L O U I S I A N A
HEMP M A G A Z I N E A MAGAZINE FOR GROWERS AND PROCESSORS
VOL. 1 ISSUE 3 A 337 MEDIA PUBLICATION
Our Mission
L
ouisiana Hemp Magazine was born from the idea that a product that has such great potential should have a state-based hub publication where information can be shared in a productive, explanatory and entertaining way. We believe hemp to be a commodity that can improve the quality of life of individuals, offer jobs for farmers, income to Louisiana residents, and to be an opportunity for entrepreneurs by cultivating a plant that has tremendous promise. We want to be a space where you can read real stories about real people, obtain information on hemp trends, cultivation, extraction and infusion techniques, and find consulting and networking opportunities that can benefit all Louisianians who simply want to live life with hemp being a part of it. We consider our state to finally be moving in the right direction when it comes to hemp, and we’d like to thank all of the lawmakers, businesspeople, advocates and individuals who worked toward making Louisiana hemp cultivation a reality. We look forward to being a publication where we can all work collectively to bring the benefits of hemp to light throughout Louisiana.
Contents 4 Industrial Hemp: Fiber, Flower, & Feed 12 Driven 14 An Inaugural Hemp Harvest 18 A Voice for Vets 20 The War on #SmokableHempFlower
Owner / Publisher 337 Media
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COVER PHOTO BY ESTEBAN LOPEZ VIA UNSPLASH All pages within Louisiana Hemp Magazine are the property of 337 Media. No portion of the materials on the pages may be reprinted or republished in any form without the express written permission of 337 Media ©2020. The content of Louisiana Hemp Magazine has been checked for accuracy, but the publishers cannot be held liable for any update or change made by advertisers and/or contributors to the magazine. 337 Media, LLC is not responsible for injuries sustained by the reader while pursuing activities described or illustrated herein, nor failure of equipment depicted or illustrated herein. No liability is, or will be, assumed by Louisiana Hemp Magazine, 337 Media or any of its owners, administration, writers or photographers for the magazine or for any of the information contained within the magazine. All rights reserved. 3
Industrial Hemp Fiber, Flower, & Feed Louisiana’s first industrial hemp season in decades is now in full-swing. People across the state, from diverse backgrounds and industries are asking insightful questions and want to learn how to get involved. This article gives a brief overview about the different crops that can be harvested from industrial hemp and provide some guidance on entering this fast-growing and fascinating industry.
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Dr. Matthew O. Indest, PhD Licensed Industrial Hemp Grower and Consultant 5
High-quality hemp seed ready to plant. Images by Matthew Indest©
The genetics housed in every seed are what direct the growing plant and “code” the potential of any crop. Simply put, different genes result in different plants suited for different needs.
Hemp: Low in THC, High in Value
C
annabis
sativa
has
a
long-standing
historical
THC is a schedule I drug, but the 2018 Agricultural
significance as an agricultural commodity, not only in
Improvement Act (H.R.2 -- 115th Congress 12/20/2018) made
the United States, but around the world. For millennia, it has
clear what the federal government defines as industrial
served human-kind in many, unique ways. The diversity in
hemp (C. sativa plants with <0.3% Total THC) and what is not
this plant species is something to be cherished, as it offers us
hemp (C. sativa plants with >0.3% Total THC). Impossible to
a wide range of utility.
discern with the naked eye, THC content is just one way that C. sativa provides value (see medical marijuana programs in 33 states).
Upon hearing the word “Cannabis,” most people think exclusively about “marijuana.” But this term only refers to a small subset of the many varieties in this species.
Problematically, however, the nearly century-old illegal
Botanically, the characteristic leaf shapes, aromatic allure,
status of cannabis still leads many to assume that all
and trichome-laden flowers are generally identical among
cannabis is created equal, and the historical stigma
the species; however, there is one critical difference between
surrounding marijuana still looms over the emerging hemp
marijuana and legal industrial hemp: the concentration of
industry. Thus, our focus is on promoting and educating
the chemical compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its
the nation on federally compliant industrial hemp and the
acid-form THCa.
wealth of opportunity this industry represents to our state of Louisiana.
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IMAGE BY NICKYPE FROM PIXABAY
From 2005-2017, leading up to federal hemp legalisation, U.S. imports
the species to suit specific goals, climates, and crop systems. Plant
of hemp grew from $5.7M to $67.3M. Imports derived from hemp seed
breeding is the practice of identifying and propagating populations of
represented 92% of the total value of imports and came mostly from
plants to find types that fit the specific needs of an industry. It is critical
Canada and China (Johnson, Congressional Research Service, 2018).
to match your plant seed’s genetics to your production goals. This is
Now, however, the agricultural community in the U.S. is certainly
the first and biggest factor supporting your success as a grower.
capable of establishing a domestic supply for hemp seed and even exceeding its own demand for this commodity. The genetics housed in every seed are what direct the growing plant and “code” the potential of any crop. Simply put, different genes result Hemp has many applications that were recorded through thousands
in different plants suited for different needs. Hemp is no different. Yes,
of years of civilization. From rope, paper, medicine, food, feed,
some overlap exists, but there are certain hemp genetics that are better
aromatics, personal care, to industrial lubricants, hemp offers a wealth
suited for specific productions of fiber, feed or flower cannabinoids.
of resources to human kind (HIA, 2016). Documented research and
Each has value in their own right, but they are dramatically different
multiple patents exist for the known therapeutic applications of hemp-
in their growth characteristics, management, harvest, and processing
derived cannabinoids as neuroprotectants (Hampson et al, U.S Patent
requirements.
6,630,507-B1) and for treatments of rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease (Feldman et al US 6,410,588-B1).
