Houston area Wellness Pain & Associates clinics. The Texas Medical Marijuana Doctors was birthed 4 years ago out of a desire to become more educated and politicized in the cause and through alignment with the right organizations across the legislative sessions helped shift the conversation in the state and now taking action.
Ratcliff has served as the owner and director of Wellness Pain & Associates for 18 years providing outpatient chronic pain management to patients primarily in motor vehicle accidents and on the job injuries through various modalities. The company grew from 2 employees initially to 16 to include on site physicians, nurse practitioners, licensed physical and massage therapists, and registered nurses to help facilitate medical services in injury rehabilitation for acute injuries. As their ability to offer alternative treatment services grew, so did the practice under their Chief Medical Director Dr. Mark McBath, an oncologist with MD Anderson for over 25 years. Dr. McBath is among one of the first state approved medical marijuana physicians in Texas who can recommend medical marijuana to qualifying patients under the program. Lamont Ratcliff said of the new choice, “we have been very aggressive in informing patients that they have the power to choose alternative methods to increase their quality of life” and they will be able to do so under his direction next month.
The latest expansions of the T.CUP program that occurred in this year’s legislative session go into effect September 1st which adds qualifying medical conditions to those with PTSD and full qualification for all cancer patients, not just those with terminal diagnoses. This is now in addition to qualifications for those with epilepsy and seizure disorders, autism, Multiple Sclerosis or spasticity, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, and ALS.
All 3 of his locations – Southwest, metro/downtown, and east side – are booked through October operating 4 day weeks full capacity with limited room available for emergency appointments. Their current patient demographic is about 60% cancer patients, 20% autism, and 20% PTSD with interest coming from far beyond the Houston metro area. As they understand the need for convenience to serve the unrepresented areas of the state, Lamont Ratcliff and his team have worked hard to create a very accessible and fluid process for appointments. Their centralized phone number – (713) 659-HEMP (4367) – is still the best way to obtain an immediate appointment but they also offer additional QR codes and kiosks around the city to not only pre-qualify patients and schedule appointments but educated the public as well. This unique option sets them apart from other physicians allowing a presence for the practice beyond their physical locations.
RYAN POPPE / TEXAS PUBLIC RADIO Compassionate Cultivation, the second medical marijuana dispensary in Texas, is set to open in early
The group also aims to educate patients on qualifications as well, as many physicians are still very trepidatious with regards to helping qualify for alternative treatments. If the patient already has a diagnosis, TMMD requests supporting documentation from the treating physician. If a diagnosis does not exist, they are trained to ask questions based on the symptoms present and grant qualification where valid for patients needing a more comprehensive diagnosis.
The group also offers extensive continuation of care. The initial visit allows the recommendation with respect to the strain of cannabis best suited to their needs. 6-8 weeks following that is a follow up to review the medication, response to it and any changes if needed and once those are made the next appointment is scheduled in a year.
The T.CUP program is regulated by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Upon entry into the program, the patient receives an official qualifying letter stating that they have been evaluated and that their cannabis use is medically necessary as an alternative treatment. This protects them in any situations where the legality might be otherwise questioned. All of the information is kept in a DPS controlled registry and the patient portal is accessible anywhere needed in a licensed dispute in the state of Texas by law enforcement, or an employer.
The TXMMD team is spearheading this endeavor alongside Lamont Ratcliff in Houston but have plans to quickly expand into 2 offices in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area this October. Ratcliff stresses the need already for politicians to understand the volume of calls from small towns in outlying counties who really need access to this method of care as they are flying in for assistance already. As long as a patient is a Texas resident, no geographic restrictions exist and their metropolitan presence makes that a possibility but they still plan to push for better accessibility in the underrepresented markets for those patients in dire need of an alternative that will work.
“Our main goal is to increase the quality of life of these patients who have already dealt a tough blow in life whether it is cancer, autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, ALS, Parkinson’s etc. If we are able to do anything to assist in their quality of life, that is what we are here for.”
As legislation slowly meets education with cannabis reform in Texas, grassroots proponents for this alternative medicine continue to push the gap closer together and bridge the misrepresentation of the many facets hemp and cannabis can bring this great state.
Hemp has been used for paper for some 2,000 years, the use of wood pulp is a new concept that has been causing economic and environmental chaos.
At the time of this writing paper in the US is shipped in from southeast Asia, incurring transport costs and adding to the loss of forests. A hemp paper industry in America would provide jobs and lessen the damage to the environment; it would also produce stronger paper, as the hemp papers, being long, interlock and form a more lasting paper.
In my previous article I noted that “cellulose is the most abundant molecule in agriculture”; indeed, it is the basis of our entire economy. It is both the cheapest substance and the most expensive, if one tallies the price of just one fraction of a gram that brought in over $9million at Sothebys. Of course, that was a rare example of a purchase – the 1c Magenta postage stamp from British Guyana, which has passed hands from a boy to a nobleman to a murderer.
But most cellulose products do not have such an illustrious history. They simply go from the farm to the factory to the distributor to the store to the consumer to the rubbish bin.
But in the course of this, livelihoods are made. Jobs are created, and we use pieces of cellulose to transact all of this. We call these pieces money. Some are wont to quote that it does not grow on trees. Ironically, it does. Or at least it is made from trees.
Or most of it is. The US uses about 6% hemp in the greenback, as this plant produces not only a long strand, but the strands fibrillate better than that of other plants, thus creating a more integrated.
