“Yes, Bob, There Is a Hemp Industry”
By Morris Beegle
In a good-hearted exchange with longtime friend, colleague, collaborator and expert cannabis attorney Bob Hoban, I couldn’t help but challenge a recent article Bob had written in Forbes Magazine where he wondered if we truly have a “hemp industry” in the United States.
While hemp has been around for millennia, Bob’s point was that hemp should be considered more as an agricultural commodity than its own industry. Further, he wondered if we may have gone wrong in treating hemp as an industry, in that it may have brought on specialized and restrictive hemp-specific regulations. “Wouldn’t it be more advantageous to treat hemp as just another agricultural crop that falls within the existing U.S. agricultural industry? Wouldn’t this truly open up mainstream agriculture to the grand possibilities of the industrial hemp plant?” Bob asked.
“Put another way, is there a corn industry? A wheat industry? Or just an agriculture industry consisting of corn, wheat, soy, etc.,” Bob asked. “Farmers are farmers — do we really need to specifically classify them as hemp farmers? Extraction processors are processors. Natural products (‘nutraceuticals’) are natural products industry producers; and the list goes on and on down the supply chain,” he wrote.
To me, the answer is yes, hemp is an emerging agricultural commodity of great potential to multiple industries that can make use of all parts of the plant – but also, yes, hemp is a unique industry in and of its own right, with its own unique history, that needs its own advocacy and representation.
Cannabis/hemp advocate and entrepreneur Morris Beegle is Co-founder and President of the WAFBA (We Are For Better Alternatives) family of brands, including the NoCo Hemp Expo, the world’s most comprehensive hemp-centric exposition, trade-show and conference, and Let’s Talk Hemp Media. WAFBA also includes Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars, maker of hand-crafted hemp guitars, cabinets and components; the Tree Free Hemp paper and printing company, and more. Spanning education, advocacy and entertainment, Beegle engages audiences around the world through podcasts, digital and print media, radio, television and live events.
NEWS BRIEFS
Charlotte’s Web Unveils 76-Acre Farm Art Honoring Hemp
By Westword
CBD Brand First to Sponsor a Major Sport League
By BusinessWire
Researchers: CBD May Help Reduce Lung Damage in Covid-19
By Medical Xpress
Bob Hoban: Will the Hemp Industry Ever Be Its Own Industry?
By Forbes
HEADLINE NEWS
FDA Issues Draft Guidance to Encourage Cannabis-related Clinical Research
By U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Congress Approves Measure Sponsored by Tulsi Gabbard Allowing CBD Use by Military
By Marijuana Moment
U.S. Hemp Industries Association Closes State Chapters
By HempToday
State Chapters Say They’ll Push Back Against U.S. HIA’s Decision to Shut them Down
By HempToday
Kansas Is Becoming a Hemp Powerhouse (Again) – Podcast
By Ministry of Hemp
Industrial Hemp Processing Facility Helps Revamp Virginia Industrial Park
By The Gazette-Virginian
Texas Health Dept. Approves Ban on Smokable Hemp Products
By Texas Cannabis Collective
NoCo Hemp Expo Recognized Among 2020 Hemp Business Award Winners
By CBA Globes
FOOD, BEVERAGE & SUPPLEMENTS
Hemp Oil Products for People, Pets Recalled After Florida Health Dept. Finds Elevated Lead Levels
By Miami Herald
San Antonio Entrepreneur Creating Juice from Hemp Waste
By Spectrum News
New Hemp CBD Tests Show It’s Time to Downsize and Grow Up
By New Hope Network
Research Points to Potential of CBD to Help Treat Cocaine Use Disorder
By Journal of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
FASHION, FIBER AND CONSTRUCTION
Hemp Bioplastics: Nature’s Gift to End Plastic
By Hemp Foundation
Research: Batteries Made from Hemp Are Superior to Lithium, Graphene
By Test Set
Levi Strauss Cottonized Hemp: “How We Do It”
By Levi Strauss
Ethical Fashion Is an Emerging Trend that Will Affect Agriculture
By Alberta Farm Express
FARMING AND AGRICULTURE
With More than 500 Hemp Farmers, Minnesota’s Hemp Industry Takes a Step Forward
By Bring Me the News
Trial and Error: Texas Hemp Crop Facing Challenges in First Season
By Amarillo Globe-News
Georgia Farmer Sees Need for CBD During Covid-19 Pandemic
By WJBF News Channel 6, Augusta, GA
Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Wants to See More Hemp Grown in State
By WTVY, Dothan, AL
Oregon State University Researches Hemp Strains, Most Environmentally Friendly Growing Methods
By The Mail Tribune, Medford, OR
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Can Hemp Farming Protect India’s Border Villages from Encroachment?