After sourcing the right genetics and seed for your intended crop, you will then need to evaluate and prepare the unique process required to grow that crop. Here, we will introduce some general information
You may be thinking, "Can we really get all of these marketable
about three primary crops which can be harvested from C. sativa var.
resources from a hemp plant?" From one single plant, no, but like
industrial hemp: fiber, flower, and feed.
other crop species, these resources are available by breeding within 7
Fiber Hemp is a fast growing herbaceous plant with a vigorous
When fiber is the priority, plants are harvested pre-flowering
growth habit. Tightly spaced seeding rates results in tall
while the stalks remain thin and pliable. If the plant grows
plants with minimal side branching. Each plant competes
too tall, its height become harder to manage and the bast
with its neighbor for sunlight as it elongates as a single main
fiber becomes a rougher, lower quality (USDA, 1942). Thus,
stem. Seeds are planted at high density (60+lbs/acre) and,
hemp grown for fiber is a shorter-season crop than hemp
as a result, form a thick stand of very tall (8-12â&#x20AC;&#x2122;) stalks with
grown for flower or seed.
similar appearance to thin bamboo. In contrast, the hard inner tissue of hemp plants are The fiber produced by hemp is much different than the
known as the hurds. The woody hurd interior (Figure 2) is
fibers of other crops like cotton. Hemp fibers are derived
separated from the long bast fibers through the retting and
from the outer skin of the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stalk, known as the bast.
decortication process. The result are two fibrous products
Like long straws, these tubes carry water and nutrients from
with a range of applications and values. These materials,
the roots to where they can be used in the leaves.
bast fibers (15-20%/wt.) are processed into ropes, textiles, canvas, paper, and hurds (80-85%/wt) into hempcrete, medium-density fiberboard, animal bedding, and ethanol (USDA, 2000).
Hemp bast fibers separated from the inner hurd.
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left) Processed hemp hurds and right) fibers ready for use in applications such as Hempcrete insulation, ethanol, animal bedding, and heating pellets.
Images courtesy of Joe Strong and Rusty Peterson.
Flower Cannabis flowers, as they mature, develop stalked glandular trichomes that cover the surface of the flower structures. The female calyx becomes adorned with thousands of trichomes which plump up as the plant matures, making the flowers sticky to the touch. These are the sites of production for the many compounds which make these flowers valuable.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is the most common compound, but more than 80 cannabinoids have been identified, several of which have known therapeutic and medicinal applications. Therefore, it is really the microscopic, fragile, oily trichomes protruding from the tissue surface that are harvested or extracted for their valuable cannabinoids and terpene content. Growers should harvest flowers delicately, dry them slowly, and cure them properly to retain the highest quality of each crop. Terpenes evaporate at much lower temperatures than water, and the oily cannabinoids can break down in the presence of oxygen and light. Maintaining the trichome structure through proper harvest, drying, and curing procedures is a critical component to meeting the expected quality specs in your
top) Louisiana-grown CBD hemp flower right) an individual floral bract laden with cannabinoid-rich trichomes
sales contracts. Images by Matthew IndestŠ 9
Feed Hemp grain (aka “feed”) is the third crop that can be grown
The balance of nutritional fiber, healthy fats, and complete
from C. sativa in Louisiana. If pollen is introduced to female
protein make hemp grains a robust food source. After seeds
flowers in a field, the plant focuses energy into developing
are mature, the plant begins to senesce and dry making it
and maturing seed, rather than flowers and trichomes.
readily harvestable by a combine.
The plant’s metabolism favors seed development over
Just as soy and corn are processed into countless consumer
cannabinoid production, so the energy and nutrients divert
foods, skincare products, lubricants, fuels, etc., hemp grain
into the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates of the seed. Unlike
represents another raw industrial commodity. Your local
corn and wheat, the protein quality of hemp is a complete
grocery store likely already carries cooking oil, protein
one, having all nine essential amino acids and its adjusted
powders, fiber supplements, and other products which are
digestibility score ranks it higher than wheat (House et al,
derived from the nutritious hemp heart (see Figure 5).
2010). Also, the oil-rich (>30%/wt.) seeds are a rich source of omega-3 and -6 essential fatty acids (Blade et al., 2006).
Dissected hemp seed showing nutritious heart and microscopic plantlet ready take up water and grow
Image by Matthew Indest©
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Hemp in Louisiana: Growing Pains and Collaboration To the growing hemp industry, I want to leave you with two
Second, collaboration is crucial. In this first growing
important takeaways.
season, many farms will start with small, testing trials on a few acres to explore the logistics of production. The industry will evolve as the supply becomes available, but not without Many hemp growers are
growing pains. Collaborating with other farmers and
growing CBD-rich genotypes to market their flower for
networking with various stakeholders in Louisiana’s industry
therapeutic benefits. With this expectation and goal, the
will be crucial for long-term success. Processors of flower,
infrastructure for CBD extraction is quickly emerging. As
fiber, and feed will all necessarily depend on commitments
that infrastructure is established, we will see a divergence
from growers to meet demand and processing volumes.
in the hemp industry into two distinctly different production
Thus, growers must work to develop relationships with
systems: horticultural vs agricultural.
processors before the crops come in.
First, infrastructure is key.
With the right
investments in these systems, Louisiana can become one of the nation’s key producers of industrial hemp products. We have an incredible industry on the horizon, and a stronger future together. I am grateful to be a part of it.
