Dogs. We feed them, love them and keep them healthy. But what about the things we can’t control? A thunderstorm or the sound of fireworks outside of your house could make for a frenetic evening for your pet. You want to do whatever you can to soothe them.
Tracy Fleming, owner and operator of Beautiful Me Skincare Studio in Austin, tells us about her best friend, Snoodles.
“We got Snoodles when he was just barely old enough that you can adopt them. He was not even a foot long, you put him on the ground and he would literally JUMP over grass that was 3 inches long, like he was a little rabbit. He’s ¾ long-haired chihuahua and ¼ Shih Tzu. He is so sweet, he loves everybody, even children. We give him 50 power-kisses every day on his cheek and he’s not disturbed, he just kind of rolls his eyes. I was a single mother and I was looking for a dog. My daughter wanted a chihuahua she could dress up because we had just watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua. When we got him, his name was Snickerdoodle. He was the only boy left and he had the most personality of all of them.
“Snoodles freaks out when there’s thunder, lightning, storms, any kind of loud noises, even dings and beeps. Anything like that freaks him out, he shakes like a leaf! I mean, I’m talking tongue out, drooling, eyes completely dilated, shaking, crazy. We use a hemp extract from HealthQuesthemp.com, owned by Austinite Brendan Findlay. What’s cool is that they do CO2
extraction and they have a 3rd party that tests the profile and potency of all of the products. Their farm is in Colorado and everything is grown without pesticides. He really benefited from the product. We were under full-cannon, fireworks, holding him, and he wasn’t even shaking! That was when I knew that stuff was special. We just put a few drops of the liquid tincture on his paw and he licks it up. It takes about 10-15 minutes to kick in and then he starts chilling out and relaxing. What’s great about the tincture is that you can put it on any type of dog treat, or in their food or water, but putting it on their paw guarantees that they’re going to consume it. It’s a natural reaction for the dog to want to get it off by licking it.
“He’s 11 years old now. He lives with four cats who clean him, and he takes care of their ears, it is so cute! He is happy and very spoiled, of course!”
The Spring Edition of the Texas Hemp Reporter profiles Texas Lab Testing that we recommend , a History of the 420 in pop-culture, The East Austin CBD Crawl, CBD & Pets, meet the new faces of the Texas Legislature. Will a “Changing of the Guard” improve cannabis law reform in the Lone Star State? Also banking and Hemp, Actor Jason Gann of “Wilfred”, Dispensary Etiquette, the top 10 labs you should know about in Texas and more.
3THE NEW ISSUE WILL BE AVAILABLE ACROSS THE STATE AFTER APRIL 3RD
Business Conference and Investment Summit March 24
Join us for the NoCo Hemp Expo Business Conference and Investment Summit — an exclusive one-day event featuring company founders and CEOs, industry leaders and experts, qualified and accredited investors, analysts, and financial professionals. At the Summit, we’ll cover the current hemp business and investment landscape, insights on trends and strategies, the global market, and evaluating opportunities for the future.
Farm Symposium & Ag Tech Forum March 25
The NoCo Farm Symposium & Ag Tech Forum will present what’s next for hemp farmers and is dedicated to helping educate producers about the agribusiness of hemp and cannabis-related agriculture. Topics will range from regenerative-organic techniques, soil health, genetics, harvesting and processing innovations, new technology and equipment, updated regulations and compliance rules from the USDA, FDA, state departments of agriculture and other issuing authorities, and more.
The WAFBA Awards of Excellence Dinner and Other Special Networking Events
This year’s NoCO8 will debut a new WAFBA Awards of Excellence Dinner on March 24 to recognize hemp industry founders and innovators of distinction. In addition, NoCo8 will present a Kickoff Conversation and Welcome Reception on March 23. Capping off the event, NoCo8 producer Colorado Hemp Company invites all attendees to its 10th Anniversary Celebration & After Party!
TPS Lab, a mainstay of the Rio Grande Valley and the farming industry for over eight decades, wants to help hemp and marijuana growers achieve success and higher yield of crops. TPS Lab President Frank Schultz explains the importance of research and patience as many new farmers and entrepreneurs dip their toes into this emerging field.
Texas Hemp Reporter: How did you begin in the field of soil testing, can you give us a bit of your origin story?
TPS Lab: The lab was established in 1938 by Dr. George Schultz (no relation). I am the third-generation president and conservator of an 80-plus year-old institution, starting as a client in the early 2000s.
THR: You have clients all over the globe, but here in Texas, what would you say is the single, biggest challenge a farmer will face in terms of crop health?