By The Hemp Foundation
Nepal Medical Center Built from Hempcrete Specializes in Craniofacial Surgery and Recovery
By HempToday
EVENTS
Hemp Industry Deep Dive Virtual Global Tour, by Cannatech, Aug. 4, 2020, 12:00pm EDT
NoCo Hemp Expo – NoCo7, March 25-27, 2021, National Western Complex, Denver, CO
Southern Hemp Expo, Aug. 20-21, 2021, Nashville, TN
Read the Let’s Talk Hemp Summer Solstice 2020 Digital Magazine
The hemp industry proves that, even in a world beset by pandemics and racial injustice, human and planetary healing can and will triumph. Read all about it in the Let’s Talk Hemp Summer Solstice 2020 Digital Magazine, produced in conjunction with the Experience Hemp Summer Solstice Virtual Conference & Trade Show, Let’s Talk Hemp Media, and NoCo Hemp Expo, in partnership with Honeysuckle Magazine.
Featuring testimony from industry experts across diverse disciplines, Let’s Talk Hemp’s Summer Solstice edition dives into the pressing questions of the day. What is the future of hemp in a post-COVID world? What does Black representation in hemp look like, and how can we create opportunities for social equity? How can we take the next steps toward a regenerative society and integrative medicine? The answers may surprise you.
Read the Let’s Talk Hemp Summer Solstice 2020 Digital Magazine Here.
Order Your Copy of Doug Fine’s New Book, American Hemp Farmer
American Hemp Farmer, the sixth book from author Doug Fine, follows the rigors and pleasures of an entire hemp season from soil preparation and genetics acquisition through harvest and regenerative marketing. It’s immersive. It’s wildly funny. The follow up to Doug Fine’s bestselling Hemp Bound, American Hemp Farmer pulls no punches, and because it is written by an actual hemp farmer and entrepreneur, it tells you what you need to know if you want to join the hemp renaissance.
Order American Hemp Farmer Today
Subscribe to the Let’s Talk Hemp YouTube Channel
#LetsTalkHemp is the ultimate platform that focuses on “Changing the Cannabis Conversation”. We provide news, education, and information about Hemp and Cannabis to our viewers so that they can learn more about the industry and get tips and tricks on the latest technologies. Subscribe to our channel and learn about everything from legal updates, farming, production, and new products entering the Hemp & Cannabis space.
The Kannaboom Podcast
Episode 50 – Morris Beegle, Musician and Hemp Entrepreneur
We’ve known for decades that hemp is a versatile crop, useful for food, and as a textile, building material and biofuel. Yet because it’s related to cannabis, hemp has been shunned, its value denied. As we look for positive ways to recover from the pandemic, in the context of ongoing climate change, are we finally ready to realize the tremendous economic potential of hemp? We asked Morris Beegle, who has launched multiple hemp-based businesses across various industries, for his perspective.
Listen, and learn:
- How Morris made the pivot from a career in music into success as a hemp entrepreneur
- Why hemp, a regenerative, sustainable crop, is a better alternative for the environment and consumers
- How to succeed in the hemp industry, whether you want to find a job or start a company
- Why musicians have been closely tied to cannabis / hemp
- How Morris developed the first high-end hemp guitar
About Let’s Talk Hemp
Let’s Talk Hemp is a publication of Colorado Hemp Company (a division of We Are For Better Alternatives) focused specifically on the subject of industrial hemp and cannabis. We present features and curate news from across the globe to share the benefits of cannabis on health, energy, manufacturing and planet (H.E.M.P.). Colorado Hemp Company also is the Producer of NoCo Hemp Expo and Southern Hemp Expo, the nation’s leading hemp conferences and expositions.
Publisher: Morris Beegle, Elizabeth Knight
Editor: Steven Hoffman
Web Developer: Debby West
Design: Allen Haeger
Circulation: Evan Tompros
Contributor: Heather Collins
Financial Officer: Lori Buderus
Let’s Talk Hemp Podcast: Morris Beegle
Send Us Your Hemp News!
Send press releases and news announcements to news@letstalkhemp.com
