April 2022

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CBD AND PETS

BY MISTY CONTRERAS

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, 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

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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 tinc-

ture 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!”

STEVE LEVINE

Original Hempster (1948 - 2022)

BY MINA HEGAARD

Although he didn’t personally use FaceBook or social media, images of Steve Levine often made the feeds like a celebrity, and that is how I got the news of our loss. Steve left the planet and the plant in better shape than it was, January 1st 2022, in excellent company with Betty White. May he continue to light up a room, with joy and a joint, wherever it may be.

We met in Santa Barbara, CA in 1999, in his shop, the Santa Barbara Hemp Company. He did everything he could to promote the hemp plant, including making regular purchases from hempsters like me, young, enthusiastic and fired up about hemp. At that time I had just launched a hemp clothing brand and was shopping it around to the 500 +/- hemp stores in the country that had recently sprung up.

He was a giver, not looking to make the fast buck, and he lived his life that way because he enjoyed it.

January 14, 2022 I logged into the zoom memorial gathering in his honor, hosted by Eric Steenstra, and attended by about 60 people who adored and admired Steve. “The OG Hempsters” we dubbed ourselves, and with some having almost 30 years of experience re-pioneering hemp in America, there were some epic stories to tell, legendary even. Anyone digging into this industry should know the history, and Steve was an icon.

In 2009 during the HIA vs. the DEA, Steve and a crew, headed by David Bronner of Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap, planted themselves on the lawn at the DEA headquarters to protest the ban on hemp farmers by getting arrested for sowing a few hemp seeds with shovels that read: “Reefer Madness Shall

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L to R: Wayne Hauge (ND Farmer), Will Allen (VT Farmer), Steve Levine, Isaac Nicholson (clothing designer), Adam Eidinger (activist), and David Bronner (Dr. Bronner’s). Photo by: Eric Steenstra (president Vote Hemp)

Be Buried! American Farmers Will Grow Hemp Again.” According to everybody, he never wore suits, but on this day he looked quite spiffy representing the civilian hempsters back at the ranch.

Being the president of hemp the Hemp Industries Association is status, but he never wore that hat pretentiously or self importantly. He was one of those people that lifted your spirits and the overall vibe of the room while making you feel like family.

As well as being involved in trade shows around the country for Dr. Bronner’s, Steve organized his own festivals on the home front of Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Hemp fes-

tival would feature hemp celebrities like Chris and Mikki Conrad, crusaders for marijuana prisoners, (who were in attendance of the memorial) and local reggae bands. Jessica Norris, his employee back in the day says,”“Steve was a champion for Industrial hemp. He dedicated his life to education and legalization of the world’s most useful plant”.

Steve Levine was the OG, a true gangster of hemp love and kindness. He was always smiling and laughing. He had the utmost patience while answering the same questions relentlessly at trade shows, events and in his shop, as well as listening while strangers explained to him the virtues and conspiracies of hemp as if he hadn’t heard.

His good friend Rob Jungman, founder of Jungmaven hemp clothing, shared an account of their last meeting at Summerland beach, near Steve’s home. As they smoked a joint and walked along the shore, Steve got a far away look in his eyes and said, “I’m losing my memory. But I am happy. I feel blissful.” And that is how Rob would like to think that he would like to be remembered, as blissful and happy, because in the end, what else matters?

Steve is survived by his wife and hemp partner in crime Kathi.

4 LESSONS LEARNED FROM TO BE BLUNT I’ve been hosting the To Be Blunt podcast going on two years this June, and during that time, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with over a hundred different cannabis leaders in the interest of gaining insight into how they’ve been navigating the industry, what steps they’ve taken to bring their products to market, and ultimately how they’ve made the sale.

I thought for this edition of The Hemp Reporter, I would reflect on 4 key takeaways shared by my guests to bring you some of the invaluable insights gleaned from the podcast, and encourage you to tune in weekly (new episodes every Monday!) as my guests open up bluntly to share their stories and strategies.

To frame things up, I think it is important to highlight the awareness that comes with understanding where and how you want to do business. For example, I am also the CEO of RESTART CBD, we are a Texas based CBD brand.

We have a brick and mortar in Austin, but we also sell online and ship our products nationwide. That brings on certain challenges that will vary depending on if you decide to sell just hemp, sell online, sell marijuana in an adult use or even medical market, etc.

My goal is never to deter you from operating in the cannabis industry, but to help you streamline and strategize how you are going to go to market.

So here are 4 key takeaways learned and follow up notes for you to go listen to my guest episodes to get the full story:

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The Podcast for Cannabis Marketers with host Shayda Torabi

1. Shanel Lindsay discussed the benefit of focusing on ancillary solutions and how that approach helped her pave the way to founding Ardent, a cannabis easy bake oven and Automatic Decarboxylator. Lindsay is based in Massachusetts, who at the time did not have a legal adult use market, and to obtain a medical license was $30,000 among other requirements. She knew she wanted to be in cannabis, but saw the route of trying to get a license as a dead end. Ultimately resonating with the cannabis patient experience and wanting to revolutionize how people could use their home grown flower to decarboxylate and formulate their own products at home. Ancillary businesses are not free from tribulations as Lindsay shares about her fair share of hurdles navigating in her episode, but credits her opportunity to focusing on ancillary services, which was defined as

anything non plant touching. Or simplistically, not requiring a license to operate (retail, distribution, cultivation, manufacturing, etc.) It’s worth a shot to think creatively about how you can circumvent some of the licensing requirements and build a business that doesn’t require you to obtain a license to operate.

2. Ariana Newton spoke on a recurring theme for any cannabis business owner trying to navigate social media and censorship. While the unfortunate truth is there isn’t a clear path for what cannabis business owners and content creators need to follow to ensure their account isn’t disabled or content removed, there are some key things to note that Newton shares in the episode from her experience helping grow WeedTube, a cannabis video content platform. Their platform was created because of the cen-

sorship their owner and other cannabis content creators were facing with having their content removed and their profiles along with their hundreds and thousands of followers deleted. Some tips Newton shared were to back up your content by posting it to multiple platforms, like YouTube AND WeedTube, for example.

Newton also recommends ambiguity, so I’m sure you’ve seen people substituting the 🥦🥦🥦 🥦🥦🥦🥦i instead of saying the word cannabis, she says that can help prevent your content from being flagged by these social media platforms.

3. Ilissa Nolan represents an organization here in Texas that I’m an Executive Board Member of called, The Texas Hemp Coalition.