Thus our money comes from trees, and in the best-case scenario, trees take seven years to mature. Bowater used to have much of the southeast US covered in pines for this purpose.
Now the trees are grown in southeast Asia, and Americans do not produce their own paper. Each person uses about 200 lbs. The nations needs thus 35 million tons of paper each year.
Which could come from farms in the heartland. And it could be produced once again in America.
This very subject was given thought even before the present crisis and state of dependency on foreign supplies. Government record from 1910-1916 shows
a number of trials conducted by the USDA on paper production which included a study of hurds as a raw material – hurds are 35-70% cellulose, whereas the bast is 70-77% cellulose.
Usually hurds are left to rot as farm waste, but if put to use, with thousands of pounds per acre produced in a season, the economic reality is not hard to see.
The US needs to secure not only paper supplies but water – and that is another reason for growing hemp. Hemp grown for paper not only can reduce the dependency on trees, but also water use in areas where crops such as cotton are grown. The USDA estimates that 9,461,000 acres of cotton were harvested in the US in 2011—a year in which more than one-third of the nation’s crop was wiped out by severe drought, with farmers in Texas and Oklahoma forced to abandon more than 5 million acres, more than half of what they planted.
I will leave the reader with those statistics and ask that they do the math, while contemplating that same acreage under cultivation for paper. The hemp uses less water and less pesticides. It can be used to create an entire industry, about which we will be studying more of in my next installment.
The moment I went from being a cannabis consumer to a cannabis brand owner, everything shifted. It’s like picking the red pill vs the blue pill, pick the blue pill and you can stay unaffected, unaware, and in contented ignorance. But pick the red pill and you are in for a truthfully rude but rewarding awakening.
That’s exactly how I felt when I launched RESTART CBD in 2018. I was now confronted with having to pick, and once I did, there was no going back.
Growing up I was a cannabis consumer. I was curious, passionate, and quite frankly, a regular. Austin, Texas had some effect on that being the live music capitol that it is. But I was also shielded. While marijuana wasn’t formally legal, our town is known for its relaxed stance on the plant.
Yes, legalization was a trending topic, but I knew it would be a long-shot before Texas got its head into the game. Plus, up until founding my own company, I had employers, and didn’t want to get myself tangled up in cannabis laws and regulations. It seemed daunting to even consider where to begin.
And then in 2015, as a pedestrian, I was hit by a car. I fractured my pelvis in two places and turned to cannabis as medicine. It soothed me and helped me heal, and in particular CBD was the active cannabinoid I accredited a lot of my pain relief to.
So when we launched RESTART CBD, my history with both personal appreciation as well as personal recovery from this plant was the foundation for our brand. But I didn’t go into it thinking this is how I’m going to change the world.
I did, however, know that by telling my story, I could help impact someone else who was on the fence about cannabis. I had short term vision in what would turn into a long term pursuit.
Quickly my one-on-one conversations with consumers began to multiply. I was watching this industry unfold before my eyes, right here in my home state, and I was a helping hand in that development.
I remember thinking early on in 2019, after we had been in business for a few months, wondering what the regulatory process was like and considering how to get involved. I determined that instead of waiting and being reactionary to the industry, I would be proactive and participatory in how things were rolling out.
Now that I was self employed and embarking on this emerging industry in not only Texas, but really in our nation, I decided I would take the red pill and journey into the unknown.
The work that I and others are doing in the industry is extremely important and perhaps this resonates with you as well.
The point that I’m trying to make is we are just in the beginning stages of a very turbulent endeavor. We’ve had smokable bans thrown at us, FDA warnings sent to prevent deviating from the law, and legislative sessions that seem like they’re going to make history for better and for worse all at the same time.
We have also made incredible discoveries of new and emerging cannabinoids. Hemp’s federally legal status has allowed for more cannabis related research on it’s long term effects relating to treatments and diseases.
In my short but deep time in the industry, I’ve learned a lot from running a cannabis business.
There is so much to unpack and understand. The nuances of the industry could keep you up at night. It can be overwhelming, but can also be rewarding. Both for the good and the bad guys.
There will be people who want to make a quick buck, game the system, and exploit cannabinoids to unassuming consumers. I see it happening every day. They exist and will continue to exist. You will have to navigate around them.
But there will also be people who are dedicated to making genuine change in this industry. And I’m a big believer in making the impact in your own backyard. So while it may feel like you’re taking on a mountain, you really just have to focus on your next best step.
Look, I’m not the enforcement agency. I’m truly just a die hard Texan who seeks to see her state have proper cannabis laws. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope for a future where I would have access to continue to sell, work, and educate in an industry that I love.
The hard truth is, we don’t know what the future holds. We can’t project how the politics and policies that govern this plant at a state and federal level will go. But we can sure as hell pull a chair up and ask a lot of questions.
It starts with you.
There are some amazing organizations who are truly dedicated to helping make change happen. I highly recommend getting involved with as many as you can.
Texas NORML has been a key resource from the beginning for me, in keeping me both aware of what is happening, as well as providing me with a path towards action. Another organization that has recently emerged is the Texas Hemp Coalition. As a business, I am in business for the consumer, and as part of that I need to band together with people who are motivated by similar reasons.
Working with both organizations has been integral in helping me be able to leave a mark in an industry that has given me so much.
We can make change, but we have to make the choice to do so first.
Which pill will you take?
This column is an extension of the To Be Blunt podcast, new episodes every Monday at tobeblunt.buzzsprout.com, and I’d love to personally connect with you on IG @theshaydatorabi.