TPSL: Education. We often get calls from people who say they are interested in growing hemp but it emerges during the conversation that they have done little to no research into the plant, its unique requirements, possible markets or the industry in general. Unfortunately, we have seen and heard firsthand accounts from people who lost millions of dollars due to lack of experience or faulty research. Some “bet the farm” and lost it.
Even experienced growers, from gardeners to well-established farmers, often do not appreciate the costs, infrastructure required and especially the labor-intensive nature of growing CBD industrial hemp. (We saw a reduction in hemp acres grown with our clients in 2020 from 2019, largely due to the realization of the labor required.) Additionally, experienced growers of other crops are accustomed to few changes in plant varieties and genetics year after year.
However, new hemp genetics are being developed continuously to enhance oil percentages and characteristics, and suitability for specific growing conditions and regions. This means that a grower must constantly be on the lookout for new varieties to better suit his growing conditions and accommodate dynamic market demands for the latest desired CBD isolates.
A BIG mistake some of our clients made was in retaining marijuana consultants to advise them on growing industrial hemp. With the understanding that genetics is where it all starts and is key to the capacity of cannabinoid production and composition (or lack thereof), the growing practices for each are quite opposite in several ways:
Money bag on the background of agricultural crops in the hand of the farmer. Agricultural startups. Profit from agribusiness. Lending and subsidizing farmers. Grants and support. Land value and rent.
● With marijuana, the varietal genesis is typically C. indica L., due to its penchant for producing high levels of THC. Plant stress is purposely induced during the middle and latter stages of development to further stimulate the production of THC. This is done by limiting fertilization, water, light or causing any other factor to induce stress.
● C. sativa L. is the varietal genesis of industrial hemp and typically has a lesser penchant for producing THC. However, THC production is still stimulated by plant stress. Accordingly, it is essential to limit stress in order to limit THC content to 0.3% or less to have expectations of a harvestable crop – even for sativa.
The good news is that we can do much to limit stress and encourage production of CBD by providing balanced nutrition at critical times during plant development and to at an extent, managing water. We can even compensate, to degrees, for other stressful conditions such as weather. With marijuana, stress is encouraged.
But there’s more: Because you get a harvestablecrop does not mean that you get a sellablecrop! Over the past several years, we’ve seen processor’s demands increase for percentage of CBD and even for particular isolates of CBD (CBG, CBN, etc.) – and now, ∆-8 THC (in Texas). The appropriate genetics, stress management, cultivation practice, and correct, timed nutrition and water are the answer.
THR: Can you describe your operation in Edinburg?
TPSL: We are a consulting agronomic laboratory. We’ve been in the same location for decades and have current technology analytical instruments. We are open to the public and encourage growers large and small to bring in their samples or visit with one of our consultants to get answers to their toughest questions.
The main and unique features of the lab are its proprietary methods of soil and compost testing, emulating the way plants take up nutrients in any soil type and calibrated against actual plant uptake (Plant Natural® Soil & Compost Tests); its Ask The Plant® plant sap analyses based on proprietary plant nutrition standards and its What’s In Your Water Becomes Part Of Your Soil® irrigation and spray water analyses for quality management.
Test results alone have little meaning to most growers, so our main product is the experience and ability to interpret lab data and provide our clients with specific interpretations and recommendations for their specific crop and their particular growing circumstances. Accordingly, every test and recommendation is custom and written by a senior consultant – no “shotgun” approach.
THR: Is Plant Natural Innovations your company as well? Did you formulate the CSL+ Organic Fertilizer?
TPSL: Plant Natural® Innovations was established as an independent company to provide formulations of some recently-available and highly-beneficial products which are not generally recognized by growers. The lab’s most senior consultants proposed, developed and designed CSL+ and other organically- based products based upon their decades-long experience in soil health and plant nutrition. Product lines will expand as development continues.
THR: Can you tell us about your “Ask the Plant” program?
TPSL: The lab began testing plant sap (petioles) in 1964, making it an early pioneer in private-lab plant testing. One of my predecessors, Dr. Albin Lengyel of Phoenix, Arizona, started testing plant sap in cotton in the late ’40s and later extended it to many other crops around the country. Another legacy from Dr. Lengyel is the Plant Natural® Soil & Compost Tests.
Originally, Ask The Plant® (ATP) was intended to be a season-long “dynamic” nutrition program for growers to allow them to apply appropriate nutrients in appropriate amounts at critical stages of crop development for best ROI by periodic in-season testing, based upon the physiology of the crop. However, we get many calls sometime during the season from growers who are having serious problems and need help immediately.