The THC is a non-profit that’s goal is to advocate and educate on hemp here in the Lone Star State, from the policy level to the market level and everything in between. Nolan and I share the same belief that we have to make change at a local level, and while as a nation we’re still

fighting for federal cannabis adoption and legality, the best place to try to make change is in our own backyard. The organization spends a lot of time heavily involved in the legislative process, which isn’t happening this year, but be ready as we’ll be back to it in January 2023, and when we’re not in session stays up to date on regulation and the back and forth that we go through as an industry to keep our industry thriving with commerce. I think anyone operating in business should be a part of trade organizations, it’s a great way to stay on top of the ever changing regulatory landscape as well as contribute to helping make our cannabis community a strong and vibrant one.

4. Jenn Tramaglino shared insight as a native Las Vegan who is on the forefront of cannabis events and hospitality with her company Cannect Hospitality. Nevada was one of the first states to issue hospitality licenses which go into effect this year (2022) which has paved the way for on site consumption and on premise events. And while that right now only applies to adult use cannabis markets like those operating in Las Vegas, the takeaways of how we look at cannabis from an experiential perspective in general are very relevant whether you sell hemp or full on marijuana. The idea that consumers are wanting to consume in the same manner

that we consume alcohol is not that far off, but treating cannabis and alcohol with the same intensity is like comparing apples to oranges. Being able to not only educate the consumer on “how much is too much”, but also the staff at these events on how to observe how people are consuming and what to do to ensure safety is at the forefront. To me, there are so many aspects of legalizing cannabis that as an industry we have just barely scratched the surface on, Jenn provides insight into some of the ways things are evolving in our industry and there is certainly more to come.

No matter how you want to operate in the cannabis industry, I believe that there is so much opportunity and possibility, but it comes down to how we navigate it, and what tools we need to execute from social media, to licensing, to education. I hope this gave you some insight, but encourage you to hit subscribe on iTunes or Spotify for the To Be Blunt podcast where every single Monday I invite my guests to tell their stories so we can be inspired and educated, learn more at theshaydatorabi.com.

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Representing Cannabis: Failed Insights from a Supposedly Pro-Cannabis U.S. House of Representatives Candidate

BY MICHAEL JOHN WESTERMAN, ESQ.

Running for office in a democratic nation is one means through which you can throw in your lot and take a shot at effectuating change.

However, achieving success in such an endeavor often requires the exchanging of one’s ideals for cash and capital, as we explored in my previous article about lobbying.

I

f a candidate needs a certain amount of cash to achieve their objectives, and the only way to access that cash is by making concessions and promises, well then, a candidate isn’t really running on their own platform are they?

Candidates’ platforms are built atop the stacks of cash, or bands if they’re lucky, that are provided by donors, and that capital comes with caveats. (For those not in the know concerning street terms applied to cold hard cash, a “stack” is a thousand dollars, while a “band” is ten thousand dollars.)

To explore how lobby money and the pro-cannabis position of a candidate interplay, I made an attempt to present you with an interview featuring an individual running for the U.S. House of Representatives, to represent a Congressional District of Texas.

When they had an opportunity to receive a gratis consultation from me on how cannabis can help their campaign, they were motivated to schedule the taking of my time.

When I presented them with an opportunity to explain how they will help cannabis if their campaign is successful, they did not give us any of their time to explain why.

Following is a script of questions I suggest you present to any politician that tells you they are fighting for cannabis and want to use cannabis to bolster their platform. If they answer, get their permission to send it to me for prospective publication in a future issue of THR. Adjust the terms in brackets as needed for the politician you are presenting the questions to.

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1-In 100 words or less, let us know the platform of your campaign, and where cannabis fits in.

2-What is your position on cannabis in Texas?

3-What is your position on cannabis nationally?

4-What can a member of [the U.S. House of Representatives] do to support cannabis?

5-Would the [U.S. Representative from the 21st Congressional District] in Texas have any sway or influence concerning where the TX State Legislature goes with cannabis in 2023?

6-How much money does it cost to mount a campaign for the [U.S. House of Representatives]?

7-If/when you take a few stacks or even a band from a donor, how bound do you feel to their ideology?

8-How does a lobbyist make you understand that the money you are receiving is conditioned on you voting a certain way?

9-If, for example, a “national” cannabis advocacy group founded by a Colorado law firm funded by Colorado cannabis companies were to offer $50,000 towards your campaign on the condition that you oppose micro-grower licenses and support high barriers to entry in the eventual Texan recreational cannabis market, so that the Colorado cannabis companies can wedge their way into then conquer our market, would you accept it? What factors would you consider before deciding?

10-What do you think Texans can do today to advance recreational cannabis tomorrow?

Well reader, there you have it, some data about how lobbying and politics interplay in the cannasphere, and how that might affect where Texas is going in that regard. Keep this in mind as you take the proactive approach.

Reach out to your representatives and communicate your desire for recreational cannabis, micro-grower licenses, and the option to self-cultivate. Lounging on leather, seat back on recline watching the world pass by does have its appeal, however, doing so with legal recreational cannabis would be exponentially more appealing. Let’s do this, Texas.

-Michael John Westerman, Esq. www.mjwestermanlaw.com Property & Hemp Attorney, Cannabiz Consultant

FIRST YEAR OF NEW MEXICO RECREATIONAL CANNABIS SALES COULD GENERATE $318 MILLION

BY RACHEL NELSON

Legal recreational marijuana sales began in New Mexico on April 1.

“The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic driver in our state with the promise of creating thousands of good paying jobs for years to come,” said New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in a press release.

“We are going to increase consumer safety by creating a bona fide industry. We’re going to start righting past wrongs of this country’s failed war on drugs. And we’re going to

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break new ground in an industry that may well transform New Mexico’s economic future for the better.”

New Mexico joins five other states — Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont — that are slated to begin legalized recreational pot sales this year. In New Mexico, the excise tax rate for recreational marijuana will be 12%, which is lower than nearby states Colorado (15%) and Arizona

(16%). With a competitive tax rate, New Mexico hopes to attract tourists from Texas where recreational marijuana is not legal.

Dr. Kelly O’Donnell, independent economist and public finance expert, said the sales of adult-use recreational cannabis could generate $318 million during the first full fiscal year, including $20 million for the state’s general fund. In the long-run, O’Donnell said the industry could create more than 11,000 jobs. However, New Mexico also eliminated the tax on medical marijuana, which will cut into the state’s overall marijuana tax revenue.

“While I wouldn’t expect revenues to come anywhere near New Mexico’s main staples of oil and gas, any taxable revenue is good for a state that’s continually stretched for resources — especially now that medical marijuana is untaxed. I expect we’ll see even more visitors from Texas making a ‘pot stop’ part of their visits to the Land of Enchantment,” said New Mexico resident and PR/marketing consultant Krista Van Lewen.

The true economic impact of cannabis sales in New Mexico remains to be seen, but trends in other states show massive growth through the years. According to NBC News, Colorado raked in $46 million during its first year of recreational marijuana sales. That number grew 819% to $423 million in 2021. Washington pulled in $22 million in marijuana taxes in 2014, which grew to $480 million in 2021.