Dr. Matthew O. Indest moiconsultingllc@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewoindest/
If you would like to learn more about seed genetics, the process of growing and harvesting, or the various industrial processes which convert raw hemp material into useful and marketable hemp products, you can reach Dr. Matthew Indest via LinkedIn or email. Blade, S. F., Ampong-Nyarko, K., & Przybylski, R. (2006). Fatty Acid and Tocopherol Profiles of Industrial Hemp Cultivars Grown in the High Latitude Prairie Region of Canada. Journal of Industrial Hemp, 10(2), 33–43. doi:10.1300/j237v10n02_04. USDA (2000). Industrial Hemp in the United States-Status and Market Potential. United States Department of Agriculture - Economic Research Service. USDA. (1942) Hemp for Victory. United State Department of Agriculture - Office of public affairs. National Archives Identifier:1682 Local Identifier: 16.P.673. Accessed July 4, 2020 https://youtu.be/d3rolyiTPr0 Feldmann, M, inventor; K Mathilda, Terence Institute of Rheumatology Trust, and Yissum Research Development Company of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Use of Cannabinoids as anti-inflammatory agents. U.S. Patent 6,410,588-B1. Filed April 14, 1999, Issued June 25, 2002. Hampson, AJ & J Axelrod, M Grimaldi. Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. U.S Patent 6,630,507-B1. Filed April 21, 1999, Issued February 7, 2001. HIA, “2016 Annual Retail Sales for Hemp Products Estimated at $688 Million,” April 14, 2017. House, James & Neufeld, Jason & Leson, Gero. (2010). Evaluating the Quality of Protein from Hemp Seed (Cannabis sativa L.) Products Through the use of the Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score Method. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 58. 11801-7. 10.1021/jf102636b. Johnson, R (2018) “Hemp as an agricultural commodity”. Congressional Research Service. June 22, 2018. 11
DRIVEN
From TBI Sufferer to Medical Marijuana Advocate
“Some of my fondest memories are spending time with my grandfather at the state capitol.” She mentioned this as I sat across from Katie Mayers, a Louisiana medical marijuana patient and professional cannabis advocacy consultant. “My grandfather was in the oil and gas industry in the 80s. I have a special needs sister and my grandfather would drive her to her treatments in Baton Rouge which we couldn’t hang around for, so he’d attend oil and gas meetings and legislature and I’d accompany him,” Mayers said. “So between the ages of 7-13 years old, I was taking notes. I started writing letters to politicians calling for different changes and my reasoning for suggesting those changes,” she continued. “I’ll never forget his words, ‘Never stop writing,’ he told me.”
By Abby Meaux Conques
Mayers would pick up her writing pen once again as an adult, still advocating for change, but this time for her health and in support of the health of others. Mayers had suffered multiple injuries in multiple car accidents in her adult life, resulting in major chronic health problems. Her first accident resulted in neck surgery, where an array of opioids, nerve medications, muscle relaxers, antidepressants and steroids were prescribed post-surgery. Mayers was left with a double plate in her neck, countless physical therapy hours, severe nerve pain, trouble sleeping, severe nausea, trouble digesting foods and trouble going to the restroom regularly. She was hospitalized multiple times for dehydration and no appetite. She knew that the existence that she was experiencing wasn’t the full life she hoped to live. On a visit to a legal marijuana state, she tried cannabis, and saw notable results from the first time she used it. “The first thing I noticed was that my appetite was there, knowing that food is also a form of medicine, this was big for me,” she said. Eventually she would notice an elevated mood and a jovial quality to her mornings. Upon returning to Louisiana, she was driven to do everything in her power to get access to this alternative plant medicine; for herself and for others. “I was always fascinated with the science behind why it helps so differently. I started getting in touch with doctors and university researchers who would speak to me about it. I spoke with researchers at over 20 different universities. I started gathering all this data and information, and eventually, people began coming to me with questions on how this could help them,” she explained. KATIE MAYERS, 2020 12
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“When Louisiana’s medical marijuana program started to pop up in
Other noted positive effects for Mayers included a reduction of
legislation, I knew it was my duty to become involved and to help
brain swelling from her TBI. This resulted in various cognitive
people with chronic health issues like myself get safe access to this
improvements including better processing and comprehension,
alternative medicine. I started writing those letters again, just like
better quality sleep, a more joyful approach to life, better digestion,
my grandfather told me to do,” she said. “I was determined to break
and she even started to produce saliva again, a sensation she lost
the stigma, to educate people...I knew there were human beings in
after her brain surgery.
this state who could benefit greatly from this and had no legal access to it,” she said. From the beginning, Mayers advocated for safe access and a consistency in product.
“Everything is better tuned in my body now, it’s actually very weird. I forgot that my body was supposed to function this way! “she exclaimed. Marijuana even uncovered a vision problem she obtained
During this time, Louisiana’s legal medical marijuana program was
from her TBI that she was unaware of. With the improvement
approved, but suffered many setbacks and roadblocks, creating
in vision, she was alerted to an underlying problem, and is now
emotional roller coasters for prospective patients in desperate need
undergoing vision treatment. She reports that her pain levels are
but stuck in the government’s red tape.
much more manageable, and the anti-inflammatory properties
While working in legislation, ten years after her first neck surgery, Mayers was hit again in a car accident, and this time suffered two
of marijuana with no harmful side effects aid her in her everyday movements.
hematomas on each side of her brain, resulting in a traumatic brain
“Of course, everything is not for everybody, but I would encourage
injury (TBI) and brain surgery. This injury and surgery resulted in
anyone suffering daily to try it out. There are doctors who can walk
many more symptoms and problems.