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
Accordingly, much of ATP has evolved into “911” calls concerning physical crop damage (such as by wind, sandstorm or hail) or sudden manifestations of insects, disease or nematodes. We have had remarkable success in guiding our clients past these, and on to doing well by the end of the season.
By the way, HEMPlan® is a comprehensive, specialized and extended version of ATP, exclusively for industrial hemp growers, based, in part, upon a decade of experience with Canadian growers, plus decades-long experience in other exotic and high-value crops around the world.
Again, HEMPlan®, as is ATP, is intended to be a pre-season-to-harvest program, but as with ATP, we get calls from growers sometime into the season about problems they’re having. Unhappily, some call us too late for us to be able to salvage them.
THR: Do you have a success story you’d like to share of a farm you’ve been able to help?
TPSL: Yes. Some years ago, we were working with sugar beet, potato and mustard (plus other) growers in the Pacific Northwest – fairly high-value crops at the time. They had been relying on state extension agents and their local co-ops for advice for years. And it had stopped working – to the extent that several generations-old family farms were facing soon bankruptcy.
Our VP of Research, formerly a tenured professor at the University of Maine, thence a Senior Research Scientist with the USDA – ARS, Weslaco, went on a field trip, together with our COO, to visit with some of our clients up there. He told me that as a [cloistered] academic, it was the first time he ever visited with people who were the end-recipients of and directly impacted by his research.
One day, he was sitting in the kitchen of a farmer, whose farm was in dire straits, when his wife leaned over and whispered, “please help us!”, our VP said that he suddenly realized that what he did seriously impacted real people. Before, it had been simply academic.
This farm, and one other facing bankruptcy, and others did well by the end of the season.
It wasn’t magic – it was simply applying long-established agronomic principles combined with recent discoveries which seem to have been ignored or forgotten by the institutions.
THR: What do you enjoy most about your work?
TPSL: I really enjoy hearing the success stories and how we help improve the clients’ circumstances – sometimes even to the extent of saving their farms.
All considered, it’s not a bad way to live.
For more information on TPS Lab’s custom plant, soil, water and other testing and consulting services, visit TPSLab.com or call 956-383-0739. They can also be visited at 4915 W Monte Cristo Rd, Edinburg, Tx 78541.
For more information on Plant Natural® Innovations plant nutrition products, visit Plant-Natural.com or call 956-380-4050.
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.
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.”
Over 1,000 tickets were sold to the MJ Unpacked Benefit Concert featuring the Blues Brothers & Sacred Hearts with 100% of the net proceeds donated to Last Prisoner Project.
Over $70,000 was raised to benefit Last Prisoner Project through the concert and event action.
Items were auctions from the Event floor that were donated by Green Broz, Cova Wellness Center, and Cannabis BPO.
Two individuals donated $12,000 each to get on stage and sing Soul Man. They were both part of the GrowGeneration team.
Sponsors of the concert were GrowGeneration, Bubba Kush Wellness, LabWare Inc, Bhang Corporation, RedBird Bioscience, Budler, Planet Canit, Symphony Grow, and Ascend Wellness.
Next Event
New York CIty, May 4th & 5th, New York Hilton Midtown
About MJ Unpacked
All it takes is a spark. Premiering October 21 & 22 2021, MJ Unpacked is the first cannabis event of its kind that places passionate cannabis retailers and THC CPG brands at the center of it all, with unique opportunities to connect, collaborate and access capital. In a newly imagined format, executives are free to learn from fellow professionals, explore expansion opportunities and prepare to be competitive in a national market. MJ Unpacked is produced by Jage Media, Inc. For more information, please visit: https://mjunpacked.com
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.
Texas Hemp Reporter: Who is Happy Karma Hemp? Can you tell us a bit of your origin story?
Laran Snyder: I started my business to be unique and different and to really help others, but also from a completely non-business like standpoint, my degree is in opera and while I was getting my degree I was studying minors in psychology, art and German and I also went to massage therapy school while I was going to university, this was in 1996 and 97. It’s just so funny, because even though I always knew that music was something that I wanted to study and have as part of my life, I’m like a Jill-of-all-trades, so to speak. I know a little about a lot of things, and they all go hand-in-hand and they have cohesively formed this circle that has become what my life is right now. When I started my business, I wanted to do so debt-free, so being a musician and a massage therapist, I took tips and extra income and saved, from the ground up, and that’s how I’m still running my business, so I chose to run it very small and go slow, kind of like what you do with CBD! You go slow and low, and slowly go up on your dose. And that’s what I’ve been doing with growing my business.