“As we look to rebound from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, entrepreneurs will benefit from this great opportunity to create lucrative new enterprises, the state and local governments will benefit from the added revenue and, importantly, workers will benefit from the chance to land new types of jobs and build careers,” Lujan Grisham said.

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6. Joe Rogan (@joerogan) “Marijuana has made me a more sensitive person. It’s enhanced my feelings on the positive aspects of community, and made me more affectionate and compassionate.” — Joe Rogan, 2019, via Instagram Joe Rogan shares about his marijuana usage on all of his social media accounts as well as his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

Through the years, he has been a very vocal advocate for the legalization of marijuana.

11. Soleil Moon-Frye (@moonfrye) “What is better than to get completely blazed and stare at the Starburst Galaxy?” — Soleil Moon-Frye, 2021 on the Dr. Greenthumb Podcast You may know her as Punky Brewster. In 2021, she released a Hulu documentary about her life called Kid 90, where she spoke openly about blazing bowls with other 90s teen stars back in the day. While she didn’t partake in marijuana during her appearance on the Dr. Greenthumb podcast last year, she did admit to having a strong contact high and reminisced back to the days when she was known by the nickname “Punky Blunts.”

7. Seth Rogen (@sethrogen)

12. Kirsten Dunst (@kierstendunst)

“I’ve never gone to a movie and thought, ‘man, I wish I was less stoned right now.”

— Seth Rogen, 2008 on The Daily Show As the mastermind behind Pineapple Express, it’s no secret that Seth Rogan loves to toke up. In 2019, he co-founded Houseplants, a cannabusiness that sells three of Rogen’s favorite strains: Diablo Wind, Pink Moon and Pancake Ice. The brand also sells home goods, like ashtrays and ceramics.

“I drink moderately, I’ve tried drugs. I do like weed.” — Kirsten Dunst, 2009 to Britain’s Live Magazine Kiersten Dunst is ready to Bring it On. (The bong rips, that is). Although she admits she isn’t one to spend all day stoned, she has publicly advocated for the legalization of marijuana calling America’s laws against it “ridiculous.”

8. Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) “I’m rolling up another joint as soon as the weed’s gone.” — Wiz Khalifa’s Weed Farm Lyrics Wiz Khalifa is one of the most unabashed stoners around. His cannabis line, Khalifa Kush, sells flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles and concentrates. He also launched his own line of stoner munchies called HotBox by Wiz.

9. Martha Stewart (@marthastewart) “Of course I know how to roll a joint.”

— Martha Stewart to Andy Cohen in 2013 Let’s face it — hanging out with Snoop Dogg makes anyone a stoner by association. Through a partnership with Canopy Growth, Martha launched her own CBD line in 2020 that offers gummies, supplements and, most recently, beauty products. Even if Martha isn’t sparking up from sunup to sundown like her partner in crime Snoop, one thing’s for certain … if you ever get the chance to try her brownies, you better take it.

10. B-Real (@breal) “We always considered ourselves the champions of cannabis culture in terms of hip-hop and mainstream music. We reference it in the music whenever we get a chance. — B-Real, 2021, cypresshill.com The Cypress Hill frontman (whose real name is Louis Mario Freese) is very enthusiastic about his cannabis use. He chain smokes joints on the Dr. Greenthumb podcast, which is hosted on his YouTube channel, BRealTV. He is also a leading cannabis entrepreneur, owning six Dr. Greenthumb dispensaries.

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13. Elon Musk “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” — Elon Musk, 2018, via Twitter In 2018, Elon Musk caught a lot of flack after he smoked pot on Joe Rogan’s podcast. He later called that decision “not wise,” but really — who cares what people think when you’re worth hundreds of billions of dollars?

14. Rihanna (@badgalriri) “Kush rolled, glass full...I prefer the better things!” — Rihanna, 2012, via Twitter Rihanna isn’t shy when it comes to publicly indulging in cannabis. The Barbadian singer and lingerie designer once rolled a blunt on the bald head of her bodyguard at the Coachella music festival.

15. Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) So I was weed for Halloween. BEST COSTUME EVER, IT’S SO FUN. Princess High the Cannabis Queen.” — Lady Gaga, 2012 via Twitter Long before starring in the 2021 flick “House of Gucci,” Lady Gaga was using marijuana to get her creative juices flowing. During a 2011 60 Minutes interview, she revealed to Anderson Cooper that she smokes a lot of pot while writing music.

There are far more fine flower children that could be included on this list. In fact, Woody Harrelson, Brad Pitt and Chelsea Handler each get an honorable mention. Be sure to follow them all on Instagram to make your feed a little greener.

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R: Andrew, you’ve been in the cannabis space here for a long time. What’s your message to lawmakers, I guess, in Texas to get us to push us over the line here with cannabis?

A: Well, my message to elected officials everywhere is the same, because basically every elected official, believe it or not, even here in California, they’re afraid of cannabis, and they’re afraid that if they are pro cannabis, that they’ll pay for it with their jobs, that they won’t get reelected. And that’s simply not true. If you look at all the polling, whether it’s polling in Texas or polling anywhere in the country, the people want this. So that’s the first message. If you come out for cannabis, you won’t be destroyed. You won’t lose your job. People will support you. You may be in a place where that support will be a little more quiet. And not everybody’s ready to jump out of the green closet in Texas and pump their hands on their chest and say, “I am Stoner!”. But there are people that are willing to say, hey, look, I’m going to write you a check for your campaign. This weed thing I support. Yeah, let’s get behind this. Yeah, let’s get behind this. You know, so I don’t have to do this anymore, right?

Because until we’re legal, it’s so hard to come out of the closet because you could lose your job or you could lose the relationship with your pastor, your priest, or your family or whatever could be threatened. And those are risky things for people, man. People don’t want to risk that.

R:One thing that improved, I think in recent the last year or two, Andrew, was the employment for professional sports. Didn’t they stop testing, I guess, NBA players and professional sports. I don’t know if it was more than the NFL or Major League Soccer, but we’ve seen where those bigger corporations are not testing the athletes anymore. They’re kind of turning away from looking into cannabis use. You spoke about the workplace. I just thought I would mention that because we’re seeing some progress in sports.

A: Yeah, a little bit. Amazon was the biggest domino to fall. Okay. Amazon was the biggest domino to fall. The NBA, Interestingly enough, have not tested players for cannabis for a long time because they wouldn’t have any League.

NFL still does. And we have a professional American basketball player locked up in Russia for weed right now. Brittany Griner that we can’t forget about her and other athletes. And Ricky Williams, the football player who went to University of Texas. I mean right there in Austin.

He got in all kinds of trouble for weed and almost lost his career. And luckily he was able to come back from suspension, had even better years.