you through the treatment to see if it’s right for you. If it enhances
“I lost sensation, I lost bodily movement, I couldn’t walk, I lost some vision,” she said. As a chronic pain sufferer, TBI sufferer, and seizure and spasticity sufferer, along with Louisiana’s topsy-turvy winding road to legalizing and dispensing medical marijuana, Mayers was finally able to make her way through the now-legal state medical marijuana program and was legally prescribed the medicine she knew could help her from years ago. “During my time working in legislation, I formed a lot of relationships with doctors who helped me navigate the program and aided in the correct dosage that my body needed,” she said. As an official medical marijuana patient, and after all of her health setbacks, she was able to obtain positive results with her prescription. “I was able to get rid of all daily opioids; a script I’d use daily would now last me 6 months or more as an emergency
your daily living, it’s worth every penny,” she said. There are currently 9 pharmacy dispensaries in Louisiana where patients can get their medical marijuana prescriptions filled. Mayers uses the Lafayette dispensary, the Apothecary Shoppe. “They’re very knowledgeable about dosing and they care about the whole person. Their establishment also serves as a platform for art therapy, another modality for healing for chronic pain sufferers, TBI patients, seizure sufferers, etc.” With a simple google search for Louisiana medical marijuana doctors and dispensaries, you can take your first step in finding an alternative or supplement to traditional pharmaceuticals. Mayers is still active today in the legislature, is a professional consultant, more of an advocate than ever, and is still writing those letters with no desire to stop.
method. I’m off all other meds and only take medical marijuana and an antidepressant,” she said.
KATIE MAYERS (FAR RIGHT STANDING) WITH GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS ADDING AUTISM TO LIST OF QUALIFYING CONDITIONS FOR THERAPEUTIC CANNABIS (MAY 2018)
KATIE MAYERS AT LOUISIANA STATE CAPITOL FOR BILL SIGNING CEREMONY MAY, 2016 13
AN INAUGURAL HEMP HARVEST What it's Like in the Fields So Far By Abby Meaux Conques
I recently connected with David Tate, outside contractor for Virgin Hemp Farms in Louisiana, to ask him about the happenings so far in the first Louisiana hemp harvest season.
Tate is a Louisiana native and University of Louisiana at Lafayette alum who has called California home since 2005.
“I lost both of my parents in 2005 to cancer. I asked my doctor what precautions I could take to optimize my health, and frankly he said to move out of the state. Honestly, that’s what I did,” explained Tate.
Tate moved to Mendocino County and found a job working at a grow site. Over the years, he learned the ins and outs of varying cannabis grows; from supplies to irrigation, indoor to outdoor. He noted strategies and equipment that worked from his experience. For years he entertained the thought of starting a business in the cannabis realm in California, but quickly saw that the red tape and bureaucracy outweighed the desire to do so. 14
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Now, Tate is able to have a hand in hemp by consulting for his
it in the field long enough, it can convert to cannabinol (CBN),
longtime friends that head Virgin Hemp Farms in Louisiana,
which is very desirable, specifically in the medical field,” Tate
while simultaneously fulfilling a goal of attending UC Berkeley
said. Although there are very few studies on CBN, the studies
for financial planning.
which have been completed thus far show an array of potential benefits ranging from having antibacterial properties, acting
FARM CARE “We’re helping farmers oversee over 65 acres of hemp right now,”
as a neuroprotectant, serving as an appetite stimulant, aiding the effects of glaucoma, and having the capabilities of an antiinflammatory.
he said. Tate explained how delicate this first harvest season is due to the fact that experts won’t know how hemp will react to the environment and the soil of Louisiana. “It’s definitely a learning year,” he said. There are many factors that affect the hemp yield, many of which
LOUISIANA PESTS The main obstacle concerning hemp farming right now are Louisiana pests & pathogens.
they are beginning to see and try to remedy as the harvesting
“In California, there may be two or three pathogens that you
rolls on. Tate explained, “For example, Cannabidiol (CBD) plants
have to worry about: root-borne or soil-borne illnesses...and it
can only contain up to .3% THC. If these CBD plants produce too
normally happens closer to the flowering period,” said Tate.
rapidly, they can have too much THC and the crop will be lost.”
“The largest problems being faced in Louisiana right now is that
For future grows, Cannabigerol (CBG) strains could be utilized
20 to 30% of these farms are experiencing crop loss from southern
more due to the time and energy it takes for a CBG strain of plant
blight and phytophthora which are plant damaging. What these
to convert to THC. CBG has other attractive characteristics as
farmers need are fungicides,” Tate explained. He said if current
well. “It’s frosty and full of trichomes and terpenes; if you keep
trends continue, a 50% crop loss isn’t out of the question. “At that ROWS OF HEMP GROW FOR LOUISIANA'S INAUGURAL HEMP SEASON
15
rate, it will be extremely tough to get farmers to want to grow
team at the LSU Ag Center...they’ve helped us a lot,” he said.
hemp in the future; will it be worth it with that much of a loss?”
Tate explained that at first sign of the pests and pathogens, they
The conundrum that these Louisiana hemp farmers are facing is that they can’t ward off these pathogens with the same chemicals that are approved for a soybean, corn, or sugarcane farmer. Louisiana hemp farming is in such infancy, and there are restrictive rules statewide for the hemp industry. Hemp
reached out to Dr. Singh, head pathogen expert at LSU Ag. “He met with us quickly and would get really excited to see what we’d find,” he explained. Virgin Hemp Farms donated sick plants to Singh so he could carry out controlled experiments to gather more data to aid future grows.
farmers are only able to use organic methods in an attempt to
The team came up with an organic solution to combat the
rid their crops of southern blight and phytophthora.
cucumber beetle since what’s commonly used in pest and
“Root rot could be occurring because of the amount of rain the state is getting. The problem with standing water on farms is that root fungus colonizes the plants’ roots and kills them; this affects the plant's vascular system,” Tate explained.