THR: Many people turn to CBD as an alternative to standardized medicine. Have you received positive feedback from your customers?
LS: I believe there are SO many ways that people can heal themselves and enlighten themselves and some of those are through music, massage, natural medicine and cannabis (CBD), hemp especially, being this amazing and miraculous plant that can heal the planet itself: the ground, the soil, the air, and then, of course, its inhabitants.
I’ve always believed there’s a symbiotic relationship between different things in life that all work hand-in-hand toward the betterment of human life, the energy of the world and how the planet resonates in positivity and experiences. It just kind of allowed me to be Superwoman. Using CBD topically on clients allowed me to go beyond the ability I already had as just a massage therapist, by relaxing and relieving muscle tension and pain, I didn’t have to work as hard to get those muscles to relax, so I didn’t have to take them closer to a level of pain, so to speak.
And personally, I’ve used CBD for myself, with the help of both of my doctors, to wean off of a lot of my medication that I had been on for decades. I had childhood depression with underlying anxiety and PTSD. Starting at the beginning of my 30s, the depression kind of got better, but the anxiety reared its really ugly, terrible head. I was a completely different person and was full of anxiety all the time. It was kind of like the Tasmanian devil, running around. That’s kind of how my anxiety presented to other people. CBD actually helped me remove myself from that storm that was around me constantly, but it also helped with so many other aspects of my life, including pain and inflammation, so I was able to replace those medications. That was when I knew that I had to go into this industry. Being on medications as a child when your brain is developing, that’s already a really difficult time. And with children who have problems being themselves and being insecure about who they are as people, it’s just really tough for kids. Even though I believe that things happen for a reason, I do wish that CBD had been around and prevalent and available to that little Laran because it’s been like an emotional support dog. It’s like a big supportive hug!
I’ve had a client who said that she was sitting in traffic and she was thinking “man, I can’t wait to get home and have my CBD” because she was really stressed, and she said she started salivating just thinking about it, like she couldn’t wait to take it because it tastes really good, as well. And just by doing that she felt her stress come down a little bit. I was like, “hey, that’s really cool!” I’d never thought of it that way until she said that.
A lot of my clients use my topical for their children because it’s an all-around multi-purpose salve as well as a super-duper pain relieving salve. What’s cool about it is that it’s 100% natural but also organic herbs (I call them yummy herbs), they are meant to combat inflammation from all sides. That, in correspondence with full-spectrum CBD or full-spectrum hemp extract with CBD, can be used even on sunburns and bug bites and boo-boos. This one girl burned her hand by picking up a curling iron from the hot end (not the handle) on its highest setting and burned the living tar out of her hand and she was going between this wedding venue and her hotel and she stopped on the way and I gave her a sample of CBD under her tongue to help combat the inflammation and the shock and she also applied my salve to the site because it’s loaded with arnica. Arnica is one of those things that, the minute you have a burn or some type of trauma on your skin, as long as it’s not an open wound, you can coat it with arnica and that starts the healing process immediately and it helps remove the trauma so that you can start healing. We can’t heal when we’re in a state of inflammation. She came back an hour later, wanting to buy the salve and a CBD oil because she said she was already feeling more relaxed, and she’s kept in touch on Facebook (she lives in Buffalo, NY). So, it’s little things like that-little coincidences. The universe brings people that I’m able to help to my booth, and that’s the beauty of it.
THR: From where do you source your CBD? Where is it tested?
LS: People still aren’t completely educated on CBD, and so I do feel like maybe some people, just to try it, are going to spend less on the lower-end products that maybe got their hemp from Romania or China, where they use Roundup to make the plant easier to cut. Even though they have to do third-party testing on the final product, it doesn’t mean that the actual testing of the hemp didn’t show some type of pesticides. It’s a little scary to me because it’s so unregulated. That’s why I get my hemp from my farmers in Oregon. They have a GM-free certified USDA organic certified and kosher-certified extraction facility. I’ve been with them since Day 1. So every single product uses the exact same strain from the exact same farmer every single time.