Which just goes to show you…

R: He’s one we want to get on the show. I’ve actually tried to find or locate Ricky.

A: Go to his website. I think it’s Ricky Williams life or something like that. Yeah.

R: He has a new brand of cannabis of his own that I wanted to get him on the show.

A: I’ll give you a little secret which won’t, I guess, be that much of a secret. So, Ricky, forgive me if your inbox gets inundated, but Ricky is an astrologer. One of his passions right now is astrology. Drop him an email on his website or whatever, however they would have to contact him and say, I’d like to get a reading. There you go. I’d like to hire Ricky to give me a reading. You might get a response.

R: Yeah?

J: Is it in the stars that we get an interview?

A: Yes. Is it in the stars that we get an interview?

Yeah, that’s an excellent way of putting it. Good point. Jesse.

“Well, my message to elected

officials everywhere is the same, …. If you look at all the polling, whether it’s polling in Texas or polling anywhere in the country, the people want this

”

J: Talk about your consulting services a little. You’re the guru. You’ve got the consulting services and people contact you for corporate events. You’re doing a lot.

A: Thank you so much for asking. We started Harbor Side here in California, one of the first licensed medical cannabis dispensaries in the world. The city of Oakland was the first place anywhere, since the feds made weed illegal in 1937, to permit a cannabis dispensary. And it was medical in those days, of course. And we got one of the first permits and ran Harborside. It eventually grew to four or five different retail locations. By the time I left the company, we had a big farm. We had manufacturing brands. We were a vertically integrated business. We had 250 people working for us. And I ran the day to day operations of that for 13 years. My brother was really in charge of building the rest of the industry. He was doing all the media work. He was doing all the outward facing work, all the political relationships, the community relationships. And I was in the shop

running the day to day or running the wholesale operation at the farm or what have you. And that’s where I learned about management. That’s where I learned about leadership. Before that, I was an underground weed dealer. And you don’t learn a lot about how to write a job description or a performance review, or RFP for a municipality, or ordering and designing packaging when you’re in the underground. And so we had to learn all those things. And there was no industry. There was no place for us to call on. There was no software, there was no packaging company. There was no trade association we’d get help with. We had to sort of invent all of that stuff. And we did. I helped cofound California Cannabis Industry Association, which is still the biggest trade association here in California. And it’s important that we do those things, that we build those institutions of support around us so that when entrepreneurs come in now like me,it can help them navigate that whole process, and they can learn from me because I’ve done it before successfully, and I can help those folks do it successfully. And I just locked down my first industrial hemp client in Oklahoma. Actually, the United States Department of Agriculture is issuing a ton of grants right now, and a lot of hempsters are applying for those grants. And I have a client that we’re going to apply for a grant together, and we’re going to try to grow hemp seed for food and nutrition, not CBD, but for food and nutrition.

R: If only Andrew, we could get the lawmakers of Texas. They need a push. They need one here in the Lone Star State Andrew, A: It’s a big challenge in Texas because the legislature only meets once every two years. And if you don’t make it during a year that they meet, you’ve got two more years before you have another shot at it. And the enemies of cannabis, it doesn’t take many of them to sort of stonewall a session. And I think you got decrim right. Did you get the decrim through the state?

R: We haven’t even gotten it, no, it was on the initiative last session, but we did have our Lt Governor block it.

J: For two sessions it has been for penalty reduction, and it’s been pretty much blocked when it moves over to our Senate because our lieutenant governor has flat out said this is not happening.

R: Very tough on cannabis.So we’ve got to get more active with our voting and getting these guys getting new leadership, and hopefully that change will come. Another stifling, another drag

for Texas is that we don’t get a voice on the ballot.

There’s no balance initiative.

J: Unlike California, we don’t have ballot initiatives for state level items. So like a nonprofit I work with, we have to go into individual towns to do ballot initiatives to decriminalize their own police Department.

R: Because if that were true, if we had as voters that power, Andrew, I think Texans would have voted many years ago for cannabis.

A: I think so, too. And it’s unfortunate that the ballot initiative process does not exist in all the States because it really is a powerful tool for people.

Any tool can be abused by people who want to abuse power. And we’ve seen that happen a little bit with the initiative process in California, and it cuts both ways. You can get something passed by initiative that’s very progressive, and then a couple of years later, it can get reversed by people who are against it, who get enough signatures, get it on the ballot, and create enough energy to win. I think ultimately it’s what you said. You got to elect better people. If you’ve got people at the highest levels of government in the executive branch that are so anti cannabis in such a public way and in such an intense way, it’s going to be hard to move things through there. It’s going to be really difficult.

Even if the legislature wants to do it, I assume the executive branch can veto it. And that vetoes are really hard to overcome in a conservative state where you probably barely have enough votes to get it through the two houses of the legislature.

It’s just a tough one. The other issue is particularly nowadays, people are a lot more emotional about different issues than cannabis. All of us cannabis people who love to plan, of course, it’s our number one issue. I’m a one issue voter, man. Whoever’s got the best position on cannabis, boom, they get my vote. I don’t care what political party they’re in. I don’t care what they look like, I don’t care how they dress, I don’t care what they eat. I don’t care any about that! If you’re good on weed, you got my vote. Or if you’re just better than the other person, J: You’re not really a single issue voter. As I’ve been telling people, if you’re voting for cannabis, you’re voting for healthcare reform, you’re voting for criminal justice reform, all sorts of things.

A: Yeah, they all go hand in hand. But what moves me, to go to the polls, and I always vote even if I’m not that motivated, I’ll do just because I was raised with that sense of civic duty. But we have to get our people excited to come out and vote. And cannabis can excite people and this is where the elected officials need to hear, especially

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Democrats, and because there’s a lot of conservative Democrats, probably, who are not pro-cannabis in Texas, they need to get with the program and know that their constituents, no matter how conservative on other issues, if they have a shot to gain office at all as a Democrat, they can certainly take a positive position on cannabis without too much downside.

J: Let me ask, talking about earlier, when you all first started up in California in the 90s with your retail shop, when it was medical, between then and 2016, when it went recreational legal in California, you all had done a show called Weed Wars.. And the last thing I remember about it was, I think it went four episodes, and the fourth episode was like, well, we’ve had LEO’s come in and pretty much suspend us. And I’m wondering what was the full story behind that?

A: Well, the Weed Wars program happened around 2011, 2012, and there’s always battles in cannabis. Sometimes there are big battles, like, are we going to legalize for adult use or are we going to legalize for medical use, or are we going to decriminalize at all? And sometimes there are small battles, like taxes with a local tax authority, which one of the episodes in Weed Wars was about how the city of Oakland was interpreting a particular part of taxes that we paid them. And so that was a big thing. But six months after Weed Wars aired, the federal government did try to shut down Harborside. It’s too bad that the show didn’t get picked up for a future season because we really did have a war at that point that was executable.

