2018 is Hemp Year, IF Farm Bill Passes

While cannabis is in the news daily, movies like Fun Mom Dinner and Why Him? feature cannabis dispensaries as the new norm of acceptance. Sad to say, hemp is noticeably absent from the press. Progress is being made, but the most important element of a grass roots movement is missing, VISIBILITY.

Hemp, aka industrial hemp has actually garnered more support among the states than cannabis, with 33 states allowing cultivation compared to 29 states with cannabis. And Farm Bill HR-3530, removing hemp as a Schedule 1 substance, has never been so close to approval, needing only 12 more votes to pass. Even so, the hemp industry is not doing nearly enough to organize events, educate the public or debunk the myth that it has psychoactive properties. Cannabis is making daily headlines because of the staggering profits being made, however, industrial hemp's potential eclipses cannabis by 1,000 to 1--cannabis is the billion dollar industry, however industrial hemp is the trillion dollar industry.

The issue with hemp is possibly that it's not controversial like its popular cousin. That doesn't make it any less disruptive. And therein lies the problem, investment in the hemp industry is coming very slowly, if at all. If industrial hemp could be consolidated like industrialists John D. Rockefeller and JP Morgan did at the turn of the 20th century, industrial hemp and cannabis could be to the 21st century what the oil and electric industries were for the 20th century.

It seems too like the spokespeople for hemp have moved on or passed away. Jack Herer, author of the Emperor Wears No Clothes, and Grass, who catalyzed the 1970s cannabis and hemp movements, passed away in 2010. Even Woody Harrelson, who started the US hemp movement in 1998 by illegally planting a hemp seed in Kentucky, gave up in frustration in 2009. I also think the cannabis coalition could be doing a lot more to promote industrial hemp, and leverage its visibility. In so doing, both industries could get the credibility they deserve. Unfortunately, hemp entrepreneurs are disassociating themselves from cannabis, whereas from a visibility standpoint, they need to join forces.

While cannabis trade shows have waiting lists for booth participants, hemp trade shows are small or poorly attended. The elephant in the room though is the fact there just isn't enough hemp being cultivated to warrant investor interest. The US is now producing 23,343 acres of hemp, compared to 150,000 acres in Canada, and half of global production coming from China. Because industrial hemp is illegal to cultivate in the US on a large scale, it is being imported from China and Canada. And it's still an industry that made $688 million in the US in 2016!

Canada is quickly capitalizing on America's slow embracing of the cannabis and hemp industries. In 2018, Canada is nationalizing BOTH industrial hemp and cannabis in July, and are rubbing their hands as American hemp and cannabis companies are repositioning themselves to sell their products north of the border.

The agricultural states, notably California, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas have the most to gain from industrial hemp cultivation, yet their lack of motivation is surprising, given the differential between what industrial hemp pays at $300/acre) versus wheat at $40/acre. In Florida, with Hurricane Irma's expansive devastation in the citrus industry, they could be recovering with hemp by as early as next year. If Trump is really the incredible businessman he's touting himself to be, why is he silent on the issue of industrial hemp?

So what needs to be done, and in what order? To begin with, follow Canada's lead in terms of industrial organization and investment. They've already created hemp seeds that produce .03% THC or less, removing the huge burden of having to test THC levels in American-cultivated hemp. Colorado has once again taken the lead, with a Fort Collins seed genetics company New West Genetics, creating the first legal American hemp seed this month, with less than .03% THC.

Visionary companies like the Global Hemp Group in Vancouver are investing in both industrial hemp and cannabis, and are creating Hemp Agro-Industrial Zones to foster turnkey solutions for hemp industrial development. China actually started to look at hemp in the 1970s as a solution for clothing during their Vietnam war. We could learn much from all of their decortication methods, as well as their research. In France, hemp cooperatives are being formed, just like in agriculture, where hemp growers can bring their hemp, process it and convert it into their form of choice.

The biggest missing puzzle piece though, is the lack of visibility. Legislators will take interest when their constituents demand that they do, but they will only demand it when they are aware of it. Just like Alcohol Prohibition was repealed by combining efforts between the bar and restaurant owners and the alcoholic beverage industry, so do the hemp associations need to join forces, think BIG and get a unified national hemp movement going. Maybe it's time for a hemp march from Florida to Washington, or a follow up to the "Grass" movie named "What the Hemp are you Talking About?" or the passing of the Farm Bill HR3530. Especially with it being an election year, while 2016 was the year for cannabis, let's make 2018 the year for hemp!

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