pathogen prevention isn’t cleared for use by hemp farmers. Azadirachtin is not as effective as other options, but is being used to help farmers get the most out of their harvest. It’s a secondary metabolite present in neem seeds; a cousin, if you will, of African tree neem oil. It’s commonly used in insect
“Spidermites are what California worries about. Here, so
prevention and is considered to be non-toxic to mammals.
far, Louisiana is facing the cucumber beetle...it looks like a
It’s also not expected to have adverse effects on nontarget
green ladybug...they can swarm and infect fields overnight,”
organisms or on the environment.
he explained. Food commodity farmers have their defense in certain chemicals that hemp farmers are restricted from, and ironically, their product is deemed safe to eat. “I have to say, even in these challenges, I’m extremely thankful
To help with fungus, they are using bacillus subtilis and bacillus amyloliquefaciens, bacterial strains that outcompete bad bacteria and root rot and are also not considered to be harmful to humans or the environment.
and equally impressed with Dr. Raghuwinder Singh and his 16
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A PLANE SPRAYS AZARDIRACHITIN, A CONCENTRATE OF THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT OF NEEM OIL, TO FIGHT THE CUCUMBER BEETLE NORTH OF LECOMPTE, LOUISIANA
Tate also mentioned farmers are being helped by Virgin Hemp Farms’ fertigation systems put in place, designed by one of the owners, Blaine Jennings. “Blaine designed a really amazing irrigation and fertilization system. As far as I’m concerned, he is an absolute pioneer in hemp in Louisiana,” he said.
OTHER FACTORS Another factor in a successful harvest learned in the inaugural Louisiana round is how the length of day affects the plants. The seedlings used in this first harvest are from other states. If a farmer uses seedlings from Colorado, and there’s normally 15 hours of daylight in Colorado, those seedlings could be shocked by the new environment where Louisiana’s proximity to the
FUTURE TRENDS Tate
is
equator makes daylight and nighttime more equal in proportion,
already
recommendations
getting
together
for
future harvests and clients. “I’d recommend autoflower seeds to future growers. We couldn’t do that with this initial harvest, but in the future, it would help the plants to not be in the fields as long, therefore less susceptible to environmental problems. You could also get 2 harvests out of the same fields with
"HEMP SIMPLY HAS A LOT OF POTENTIAL"
autoflower seeds.” He also said he’d recommend certain farmers try greenhouse grows. “It’s attractive because it’s a controlled environment... controlled humidity...controlled water...sterile soil, but some of these farmers are old school and are comfortable with outdoor grows, which is understandable,” he mentioned.
allowing for less daylight. The remedy to this would be seedlings
bred
genetically
in
Louisiana. Virgin Hemp Farms is looking to the future where plants are bred, seedlings are cultivated, strains are grown, and oil is extracted, all here in Louisiana. They are envisioning a future where quality products are made locally “from soil to oil.”
All things considered, Tate is happy to see progress in his home state. “I’m happy to see the state of Louisiana broaden its perspective on certain things,” he said. “I hope the powers that be will keep farmers’ interests in mind by allowing them to use on their sick plants what other farmers are permitted to use on theirs. I hope they are eager to understand the problems and be progressive about the aid,” he said. He ended our conversation with the perfect summation, “Hemp simply has a lot of potential.”
A VOICE FOR VETS
One Veteran's Goal to Inform PTSD Sufferers About the Effectiveness of Medical Marijuana By Abby Meaux Conques “I didn’t see myself as being disabled, I saw my situation as having obstacles.” This is what (medically retired) U.S. Marine veteran, Elizabeth Damron, told me about her passionate pursuit of plant medicine and cannabinoid therapy. In 2014, Damron was forced to medically retire from the U.S. Marine Corps for Post-traumatic stress disorder. At that time, she was prescribed 18-20 pharmaceuticals a day by doctors. “My physical body was dying because of the meds. It was a shell of an existence; I did rounds of therapy...I needed a radical life change,” she explained.
WHAT LED HER TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA Damron is a product of a military family. She had aspirations of keeping the family military legacy alive by keeping fit and eating right in high school. “I didn’t smoke marijuana in high school; I knew I wanted to join the 18
military and smoking would hinder those chances, but I always respected the plant,” she explained. It wasn’t until post medical military retirement that she gave it a try after it was suggested to her. “At that time I had been on so many meds...Effexor, Lexipro, the list is long,” she said. Damron explained that the medicines she was prescribed never gave her a sense of contentment, much less euphoria. She mentioned she barely felt anything, really. Damron has a degree in psychology and is educated on various disorders and subsequent medications to treat them. “I knew I couldn’t live a fulfilled life on those prescribed meds,” she said. After Damron tried cannabis, she noticed evidence of the plant working in ways in which other modalities never did for her. “I was an occasional user and would notice being elevated to a place where I was able to begin weaning off of medications,” she explained. As a mother of two, she recalls being prescribed heavyduty pharmaceuticals while pregnant as she did not want L OU ISIA N A H EM P M A GA ZIN E
V O L U ME 1 I S S U E 3
to consume cannabis during pregnancy or breastfeeding since there is a lack of study. “I remember thinking how unhealthy that made me feel. Those drugs were class C medications,” she said. Class C drugs are approved by the FDA for use while pregnant, even though animal reproduction studies show adverse effects to fetuses. Since there are no well-controlled studies of Class C medications in humans, the FDA deems these drugs having potential benefits despite potential risks. “I went right back to plant medicine after I was finished breastfeeding, and was able to get to a point where I was officially pharmaceutical-free 3 ½ years from retirement,” she mentioned. Today, she gives credit to healthy eating and cannabis use as her method of continued wellness. Her condition qualifies her for four different medical marijuana programs in four different states.