And we won that war, at least that particular battle.

We didn’t win the 280E war, which is the federal tax war that we fought, but they tried to shut us down. And by taking our buildings away from us through our landlords in forfeiture actions. And we went to court and we won. And we were able to keep our doors open. So these are the kind of wars and battles that we fight and that you have to be willing to risk it all. I mean, there’s a lot of people in jail in Texas who can attest to that right now for weed that, oh gosh we’re trying to get out with the Last Prisoner Project. And it’s just tragic that we still have folks locked up for this, especially in places where cannabis is fully legal, like California, Massachusetts or Illinois and all these places. So we have to do our battles. And you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some. And I think what was great about Weed Wars and the program was we were able to show the world what was happening in California. That program was the first time anyone had ever given a child with epilepsy cannabis tincture with CBD in it, which I did in episode two I think or it was

episode three. It might have been, and that started a whole revolution. Those kids are one of the reasons you have a CBD law in Texas. Those kids are one of the reasons there is medical cannabis in places like Mississippi now. So it did a lot. I didn’t know when I gave that child that all this was going to happen. I suspected that if it works, that we were going to be onto something, and we worked. It got popularized throughout the epileptic community, and that all came out of Weed Wars. So I’m really proud of that part of it.

“

But we care. And you’re telling a story that’s bigger than yourselves. And that’s what we did with Weed Wars.

That’s what we’re all doing.

And we are influencing the culture.

”

R: Well, too, another point to Weed Wars was really the culture that it created, and it ripened the rest of the country. And you start seeing around that time of 2011, 2012, more states starting passing laws. And what it really did, it woke people up culturally. What it did for the culture was huge. Having a show about cannabis.

A: Yes. At the end of the day, my brother and I were cultural people that have disguised themselves as weed dealers. We’re cultural engineers is really what we are. And we’re trying to bring these plant medicines to the culture and also what we’re talking about with leadership. There are certain values that the plant has taught me, that plant medicines have taught me and my brother, and we try to incorporate those lessons into our value system and then see if that value system can influence the wider culture that we all have to live and exist in. And I can say I’ve seen a lot of progress in my lifetime, certainly with cannabis, huge amounts of progress and maybe some other parts of American life, not as much progress. But with respect to cannabis, certainly we’ve come a long way since Richard Nixon declared war on us in 1972, 50 years ago.

Now, just a couple of years after I was born, the power of the people can never be underestimated, and our ability to influence each other is always present. And you guys are doing it with your show right there i n Texas. There’s all kinds of folks I met several years ago, and I got to go out there for an event with a very grassroots group that was trying to get decrim done at that time.

And we’re all like little actors in a giant play, and

are influencing the culture. Some days it may not feel like it when you’re getting punched in the face, but there’s other days where you can feel it and you’re like, yes, somebody called me, they listened to the show today. They said it changed their life. Somebody went to the Harborside, and it changed their life. Somebody got out of prison because the Last Prisoner Project changed their life. Somebody joined a trade association, and it changed their life. So one life at a time.

the play is going to change the world culturally and is changing the world. You are changing your own little world where you are or a bigger world.

Texas is a pretty big place, and that’s how it’s done.

There’s not one hero that rides in on a white horse for our community. It’s all of us working together, knowing that every day is hard. Every day is not easy in places like Texas. It couldn’t be more hard in many respects, but we keep at it. You’ve got commercials going on on your show and you’ve got people sponsoring you, you’re grinding it out, and you got a beautiful studio, and you’re going to work every day, and you’re 73 episodes in. And that’s something to be proud of, man. It’s not like you’re cranking out the pay on this thing.

You’re probably barely covering your cost. But we care. And you’re telling a story that’s bigger than yourselves. And that’s what we did with Weed Wars. That’s what we’re all doing. And we

R: Well, Andrew, you were there in the early days of Proposition 215. Then we’ve seen in recent years Proposition 64. How has the market changed since 2016 in California?

A: Well, sad story. So we didn’t get the adult use framework right. And this is a cautionary tale for Texas. In 2010, we lost a statewide ballot initiative to legalize for adults in California that was called Prop 19. A lot of people forgot that by now, but I didn’t forget it because all of our friends that had cannabis dispensaries throughout the state and farmers and growers began to get busted by the feds. When we lost that election, the feds were like, oh, the people in California don’t want legal weed. Let’s go in and bust those hippies. And they did. And it wasn’t just hippies, black and Brown people, all kinds of people, mainly black and Brown people.

R: Is that still under Schwarzenegger as governor at that time?

A: Maybe. It was the feds man. And those days, the state would help the feds because we

had 215. But if you weren’t part of it, it didn’t really cover growers very well. It didn’t really cover farmers very well. And the feds didn’t care if you had a license to have a dispenser or not.

They still busted you. So it was a wipe out, man.

It was something like 807 or 800 dispensaries were shut down by the feds. And most of the time, all they had to do was tack a letter on the door saying that if you don’t voluntarily close up close, we’re going to bust you. And most people said, okay, I don’t want to get busted. I’ll close.

And they closed. And it cost them all of the cost of a stamp. Well, we got one of those letters and we said no, and we’re going to go to court. And we knew this was kind of coming. So when we did our leases, we wrote in the lease that we’re violating federal law. And so when we got into landlord court here in California. The judge said, hold on. It says right in the least they’re violating federal law. You can’t evict these people.

J:You can’t say that you agreed to this. You went to it knowing it.

A: Yeah, you went into it knowing that you can’t evict them. They knew that if they busted me and my brother because we had done so much media, because of what we had done, they wouldn’t get a jury to convict us. And so they couldn’t do that.

We won.

To catch the rest of this interview, visit texashempreporter.com or look for Texas Hemp Show on your favorite podcast streaming platform and listen to Episode 73 with our guest Andrew DeAngelo.

A HISTORY OF CELEBRATING 420 + 6 WAYS TO SPEND THE HOLIDAY

BY RACHEL NELSON

“We can have a good old time without worrying about the nonsense,” he said. “It’s going to be a blast.”

2. Find a cannabis sale Juhasz also shared that one of his clients in Oregon, Plain Jane, planned to have a special 4/20 sale on its hemp and CBD products.

“We usually have a huge party and celebrate,” he said. “If we can, we like to get all the farmers, growers and other people in the industry and celebrate all that we have done to help bring cannabis awareness and legalization to almost two-thirds of the country.”

We’ve all heard the term, “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” but what about 4:20? We turned to Wikipedia to get to the root of where the “420” stoner 3. Set out on a long road trip reference originated.

Legend has it that the number 420 first became associated with cannabis in the 1970s when five California high school students who called themselves “The Waldos” would meet at 4:20 p.m. to search for an abandoned cannabis crop. They used a treasure map provided by the supposed grower, and while their hunts were never fruitful, the term “420” stuck.