I did the research but then I chose to formulate our products so that our formulation is different from everybody else in the industry, so we do NOT white label, we don’t resell other brands. Every single ingredient, I vetted where they were coming from to make sure that not only are they ethically sourced from sustainably grown farms, but also ethical (meaning, not taking from Indigenous peoples, leaving them with resources to continue to support their families. Instead of taking everything and then they don’t have something else to grow), we never use palm oil because it contributes to the deforestation of the rain forest. We don’t use soy, because not only can it contribute to hormone imbalance in men, women and children, but also it’s one of the most genetically modified plants on the planet. Things like this to some people don’t really mean anything, and that’s okay. But to me, being an ethical and sustainable and even hopefully becoming a regenerative energy company where we choose farming that’s regenerative. But what it does is it actually helps reduce the carbon footprint we create and have created. People don’t realize that corn and soy and even strawberries are some of the most genetically-modified plants. And I LOVE corn and I LOVE strawberries, but I make sure that I always buy organic and it’s really hard to find organic corn because it’s usually genetically modified.
THR: What is the market like in Texas for CBD?
LS: A lot of people don’t know that we’ve actually been around since the beginning in Austin, which makes me chuckle when they start realizing it, because we didn’t have the budget for the marketing and lots of advertising and exposure, and so now it’s really word-of-mouth, which I think is a wonderful way to grow anything, it builds so much more trust and loyalty.
When I was researching and doing the formula for Happy Karma, I hadn’t even completely decided on the name yet. And there were no other CBD companies on the radar in Austin. Other than a couple of pharmacies and a couple of smoke shops, nobody was an actual CBD store yet. Rawsome was the very first and then we opened a month later in March of 2018, so we are one of the first Austin-based and women-owned CBD companies, which is something I’m really proud of as well. Being a pioneer of the industry has been pretty amazing. So much has changed in three and a half years.
There were tons and tons of obstacles being in this business, before it was federally legal, before it was state legal, before there were (and still aren’t completely) the banking laws that we need, not having a way to do merchant accounts and all of these things that we were having to skate around and figure out. It’s so much easier now for new people to get into the industry. It’s been an interesting ride so far. For me, it’s not about going out and meeting hundreds of people in the industry, it’s about the people who are not in the industry whose lives can be impacted.
THR: You’ve recently been recognized in your field and awarded Best Texas E-Commerce Retailer and Best Texas CBD Manufacturer at the Texas Hemp Awards. What do you think sets you apart from your competitors?
LS: It’s such a huge honor to know that more people follow and get word-of-mouth and know about my company than I ever thought did, which is humbling in and of itself. In the very beginning, I planted a seed and I’ve been tending to those rows of plants and I know that they’ve been growing, but I had no idea how much they’d grown. The seeds blew off into other fields that I didn’t know about. Three and half years later, I’m just now hearing about those plants that are growing in other people’s plots, so to speak. I’m learning how many people actually have been following me and my business and the reviews and the success stories. So for me to have had the votes and to win the Best CBD Manufacturer and the Best CBD Retailer, I was originally in the Best CBD Manufacturer and then she decided the last day of voting to make an e-commerce category. But to win the best CBD manufacturer was amazing! I didn’t think that was going to happen. And then, we made the top five of the “Best of Austin” Chronicle issue, which was huge! I was told that thousands upon thousands of votes were cast. The fact that enough people nominated us to get us into the top five was so amazing. It blew my mind, I had no idea. I mean, that’s a lot of people!
At the very beginning, when I opened, CBD wasn’t that well-known yet, and so there weren’t all these shops around that carried a white label brand. There were all these shops that were looking for CBD suppliers, and they were calling me and asking me, but the thing is, my products could’ve been sitting next to five other white labeled products, and they could’ve all theoretically come from the same manufacturer, from the same generic formula. To me, that dilutes the quality of my brand. Someone did say to me, though, “Laran, when you go a store, you have your low-end products and you have your high-end ones, and it’s up to the consumer as to whether they’re willing to pay for quality or quantity, getting something for cheap.” You’re getting what you pay for, I guess. I really prefer being there to educate and tell people, relaying the difference, for them to make a decision.
THR: Can you explain the process of infusing Reiki into your products?
LS: Reiki is an energy modality. Everything is energy and energy is everything. Every single thing, even a stone, everything is made of energy. Just like the experiment where the kids “bullied” one plant and complimented the other, it’s the same thing with everything. There have been scientific studies about how positive energy changes the freezing structure of molecules making snowflakes. Energy can really help everything. The same is true with intention, for example, somebody who’s Catholic might get some holy water or get a blessing from a priest or something, this is not a religious thing, it’s just a belief that by putting intentions into the body, it’s a body modality. It’s something that massage therapists can be trained to do for their clients. But then, you can take that and put it into anything. Almost like saying a blessing over your food before eating it, it’s the same kind of principle. So, what happens is everything is made and manufactured and tagged and labeled, and then a third-degree Reiki master infuses them with intentional energy.
