Experience Counts: Colorado Hemp Industry Challenges CDA’s Selection of MJ Consultancy to Oversee State’s Hemp Center of Excellence
In the midst of a pandemic, economic uncertainty and the 2020 growing season for industrial hemp farmers, the Colorado hemp industry has united in protest to challenge the recent contract award to establish the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s (CDA) Hemp Center of Excellence (COE). This is the first time that the Colorado hemp industry and its leaders have come together to speak out against the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s decision to hire the Marijuana Policy Group (aka Marijuana Policy Group Consulting, Denver, CO) to actualize the Hemp Center of Excellence’s five year plan.
In a letter to Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg, hemp industry leaders expressed concerns that the state’s hemp industry “will not accept any marijuana-related group contracted to management, planning, laying out a plan or facilitating stakeholders in the development and/or goals of the Hemp Center of Excellence.”
In addition, the state of Colorado’s hemp business community is demanding that “the CDA begin/restart the contract process again in accordance with all state laws, rules, and regulations. We request the CDA directly include the Colorado hemp industry’s involvement by setting up a hemp stakeholders committee to establish rules and parameters for the selection criteria, which would be open to the public for full transparency.”
State and national hemp industry leaders Tim Gordon, Morris Beegle and Veronica Carpio jointly said the issue is “not about creating a division of hemp and marijuana, but rather the concern of a fair process which includes hemp stakeholders, and immediate action by the CDA and Governor Polis.”
According to hemp industry stakeholders Tim Gordon, Morris Beegle, and Veronica Carpio, the issue surrounding the establishment of Colorado’s Hemp Center of Excellence is “not about creating a division of hemp and marijuana, but rather the concern of a fair process which includes hemp stakeholders, and immediate action by the CDA and Governor Polis.”
NEWS BRIEFS
Hemp CBD Sales Doubled Year Over Year Growth in 2019
By Natural Foods Merchandiser Market Overview 2020
Exhibitor, Sponsor Registration Now Open for NoCo7, March 25-27, 2021
By NoCo Hemp Expo
Federal DOT Reviews Hemp Legalization’s Impact on Truck Drivers
By U.S. Dept. of Transportation
Survey: 84% of U.S Consumers Believe CBD Can Replace Opioids
HEADLINE NEWS
By Vote Hemp
By MG Retailer
Hemp Bill Leaves Some Cops Unable to Enforce Marijuana Laws in Georgia
By The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Doane University-owned Lab Becomes First ISO Certified Cannabis/Hemp Testing Lab in Nebraska
By KOLN News, Lincoln NE
Hawaii State Bill Would Ban Smokable Hemp, CBD Edibles
By Hawaii House of Representatives
Court Ruling Allows Indiana Ban on Smokable Hemp
By Hemp Production News
Hemp Businesses in New Jersey Poised to Grow
By Law.com
Hemp Community Loses Industry Veteran Erik Rothenberg
By Vote Hemp
FOOD, BEVERAGE & SUPPLEMENTS
Can CBD Reduce Lung Inflammation in Covid-19 Cases?
By Brain, Behavior and Immunity Journal
White House Completes Review of CBD Guidance from FDA, but Will Public Get to See It?
By Marijuana Moment
Jane Fonda Launches Campaign for Uncle Bud’s Hemp and CBD
By Globe Newswire
New Research Backs Canine Cannabis Use For Osteoarthritis
By Forbes
FASHION, FIBER AND CONSTRUCTION
By The Sourcing Journal
Why Hemp Should Be Used as a Sustainable Building Material
By Innovation News Network
Could Hemp Insulation Play a Role in Green Homes?
By The Cannabis Exchange
FARMING AND AGRICULTURE
Greenhouse Grown Hemp Finds Niche in Smokable Hemp
By Greenhouse Grower
CBN, CBG More Alluring to Hemp Farmers as CBD Prices Drop?
By Westword
Wyoming Police Raid Hemp Farm; Accuse Owners of Illegally Growing Marijuana
By WyoFile
Penn State Extension Offers Budget Models for Hemp Farmers
By Cannabis Business Times
Mississippi Passes on State Program; Tells Hemp Farmers to Apply Directly to USDA Program
By Hemp Industry Daily
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
“Fiebre Verde:” Ecuador Sets Industrial Hemp THC Limit at 1%
By Puente & Associates
Peru Opens Door to Commercialization of CBD Products
By Hemp Industry Daily
South Korea Establishes “Free Zone” for Industrial Hemp
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!
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