Four-twenty became a world-renowned pot-smoking phrase after one of The Waldos, Dave Reddix, became a roadie for the Grateful Dead. They declared 4:20 p.m. as the acceptable time to smoke weed, and Grateful Dead followers helped to popularize the term.

In 1991, High Times Magazine referenced the term “420” for the first time, and Journalist Steven Hager wrote a feature piece about The Waldos in 1998.

April 20, a.k.a. 4/20, is now a popular counterculture holiday. It’s an occasion when stoners gather together to pass the peace pipe as well as advocate for the legalization of marijuana.

Today, the spirit of 4/20 is alive and well.

Here are five ways to celebrate.

1. Visit a legal state As 4/20/22 approached, Max Juhasz, founder of Frisco-based Cannabiz Marketing Solutions, planned to celebrate by traveling to a state where cannabis is legal, like Colorado or New Mexico.

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This year, travel writer and marijuana enthusiast Hail Groo chose 4/20 as the day to embark on a weeks-long road trip across the western and southern United States, as well as western Canada, to explore the cannabis laws in each area.

“As someone who relies on CBD and medical marijuana and is a social media cannabis influencer, it’s essential to know the laws every place I go,” Groo said. “I’ll be walking my followers through the differences in each location, how I’m able to legally manage my disabilities and still have a great time as a solo traveler.”

Groo invites everyone to follow her journey via Instagram, where she goes by @the. cannabis.nerd.

4. Lounge around with friends While 4/20 is just another day for many stoners, some people see it as a special occasion to parkake. Hannah Pierce, a media executive at Luciding, said the holiday has become an annual tradition.

“My partner and I aren’t really weed people, that is except for the 20th of April: the one day a year we let our hair down, go to a friend’s house and get high,” Pierce said.

Pierce admitted she was nervous the first time she tried weed, but since the plant is now legal in her state, she decided to give it a go when she was invited to a 4/20 party by friends.

“It felt like the perfect place to experiment and try it out whilst being surrounded by safe

people in a safe environment. Since then, we’ve gone to that house every year, and every year it’s a great time. Everyone brings a ton of food, we vote on a ridiculous or crappy movie, and we lounge around in pajamas smoking and laughing all night. It’s amazing!”

5. Try Delta-8 Spencer Beaudreault, founder of Hero Brands, said he was going to “chill out with our 20mg Delta-8 gummies” on 4/20. Delta 8 is a cannabinoid like CBD. However, unlike CBD, Delta 8 causes euphoric effects like traditional cannabis.

“I love Delta 8 because it’s a more mild form compared to your traditional cannabis (delta 9 THC products),” he said. “When I dose a little too high with cannabis, it triggers my anxiety. With delta 8 it never hits that trigger. If I dose too high with delta 8 it just gets me really sleepy. 5mg-20mg is my sweet spot during the daytime. Anything more than that it’s purely for relaxation and sleep.”

While Beaudreault launched his business to promote plants over pills, his website cautions users to “start low and go slow,” as the gummies can take one to two hours to take effect.

6. Use caution Chicago attorney Clyde Guilamo has a warning for those that live in states like Texas where recreational marijuana use is not legal.

“Be careful on the drive home, as some states allow police to search your car based on the odor of cannabis,” he said. Guilamo shares more on his YouTube channel, Law Talk for Non-Lawyers.

DISPENSARY ETIQUETTE

BY MISTY CONTRERAS

I spoke with a Colorado budtender on the ins and outs of the business, and the rules of engagement when it comes time to visit a dispensary.

What advice would you give to someone visiting a dispensary for the first time?

If you are looking for another vape cartridge, PLEASE leave the old cartridge in the car. We have laws here in Colorado. It’s the same as walking into a liquor store with an open glass or bottle of whiskey, tequila or vodka and asking if they have more. One cannot bring open or live vape (THC or CBD) into a retail dispensary in Colorado.

I have this problem constantly. It is not fun to tell people that they need to take their near-empty cartridge to their car. It’s okay to bring the battery in but NOT the cartridge if it is near-empty. And I have had people both tourist and native be a little baby about this.

And please DO NOT tell us that you are buying for your son, daughter, niece or nephew or younger friend. Because if I hear that, it sounds like you are buying for a MINOR. Don’t ask the budtender for Medical advice! The budtender LEGALLY CANNOT give medical advice. The budtender is not a doctor or nurse and does not have a P.H.D., nor does the budtender work in oncology dealing with cancer. The budtender can ONLY tell you how to get high.

The budtender will always try to be helpful. But remember they can only say so much. (FUN FACT: In the Medical Marijuana stores they also cannot give medical advice.)

And PLEASE remember that if you are diagnosed as bi-polar or any type of psychological condition that the budtender cannot give advice in this area either.

Once again budtenders are NOT LEGALLY qualified to answer these questions.

What’s the worst experience you’ve had with a patron?

Honestly and sadly, I have had too many to count. I have been a budtender for five years now. I had a lot more abusive people during the beginning of Covid. We couldn’t have anything out to see. And people didn’t understand this and didn’t care. A lot of times it was worse when people from states like Texas and Florida where they lifted the restrictions early were coming in.

Because it affected me directly. A lot of people from those states were even ruder. I had to constantly hear, “Oh we don’t have the masks back in my state.”

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Although one really abusive patron that comes to mind was during the heavier Covid restrictions. She was rude from the get-go. I kept telling her to keep her mask on please. She finally ripped it off and told me she had a medical condition, and asked me in the rudest tone, “What’s your best weed?!” (I hate this question.) When I responded with “We have a lot of good stuff here.” She replied with an accent that sounded very Mid-Western “I am FROM CALI...so I KNOW GOOD weed!!!!” I tried killing her with kindness. When I look back now, I wish I had walked away from her or had security kick her out.

She was so abusively rude that it hurt.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

At this point. When I make a customer laugh.

Can you tell the difference between a native and a tourist when they come into your store?

I can tell almost always tell when anyone is new to the store. The odd thing is we will get natives that just got into this stuff as well.

Where do you see the future of legalization of marijuana in all 50 states?

Eventually every state will have to give in. If they don’t give in to legalizing it, they are going to create more problems making it more illegal. Even states like Texas and Kansas will eventually have to give in. These have the strictest regulations and I will usually see more I.D.s from Texas and Kansas.

Can you describe the shop where you work and the legalities and bureaucracy of the business?

If one walked into a morning or afternoon pre-work meeting, it would look like a lot of any other retail businesses do when they get started. We are discussing everything from new coupons to policies and sales in general to yelp reviews.

-Anon Budtender/Colorado

LOOKING FOR A HEMP FRIENDLY BANK?