ELIZABETH DAMRON (LEFT) AND OTHER CANNABIS REFORM ADVOCATES POST GOVERNOR DINNER 2019
ADVOCATING FOR OTHERS Damron now has the intention of continuing the pursuit of a PhD (contingent on the current COVID-19 situation) in neuropsychology at Tulane University in New Orleans where her goal is to prove that cannabis can be an effective treatment for PTSD. She intends to be an active advocate for veterans in particular. In her research so far, she’s found that there are six particular strains best suited for treating mental health. They are strains that have been around for a notably long time, and where THC content plays a major part in the combination to aid mental health, specifically. Her research has also taken her to the VA with a focus on traumatic brain injury and PTSD studies in particular. She was appalled at the published handouts being given to veterans regarding medical cannabis with blatant misinformation. She is currently working on information to be made in the form of an easily-read flyer for veterans so that they can make an educated decision regarding using medical cannabis as a means of treatment for mental and physical health. “They need to be informed on what cannabis is and isn’t; they need to know the synergistic effects of CBD and THC in the body,” she explained. “I want them to be cognizant of what they’re saying ‘no’ to when they decide against it,” she continued. She’s also focusing her efforts on educating community members and working at the state legislative level on marijuana reform. She currently holds the position of President of SMPL (Sensible Marijuana Policy for Louisiana), “an organization dedicated to statewide coalition building, sound policy research, education and advocacy for substantive marijuana law reform in Louisiana,” according to their website.
ELIZABETH DAMRON (SECOND FROM LEFT STANDING) WITH PRO CANNABIS MEDIA AND OTHERS
(BELOW) ELIZABETH DAMRON, SMPL PRESIDENT, (SECOND FROM RIGHT)
Obviously, with the current situation regarding COVID-19, efforts have been hampered with the lack of legislative sessions, but Damron is optimistic that changes are in the state’s future with passionate people like her always looking for ways to reorganize in order to attain a specific goal.
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THE WAR ON
#SmokableHempFlower
Are Smokable Hemp Flowers Getting Banned in Your State? Georgia, Louisiana, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Hawaii...
Pat Jack Founder, CBD RICH LOUISIANA LLC 20
L OU ISIA N A H EM P M A GA ZIN E
V O L U ME 1 I S S U E 3
Recent legislation signed by the Governor of Iowa defines “consumable hemp product.” Iowa hemp law considers any “hemp product” where the “intended use” for introduction into the human body of any “hemp product” where that is through any means of inhalation, to be a prohibited “hemp product” under section 204.14A of Iowa State House File 2581, now signed into law by the Governor of Iowa.
punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of $315 to $1,875. Men with guns will shackle your hands, and during booking or before booking into jail shackle your ankles. If you resist, force, violence or ultra violence will be used against you to force you to submit. Those are acts of war against citizens of The United States of America legally exercising the federal law, the legality of hemp.
Possession of hemp products in Iowa that are prohibited is a serious misdemeanor criminal offense and punishable by rapidly escalating fines as well as jail sentences. There is a war on #SmokableHempFlower being waged in Iowa by the government of Iowa.
The US Congress has made hemp legal. Hemp flower is considered to be a prohibited product in Iowa, unless you have a license issued by the State of Iowa to grow, handle, or process hemp. If you do not have a license to do the aforementioned and you are growing, handling or processing #SmokableHempFlower, you are a criminal in Iowa.
Iowa retailers caught selling smokable hemp products, (anyone caught selling them), and consumers found using them, (possessing them), could face “a serious misdemeanor”
Q: A:
Is smokable hemp legal to grow and possess in Iowa?
No. A person shall not possess, use, manufacture, market, transport, deliver, or distribute harvested hemp or a hemp product if the intended use of the harvested hemp or hemp product is introduction into the body of a human by any method of inhalation, including any of the following:
1. Smoke produced from combustion type of article that uses a heating element, 2. Apower source, electronic circuit, or other electronic, chemical, or mechanical process
device, including but not limited to a 3. Acigarette, cigar, cigarillo, or pipe, regardless
of whether such device produces smoke or vapor
(From the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship)
The war on #SmokableHempFlower is being waged in State legislatures as well as the Federal Courts. (We’ll get to Louisiana hemp law soon.) 21
Indiana hemp industry stakeholders standing together as plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit sought to suspend Indiana’s barbaric laws criminalizing hemp flower possession. They were successful. Indiana’s governor was ordered by a Federal District Court Judge to cease the enforcement of the criminalization of #SmokableHempFlower. A judge issued an injunction ordering the governor to cease enforcing the criminality of possession or sale of hemp flower. That court battle in Indiana went to the appeals court that presides over the lower court where it began and the temporary injunction was recently lifted by the appeals court. The criminality of hemp flower possession is once again an extreme peril faced by the citizens of Indiana and for how long we do not know. This battle is continuing in the courts at this time and has the potential to reach the Supreme Court of The United States of America. Can you imagine how many millions of dollars worth of hemp flower was sold in Indiana, imagine the millions of dollars worth of prerolls sold between the time the lower court issued the temporary injunction in Indiana and the date the appeals court above the lower court recently reversed the injunction? That court case being litigated now in Indiana costs $40,000 to launch in any state. One acre’s worth of #SmokableHempFlower, about 1,000 pounds, sold at a mere $100 per pound, (outdoor grown hemp flower is being sold for $300 per pound and more at the time of this writing), is a potential revenue for the farmer of $100,000 dollars per acre.