THR: Where can our readers buy your products?
LS: Having my booth at SoCo Maker’s Market, I get to meet so many amazing Austinites that come by and shop on south Congress. Me being a world traveller, I love being able to meet people from all over the country and the world!
I don’t do anything like anybody else. I don’t like to be a crowd-follower. I’m either a crowd-starter or I like to stand on the sidelines and be completely different, I always go against the grain. I get SO many calls asking where I’m located. At times I do wish we had a storefront so that we could accommodate the people who want to come in and browse, and the people that want to come in and meet me, the people that I spend hours on the phone with. They’re always shocked at how much I’m willing to give them, but I do that because I think it’s important that they feel validated, even if I’ve not been through what they’re going through, I can still empathize. It’s not about a sale to me. And that goes all the way back to what I said before about me running a business totally NOT like a business!
That’s the nice thing about being the owner of a company, I’m able to help my fellow musicians and other people when they need it.
THR: That’s the rewarding part, right?
LS: Yeah, we can get so wrapped up in ourselves and “me, me, me” and it just feels so good when you’re able to help somebody. There are times when someone’s injured or hurting or they need emotional support and you know that, especially during COVID, you can’t be there, you can’t bring them food. I have a friend who lost her mom during COVID, and I couldn’t be there to give her a big hug. I felt hopeless, and I thought, “what can I do to help her?” and I thought, “wait, I’ll give her an emotional support dog!” So I gave her a bottle of CBD to try to help her through. It’s a nice way to be able to help other people, to give them the gift that keeps on giving.
THR: Where do you see the future of hemp as a renewable resource?
LS: People say we have a lumber shortage. No, we have a tree and forest shortage. One acre of hemp can replace three acres of trees in three to four months, instead of 30-60 years. Let that sink in. That’s not only sustainable, it’s part of regeneration. Those plants are taking a lot of crap out of the air, and they’re pulling it into the soil, and the soil is re-nitrogenated by the plants and it’s helping with the water runoff because all of the water is going down instead of running off. It’s helping to put microbes and fungi and all of these great nutrients back into the soil. Just doing little things. We don’t have to do everything the right way or whatever we think is the right way. Just taking little steps for our bodies and for the planet is something. Just because I use compostable gloves when we’re manufacturing, and doing things that I know are going into the compost or into the trash and the recycling, doesn’t mean that everybody has to do that. It just makes me feel good at the end of the day, doing something a little extra.
THR: What is your impression of this unprecedented time, where we may finally feel safe to spend time with our friends and family again?
LS: In getting older, when you make a decision or when something happens in life, you don’t always know what kind of waves and ripples you put out until sometimes several years later, and then you start hearing back from people. So, sometimes we plant a seed and we walk away and we don’t know whether it caught and grew or if it created other plants and that’s how this whole process has been for me. And then of course with COVID, it just got much more deep and energetic.
Me being a massage therapist and a professional vocalist (I’m in the Patrice Pike band), before COVID, we had a residency at the Saxon Pub every Thursday for eight years. So, the Saxon was my second home! Everything’s changed. That was a source of income. But with my business, I’ve never had to impose sales quotas on myself. I want to be able to go to the market and introduce myself and explain the amazing things about this plant. If I meet new people, and I give them a business card and share some information and they leave with a smile, then I’ve done my job. It’s such a rewarding thing to come home every day and be able to tell my wife about all the great people I get to meet. That’s how I built my business, by not just thinking about money, and it just rolled back into itself and it’s still such a pleasure to be able to go and meet people and talk to people. I hand-write a thank you note for every single order that goes out. The slogan for Happy Karma Hemp is “Create Happy Karma”. I believe we can create happy karma by helping others first. By doing good things or having good intentions, by going above and beyond, whether people ever know it, is not the point. The point is that, energetically, it’s a positive, kind, intentional thing. It’s not necessarily up to those people to reward me back, the universe takes care of me. God, the universe, takes care of us in a plethora of ways that we may never even notice or know.