Here Are 5 Questions to Ask

BY MELISSA MARCAL, EVP/CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT WEST TOWN BANK.

The recent string of good news for hemp-related businesses started with the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp (defined as cannabis with up to 0.3% THC) from Schedule I controlled substances and making it an ordinary agricultural commodity.

Financial institutions can now bank hemp-related businesses in states that have the appropriate infrastructure in place to comply with the provisions of the Farm Bill. Good news if you’re looking for a hemp friendly bank, right? Lots of financial opportunities.

B

ut also, lots of potential confusion over rules and regulations.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen this in action as farmers and other hemp-related businesses have been dropped by their banks across the country. Even long-term relationships have ended with banks kicking customers out because of what they see as potentially risky situations.

Where most banks go wrong is by following a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” approach. They think that if they don’t know what their customers are doing, right or wrong, then the risks can’t hurt them.

This strategy is just waiting to backfire. Of course, they’ll find out what they didn’t want to know, and have to write their customers a check and tell them to leave.

It’s a good way to get into trouble and a terrible way to partner with customers.

Financial institutions are not exempt from having internal controls in place to determine the risk profile of the entity based on the nature of the business. This is especially true in the rapidly growing world of hemp-related businesses, where having those controls is key to ensuring businesses can bank safely. How do you make it more likely to bank successfully?

A.S.K. (Always Seek Knowledge) What questions should you ask to gain that knowledge? Let’s look at five you should be asking your financial institution to make sure you’re banking hemp safely.

1. Does your bank have a dedicated hemp vertical with dedicated hemp subject matter experts?

A hemp friendly bank may have a “hemp person,” intended to meet all the needs of their hemp-related customers. What if that person gets stuck in traffic, or gets the flu, or is too darn busy being the only hemp person to properly serve their customers, let alone keep up with all of the constantly evolving regulations?

To really be able to partner with their customers in this ever-changing environment, a bank needs to have an entire vertical with people solely dedicated to hemp-related businesses. And those people need to be experts on hemp. Does your bank have just a toe in the water or are they all in? Do they have a policy for lending or taking deposits in the hemp space? Is their leadership not only on-board, but have they also accumulated the necessary knowledge and embraced banking hemp? If any of the above is a “no”, banking with them should be a no-go.

2. Has your bank written a compliance program?

The worst answer here would be, “What’s a compliance program?” Just as bad would be, “That’s a good idea! They should do that!” Yes, they should. Just being aware of compliance doesn’t come close. Knowing compliance rules isn’t good enough either.

To really bank hemp safely, your financial institution needs to create a compliance program that demonstrates mastery of the rules and regulations. Being fully compliant is crucial to having a successful business and your bank should help you get there.

3. Is your hemp friendly bank vetting you or just inviting you?

Since the dawn of time, banks have wanted your money. More money is better, no questions asked. Until now. When it comes to banking hemp safely, the best thing a hemp friendly bank can do for you is to make sure you’re as good a partner for

Actor Jason Gann

talks cannabusiness, mental health, spirituality and being Wilfred

BY RACHEL NELSON

Actor Jason Gann, who is best known for playing Wilfred in the FX hit series, has embarked on a new venture in the cannabis industry.

“Wilfred always had this kind of stoner following,” Gann said.

The Wilfred CBD & Hemp brand was born after Gann made a joke post on social media advertising “Wilfred’s Weed Delivery Service.”

He crafted it in a way that implied it came from Wilfred himself.

“My fans went crazy and said, ‘We’re going to go on a road trip across America to California to smoke Wilfred’s weed,’” Gann said. “So that’s when I knew that I had potential there.”

After acquiring the rights to Wilfred — a character Gann created — the brand launched its flagship product that hit the market on April 20, 2019.

“I started to do pre-rolls,” Gann said. “What would Wilfred do? Wilfred smoked flower, you know, so I thought pre-rolls would be good.”

Next, the brand released packs of CBD Hemp Smokes that are made with hemp paper and biodegradable filters. After receiving a favorable response from fans, the company released a line of delta-8 products.

The Delta-8 Revolution Delta-8 is a cannabidiol that causes euphoric effects similar to regular cannabis (delta-9), but it’s not as strong. According to Gann, Wilfred CBD & Hemp is the only celebrity delta-8 brand — something he said he is very proud of.

“People call delta-8 ‘weed-lite’ like it’s a bad thing, but to me, that’s what I like about it — you can function,” Gann said.

“I call it the delta-8 revolution because it’s so exciting that people are starting to recognize more and more that delta-8 has all of the medicinal value as cannabis. In

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fact, I read a study the other day that said it has even more medicinal value.”

Delta-8 has been the center of controversy, raising concerns about safety. However, Gann said it is made the exact same way as cannabis gummies, and his products are held to high laboratory testing standards.

“It’s concentrate and extraction,” he said.

“You always have to consider the motivation.

In California, they banned (delta-8), and that came as a result of the cannabis community saying, ‘We don’t want this garbage here. A whole new market is gonna come in and steal from our market.’”

While Gann said he plans to keep his product catalog relatively small, he is currently working to develop a delta-8 beverage that he was inspired to create after attending his first High Times Cannabis Cup event.

“I was in this booth/tent, and they had these Red Bull-type drinks,vand I didn’t read the thing properly,” he said.

After drinking the entire can, Gann said he realized it was highly concentrated, and

he became severely impaired. He feared he would need to go to the hospital until his friend suggested that he smoke a CBD joint.

“CBD can even you out if you have an overdose of cannabis,” Gann said. It actually nullifies and evens you out completely. It was absolutely miraculous.”

The ordeal inspired Gann to create a low-dosage delta-8 beverage that people can use socially.

Rehab, Sobriety and Spirituality After spending some time in rehab for substance abuse issues, Gann said he was in complete sobriety during the first couple of years filming Wilfred in America.

“Going into the fourth season, I spoke to my therapist about it, and I said, ‘Look, I feel like I’m being called by cannabis.’ I said, ‘My relationship with cannabis is spiritual, and it’s not like alcohol or any of those other drugs, and I feel like when I have it at certain times in my life I’m able to be inside myself but step outside myself at the same time and feel really

connected to the planet and the universe and my higher power.’”

After receiving approval from his therapist, Gann revealed that he began smoking marijuana again while filming the final season of Wilfred, “I didn’t want to never be high while shooting Wilfred,” he said. “But I was still sober in those other areas. I’ve really now come to develop my opinions of cannabis as being spiritual like a tool.”

Cannabis Docuseries Project Currently, Gann is in the pre-production phase of a new docuseries called “The Cannabis Code.” It explores the physical and medicinal value of cannabis. While the plant has known benefits for treating depression and PTSD, Gann said research lacks in other areas.