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It must be criminal if it’s worth that much money and people want it that bad, right? There is a gigantic amount of profit in growing and selling #SmokableHempFlower that is .3% total THC or less. The #SmokableHempFlower market is growing by leaps and bounds. State legislatures, state regulatory bodies using standing armies under control of the executive branches of state governments are waging a War on Smokable Hemp Flower. The War on smokable hemp flower is waged due to an affect of a debilitating dependency in which police and elected officials have become ensnared due to their powerful addiction to the War on Drugs. This addiction to the War on Drugs is fed by the confiscation through asset forfeiture seizure of extremely large amounts of revenue, cash and goods, bank accounts and real estate seizures that result from the execution of the War on Drugs. Obscenely huge profits produced for shareholders in, and owners of prison industrial complex corporations and prison industrial ancillary support businesses, (huge money makers), drives this #WarOnSmokableHempFlower. Shareholders, owners and principals profiting wildly through the ultra violent interdiction of high THC recreational cannabis, or high THC medical cannabis, (when illegal in a state -- marijuana), are terrified that their revenue streams will be snuffed out as a result of the legality of hemp flower for citizens. We’re talking gigantic amounts of money, (and power).
L OU ISIA N A H EM P M A GA ZIN E
V O L U ME 1 I S S U E 3
As most of us understand, the War on Drugs, and the War on #SmokableHempFlower is a serious disorder that greatly damages our society and societies around the world. It is an extremely violent mental disorder afflicting police that preys upon their most basic character flaws, character flaws that can affect many of us, a lust for power over others, pure greed and for more than a few in law enforcement the enjoyment of violent action and behavior such as to cause submission and create a dominant position. The US Federal Government has unambiguously and unequivocally made hemp, the flower of the hemp plant and any part of the hemp plant, legal. As victims of the War on #SmokableHempFlower, we, the citizens, the markets and cultivators, farmers and growers are afflicted with terror and ultimately suffer PTSD from the War on Hemp. PTSD is the goal of the War on Drugs, a mental and physical whipping generating subservience through mental conditioning using ultra violence -- all the while creating gigantic profits by transferring wealth to police and those that invest in the industries that support the state’s, your local municipality’s and the federal government’s enforcement armies, the police.
The level of cognitive dissonance a police officer trained in ultra violent techniques, (war making), heavily armed with the weapons of war, when that police officer is faced with the discovery of hemp flower, #SmokableHempFlower, their behavior is predictable. Their behavior is incredibly dangerous to life and limb and to one’s wealth and reputation, both for the police officer, and for the victim of the War on #SmokableHempFlower. When a man with a gun shackles your wrists and during the process of holding you in a cage shackles your ankles with the constant, aggravated threat of assault and battery, (extreme violence), that is war. Police claim they will lose their ability to wage their War on Drugs as the hemp flower, once dried and cured and trimmed to present for retail sales, looks, and smells exactly like it’s high THC recreational cannabis counterpart. Only a laboratory test specifically designed for identification of hemp can tell the difference.
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Everybody loves to look at beautiful pictures of expertly dried, trimmed and cured cannabis buds, smokable hemp flower buds and high THC recreational and medical dispensary cannabis buds. High Times magazine incorporates beautiful pictures of both live cannabis flower, and dried, trimmed and cured cannabis buds as the bedrock of their brand experience. We can all find great images, even a few gigantic, high resolution images of high THC, recreational cannabis plants and buds online; more and more they are ubiquitous as fully eleven States of the United States of America have passed laws to make both high THC recreational and medical cannabis legal; pics of nice buds are everywhere when you make the right search engine query. More rare, and extremely rare at this time, are high resolution, fine images of fire, #SmokableHempFlower buds which are accompanied by a lab analysis report, (a COA), that proves the buds are federally compliant industrial hemp. That’s changing. More and more we see images of cured hemp buds on social media like linkedin and facebook and instagram. The internet in general is awash in fantastic images of high THC, recreational and medical cannabis buds.
© Pat Jack 2020
© Pat Jack 2020
How can we tell the difference? Only a lab test performed post-harvest that indicates a total THC content percentage of .3% or less can truly define compliant hemp that passes over the retail counter, between the #SmokableHempFlower farm and the wholesalers, to the retailers and then between the purchaser’s lips as the retail customer takes possession. One really has to look hard for high quality images of true, CBD or CBG Rich #SmokableHempFlower buds online or in magazines, and that’s changing. Police are trained to interdict illegal cannabis buds, (recreational cannabis and in more than a few states hemp flower buds), they are trained to identify cannabis with the very same images we all love to view, and with the same olfactory analysis and awareness. Smells like weed? Go to jail; that’s how police think. Police dogs smell hemp? Go to jail; your civil and constitutional rights are suspended, destroyed, you are a criminal and will suffer criminal accusation.