We just had our first post-quarantine performance at Saxon last week. One of my posts recently on Instagram was about being kind to oneself, and a lot of people have grown and changed over the past 15 months and change is not bad, it’s just change, it’s just different. A lot of people have become a little more enlightened and a little more sensitive to energy and more in tune with nature and they’re vibrating on a different frequency. So, for some of these people, the thought of going back into big crowds is too much, myself included. I have been, most of my life, what I would consider a super-extrovert but I changed over the pandemic and I enjoyed being home and being in the back yard and being around nature. And my sensitivity became heightened, so my very first show back at the Saxon was very overwhelming, just to see all these people that I used to see every week. At the same time that it was a wonderful, glorious reunion, it was also intense being around so many people and feeling that energy. The pandemic and the events over the past 15 months have brought up some controversial issues. Hopefully, people will recognize that it’s so much easier to be kind than to be right. My first gig back was just really overwhelming and I was realizing that at least half of the people I was talking to were having the same struggle. Over the next six months, some people will just sort of tiptoe out and some people will come out with a vengeance, and that’s okay.
It’s amazing after three and a half years of my company, to be able sit back and go, “whoa, I created all of this completely from nothing, all by myself, from scratch.” And when someone says it’s helping them, it’s amazing to stop and remind myself that I helped somebody.
African Leader Marcus Garvey prophesied in the 1930’s “look to Africa where a black king will be crowned, he shall be your redeemer.” Obviously that referred to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia. Bob Marley (unbeknownst to most of the public) did not use marijuana recreation-ally yet as a religious rite. Other native American tribes did utilize marijuana and other psychotropics as spiritual tools.
The first groups of “rastas” in Jamaica are attributed to followers of Leonard P. Howell. These people also began to board ships going back to Africa from Jamaica.
It was the rise of reggae music, largely rooted by Island Records originally, that brought Rastafarianism to an international audience and cultural explosion. It is reggae music that gave rise to the only known international format of music: world music.
Early Rastafarian leader L.P.Howell created a large community that grew ganja as a cash crop. The word “ganja” meaning hemp is actually a Hindu word, east Indians bringing the plant to Jamaica during their colonization of the island. Although the plant may have grown there naturally, probably brought from the American mainland by native nomadic tribes.
In our May financial edition of the Texas Hemp Reporter Magazine. This issue profiles aspects of the banking industry as it relates to merchant processing, finance, compliance and lending. Our recap of the NOCO 7 Expo, we also preview the Lucky Leaf Expo, discuss Delta 8 after the Hemp market boom, and many new changes in Texas law in the 87th Legislature are also covered. Tips on indoor versus outdoor growing, our possible new radio show, and Hemp oil taste as well as the hemp oil business.
The Magazine will be available on the streets of Austin May 6-7 at all smoke shops and CBD stores as well as All Austin Area HEB & Randal’s. If you hold a permit in Texas you will receive one the following week by mail like usual. Stay tuned for upcoming alerts on our Radio Show the Texas Hemp Show and the next issue will be out July 1st 2021.
As a new generation of hemp farmers and entrepreneurs take root across the country there are a multitude of risks that can take a new business down in the first years of establishment. Even the most seasoned farmer and savvy business person will encounter unforeseen obstacles in any stage of the process. These can become valuable lessons or fatal blows, and a well-developed business plan is the best defense against the latter.
Employing credentialed consultants to address potential problems, solutions, and make projections based on research and the valuable experience of others is the best way to forecast for success. Fortunately, Texas is home to a variety of advisors to guide you through every part of the process from seed to sale.
Assistance with business compliance and formation can be found with lawyers and accountants who specialize in hemp and marijuana law. Here in Texas, Ritter Spencer is known for their expertise in compliance and Cannabis Business Law Group-Coats Rose brings significant experience from across the supply chain in multiple jurisdictions that focus on commercial litigation. Carr Riggs and Ingram CPAs can help with tax questions, business set up, insurance and employee benefits packages. Navigating the nuances of regulatory compliance, government tax requirements, hemp/medical marijuana licensing, product labeling/marketing, and real estate issues in a rapidly changing landscape is tricky. Choosing a firm that specializes in this heavily regulated niche industry will provide guidance from the outset and insure compliance for your endeavor.
Consider the benefits of growing indoors in a greenhouse, or a land lease. The Texas Hemp Ranch in Webberville leases 10 acre pre-fertilized plots with two grow cycles and well water access or irrigation from the Colorado river. Avery Barksdale at Texas Greenland Development Company offers 5-400 acres to lease monthly or seasonally in several areas of Texas. Using greenhouses provides protection from the elements as well as pests. Customize the configuration to meet the needs of the landscape for the best outcome of your product by speaking with the experts at Reef Industries. They source a variety of laminates and provide fabrication options to suit every need.
With so many companies to choose from that offer seeds and starts getting a cross section of information about suitable varietals and methods is important. Factors to consider are latitude, soil PH, end use and certification. Uniseeds, Hydroshack, Riverside Hemp, and Garcia Bros Organics provide consultation services along with products to help farmers best determine which processes and products are best for their conditions.
Scientific analysis of soil, water, and fertilizers is the most effective way to determine what kind of additives to use for a successful harvest. TPS agricultural provides data analysis, DIY kits, lab consulting and solutions along with products to repair, stimulate, and improve production.
Identifying THC levels throughout the grow process is recommended, and certified lab tests are required at harvest time. Any laboratory testing hemp for THC concentration under the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program must be registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration to handle controlled substances. Zosi Analytical, and AFL Texas are both DEA approved and can identify toxins and provide cannabinoid and THC profiles. Some labs also offer manufacturing and consulting, labeling and R&D, shelf life studies and work with a variety of products from gummies to body products.
When it comes to harvesting, Texas Premium Hemp Producers LP in Ulm, TX are the experts in bucking and drying. Inpak Systems manufactures bag fillers and closers for seeds, flowers, dried pellets or chopped leaves and Hempsac manufactures the bags to protect and preserve the product during storage and transportation. Transporting the product poses a unique set of challenges where only experts should be employed like JW Transport Services.
All of these vendor contacts can be found in the Texas Hemp Reporter as well as here:
California’s wine industry is quite the behemoth, a staple in the American economy.
If it were its own country, the state would be the fourth largest wine producer in the world. California makes 81 percent of all U.S. wine, and three out of every five bottles sold in the country comes from the Golden State.
Just look at last year’s numbers for more proof: In 2019, 241.5 million nine-liter cases of California wine were sold within the U.S., amassing an estimated $43.6 billion in sales. Also in 2019, American wine exports totalled $1.63 billion, with 95 percent coming from California wineries.
California wine sales in the U.S. grew 6 percent in 2019, despite the state legalizing adult-use cannabis in January 2018, which some feared would eat into the state’s wine market.
But 2020 may tell a vastly different story for the industry, says Robert P. Koch, president and CEO of the San Francisco-based Wine Institute. “This year will be more challenging, especially for small- and medium-sized wineries, because of the closure of tasting rooms and restaurants,” he says in a wineinstitute.orgarticle.
These changes have emerged because of COVID-19, of course, and while it is too early in the year to predict a drop in the California’s total revenue from wine, we can surely expect a noticeable dip based on the recession alone: People with a slash in their disposable incomes are less likely to buy a $50 bottle of Cabernet Franc from the Napa Valley, perhaps opting instead for $8 bottle from Argentina.
So considering this inevitable dip, should California vineyards, each with hundreds of acres perfect for agriculture (bountiful sun and cool air from the Pacific Ocean), consider pivoting to a crop with perhaps an even more promising future? Such as hemp?
After all, according to the Brightfield Group, the market for hemp-derived CBD is expected to reach $23.7 billion by 2023, thanks in part to the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. And this doesn’t even include the market for hemp alone, which can be grown for construction, textiles, clothing, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation and biofuel.
And so the hemp market doesn’t rely on a selective niche of consumers that use its product for recreational purposes only (such as wine drinkers and cannabis users). Just about everyone could benefit from hemp in one way or another.
Also, unlike wine grapes which take several months to grow and several months to ferment before they ever become drinkable wine, hemp plants can mature in just a few months.
But, say, a commercial vineyard in a place like the Sonoma Valley wants to reserve a few acres of its property for growing hemp. Does the growing of either crop affect the other’s final product?
A Wine Spectator article titled “Can Cannabis and Wine Coexist?” tells how the drift of fungicides (used by many California winemakers to prevent mildew) have been known to render a cannabis harvest unsaleable when the crop is tested for regulation. And one can speculate the same would apply to hemp plants, especially if they’re used for CBD products.
The opposite occurs, too. “On the flip side, cannabis can release organic compounds called terpenes,” the article’s author Aaron Romano writers, “one of which is eucalyptol, known for tainting the flavor of grapes.” It should be known that hemp plants also have terpenes.
Corey Beck, CEO of Francis Ford Coppola Winery and former president of the Sonoma County Vintners, was quoted in the article, saying, “If cannabis can co-exist with the right regulations, and not be intrusive to our neighbors, then it should be available to a farmer who needs to put food on the table for their family.” He added that the wine industry is changing because of consumers drinking less and, therefore, wineries growing few grapes.
“I’m not suggesting the trend is here to stay, but if you are a grapegrower and can’t find a buyer in the short term, your choice in agricultural crops which provide a return such as grapes are limited.”