Sangria - Jack Amakie © Pat Jack 2020
In Louisiana, recent amendments to Louisiana hemp law were signed by the governor that removed criminal jail sentencing penalties for possession of any part of the hemp plant without a license issued by the state. Criminal fines for possession of hemp flower or #SmokableHempFlower are still on the books as the newly amended criminality of hemp flower in Louisiana goes into effect on August 1, 2020, so you can still go to jail until then. After August 1, 2020, criminal fines ranging from $300 to $5,000 can still be assessed against a person for violating Louisiana State hemp laws. In Louisiana you must have a hemp license issued by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to grow, process, transport or breed seed in order to possess any part of the hemp plant, living or nonliving, otherwise it is a criminal act. Unless it is specifically hemp rolling papers. You heard me, a slap across the face from the Louisiana Legislature? You can smoke hemp, but only if it is a rolling paper. With the stringent total THC compliance requirements of .3% total THC or less making hemp legal, making hemp bud, #SmokableHempFlower legal, there is no confusion in the mind of a police officer as to what hemp bud is, and what high THC recreational cannabis bud is, they look and smell the same, they are both illegal until the substance is proven to be legal through lab testing. Police do not care, even if they are completely aware, that a bust for hemp or marijuana can be defeated in court due to the legality of hemp. Only lab testing can distinguish high THC, recreational and medical cannabis from #SmokableHempFlower. And while that lab testing is being done, you will be in jail until you bond out facing serious criminal charges and criminal fines. Being placed under arrest, handcuffed, having your ankles shackled during booking, spending the night or a few days in jail waiting to be arraigned on potentially life destroying charges, paying what can be a substantial bond, (if you even have enough for a high bond), having your picture printed in the paper by police stating you were arrested for drugs, getting fired from your job, having family members be concerned or even ashamed of you, facing social derision and ostracization,
incurring severe damage to reputation, potentially being found guilty of a serious misdemeanor or more likely a serious felony for being in possession of especially, a large amount of #SmokableHempFlower cannot be tolerated. It’s literally unconstitutional to criminalize the possession or the ingestion of hemp by smoking it. The US federal laws on hemp say nothing about smoking it, the flower is legal to possess. US federal law and regulations cover the production of hemp, not the manufacture of hemp while expressly making hemp legal. It is diametrically opposed to both the will and the intentions of the US Congress and the President of The United States of America as the federal law states in the 2018 US Farm Bill that hemp is legal. The possession of hemp by any person is legal. The US Congress has expressly and unequivocally legalized hemp just as they legalized alcohol so many generations ago when prohibition ended. Yet the legislature of the State of Hawaii is busy pushing hemp law across the Governor of Hawaii’s desk that criminalizes the possession of hemp flower, or #SmokableHempFlower. In Georgia there are hefty fines when convicted of the criminal act of possession of #SmokableHempFlower, and in Texas, don’t even think about it. In Kansas one may not purchase hemp unless one has a license. In Kentucky, #SmokableHempFlower is illegal, and there are more states not listed in this article where by some turn of the slickened political tongue in law, smokable hemp flower is illegal, and it’s all changing so fast, and not for the better. To say that one can grow the hops, produce and gather the ingredients to make beer, but that one will be thrown in jail using ultra violence if one possesses beer is far, far over the edge of absolute tyranny and ultra-violent psychological presentation of extreme mental illness. It’s a tyranny of tyrannies. It’s a reminder of our experience during the prohibition of alcohol and the incredible amounts of violence government used against American citizens during prohibition. This is happening again, there is a War on #SmokableHempFlower.
Will we bend the knee into their chains for something that is absolutely and completely legal? What choice do we have if the people that are elected to offices which create the laws under which we are persecuted choose to criminalize #SmokableHempFlower? What can we do about it?
We are now facing a war on #SmokableHempFlower and war on dried, hemp flower, and in some states a war on the possession of any part of the hemp plant which crushes the largest market of all, the market of We The People. This ancillary war on hemp, a hybrid of the war on drugs is being fought for many reasons, but primarily because of policing revenues and the power to use ultra violence against the citizens of The United States of America to exercise incredibly lucrative civil asset forfeiture, to exact fines, to extract bail monies and assess jailing fees, collect court cost revenues, and of course the lucrative and gigantic money maker, prison enterprises, the prison industrial complex mega money machine is making bank, literally.
What…can…we…DO…about it? We can agitate, we can redress government under our first amendment rights marching in protests on the steps of the State capital buildings and be sprayed with chemicals that cause us extreme pain, shot with “rubber non-lethal” bullets in the eye and worse. We can be beaten bloody into submission. We can hire incredibly expensive lobbyists who are beholden to the highest bidder and pay huge fees to belong to associations which cater to that money, (the more money the more catering). We can pay lobbyist associations that then hire more lobbyists to work to change the laws, while those laws damage and endanger society, and put you in jail or heap criminal fines upon you and your hemp operations, and keep the lobbyists employed. Or we can band together as hemp industry stakeholders and hire expert hemp and cannabis attorneys to petition State’s Federal District Courts, to petition a Federal District Court judge to make and sign an order providing injunctive relief that prohibits the enforcement of any criminality of #SmokableHempFlower. Federal District Court judges can, and have commanded a State’s executive branch to cease all activities which are associated with that State’s laws that criminalize the possession of hemp, (jail sentences or fines), and the smoking of hemp. Injunctive relief of this type in Indiana has been very effective to protect and relieve hemp industry stakeholders while the State of Indiana continues to fight the War on #SmokableHempFlower in the courts against a courageous group of Indiana hemp industry stakeholders, standing together in court, exercising the most precious freedom we have, exercising the freedom to redress government through the courts, where it counts.
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And then there is the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and the truly gigantic monies states receive for every single cigarette sold in America. That’s right, state’s profit directly to the tune of many billions of dollars and walk hand in hand with big tobacco enjoying the profits of the tobacco industries. That’s another story, one we should all understand. As hemp industry stakeholders we have the power to redress government effectively by exercising our first amendment rights where it counts, standing before Federal District Court judges in our respective states demanding an injunction that then allows us to sell hemp flower without extreme peril, and allows our markets, We The People, to purchase the products of our legal labor and do whatever they wish with it within the law of the land, The Constitution of The United States of America, the will and intent of Congress and the President of The United States of America. The War on #SmokableHempFlower will not stand, but will we be on our knees in pain before it is all over? And who will be making big money while we obey the law? Will you stand together with your hemp industry stakeholder participants and redress government through the courts? Or will you let this incredibly lucrative opportunity just pass you by while growers in other states experience the exciting opportunities #SmokableHempFlower offers?
L OU ISIA N A H EM P M A GA ZIN E
V O L U ME 1 I S S U E 3
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