“I started digging into it and discovered cannabis has connections with religions and civilizations that go back thousands and thousands of years,” he said. “One tribe believes extraterrestrials came from the star system and brought cannabis as a gift to help us evolve our consciousness. To me, that kind of made a lot of sense.”

Gann said he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder many years ago and has been treated for it. He has also suffered from chronic depression for half of his life.

“I tend to think of depression as a soul pain because I’m a very soulful person, and my soul is in a lot of agony, right? So when I smoke cannabis, It helps me with that, and I feel like I have this connection to God.” His experience with cannabis has prompted Gann to analyze the reasons behind that feeling.

“What is it that does that? Firstly, science isn’t going to tell you because science can’t even quantify the existence of the soul,” he said. “So, the most important thing about a person is the soul, yet science says there’s no proof that the soul even exists and will even argue against its existence by saying that our brain is somehow playing this trick on itself. I wanted to try and prove the soul’s existence, and I wanted to go to college and study the soul. I was really disappointed to find that there’s nothing.”

After reading a book called “The Secret Life of Plants,” Gann hypothesizes that plants also have souls, and that’s something he explores in “The Cannabis Code.”

“It’s a really good scientific case to suggest that plants are conscious beings, and they’re incredibly intelligent,” he said. “In learning about the soul of the cannabis plant and its true

genesis, then we can learn something about ourselves.”

Gann compares the cannabis-human soul partnership to people’s relationship with dogs and other domestic animals.

“At some point in our evolution, they found a way to become partners with humans for their benefit and ours. We fell in love with dogs, and they fell in love with us, and we formed this relationship over the years,” he said. “So the cannabis plant along the way has realized that, ‘I have something that you guys like, so I’m going to give you more of that.’ It’s fascinating.”

While Gann has been in the business of developing and selling TV shows for a couple of decades, he said The Cannabis Code is the first factual series he has worked on, and it stems from personal experience.

“In rehab, they talk about self-medication and helping you understand where your addiction is coming from. They say, ‘When you were drinking and taking all these drugs, you were self-medicating for pain but just didn’t realize it.’ (Self-medicating) carries a negative connotation like, ‘Okay, you were self-medicating, now let us medicate you.”

While Gann acknowledges that mental health issues must be examined on a case-bycase basis, he said he believes that humans should be empowered to explore helping themselves for conditions like depression and chronic pain without turning to pharmaceuticals.

“Most days I get a fan write to me and tell me I helped them deal with some serious mental health issues or depression or the death of their dog or something,” he said. “Wilfred the TV series just affected them in such a profound

I discovered cannabis has connections with religions and civilizations that go back thousands and thousands of years. way that is already very healing. Laughter is the best medicine, and I think cannabis is just as good or equal, so I think the Wilfred character can help me build a brand that can be fun and light-hearted but also educational, as Wilfred the character can get quite serious from time to time.”

During the pandemic, Gann spent two years in Spain (his wife’s home country). Since returning to the U.S. six months ago, he said he has been working full-force to set up business and brand licensing agreements. Currently, Wilfred CBD & Hemp has retail pilots in 18 states.

“When I get some time here and there, I’ll get on the phone and call up a bunch of dispensaries and head shops in different states,” Gann said. “It’s a lot easier when they’ve seen the show and they’re fans of the show.”

While building his cannabis empire and creating “The Cannabis Code” are Gann’s current priorities, he said he hopes to focus more on cannabis activism in the future. He hopes to help eliminate “draconian cannabis laws,” he said, especially in his home country of Australia.

“It’s such a big part of my life, and it always has been,” Gann said, recalling the first time he got high during his teen years. “I thought, ‘This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’”

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HOW INTERNATIONAL HEMP

Rebounded After Being Shut Down

by Their Previous Banking Partner

BY MELISSA MARCAL, EVP/CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT WEST TOWN BANK.

Imagine being part of a rapidly growing operation that is suddenly handcuffed from being able to perform day-to-day transactions simply for being in the hemp industry. Unfortunately, this imagination became a reality for one of the nation’s leading suppliers of industrial hemp seed.

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hen International Hemp, a Denver-based distributor of grain and fiber hemp varietals, was shut down without notice by their previous banking partner, the ability to make and accept payments came to a screeching halt.

International wires to their partners and distributors that were pending were simply never delivered and their business bank accounts were inexplicably inaccessible.

International Hemp supplies hemp seeds from varieties tailored specifically for hemp fiber and grain production which are all certified by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA). They distribute these specialized seeds to farmers all over the country who plant these varieties with the end goal of getting the hemp into market for grain and fiber production.

The hemp grain and fiber industries are still nascent and International Hemp is on the forefront of delivering high-quality hemp seeds to the market.

The News No Hemp Business Wants to Hear Without any sort of forewarning, International Hemp discovered their bank accounts with their previous banking partner

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had been shut down. This incident had both short-term and long-term impacts on their overall business operations.

Rachel Johnson, the Chief Operating Officer of International Hemp, walked into several branches of the bank looking for answers or resolutions to the problem.

To her surprise, she found neither. None of the tellers or managers she talked to could provide her with insights as to why the accounts were shut down. This created an immediate need for International Hemp to find a new banking partner so they could continue operating their business. With so few banks willing to accept hemp-related business customers, Rachel found herself staring at an uphill battle.

The Search for a Hemp-Friendly Bank International Hemp was cautious to use any bank that didn’t have a dedicated program for the hemp industry. The search proved unsuccessful after reaching out to multiple personal connections. Boldly determined, Johnson eventually turned to LinkedIn to help find a bank that welcomed hemp businesses.

There, she discovered West Town Bank & Trust and quickly found a team of bankers experienced in the hemp industry.

I was completely transparent with West Town Bank about our hemp business. They listened to my story and welcomed me with open arms.

– RACHEL JOHNSON, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF INTERNATIONAL HEMP Time was of the essence as they had international wires that they had to get out as soon as possible. West Town Bank was able to onboard them through the compliance process in a timely manner to get them up and running with not only a business bank account, but also payment processing services.

Achieving Business Growth from Being Able to Offer Credit Card Processing Prior to partnering with West Town Bank & Trust, International Hemp had repeatedly tried to open a merchant account which would allow them to collect credit card payments from their customers. Their previous bank never allowed them to open this account, so International Hemp resorted to taking checks for some of their customers’ smaller purchases.

“With our business model, most of our business is conducted through ACH or wires, but there are times our farmers would want to make smaller purchases with a credit card”, Johnson says, “Since we did not have this option available to us, we used to have our customers mail us checks for these types of transactions. Sometimes we’d have to wait for weeks for the check to arrive and at that point we’d even lose track of which checks had arrived and which ones we were still waiting for.”

This delay in the transaction was causing International Hemp’s business to slow. Once the company partnered with West Town Bank, they were able to easily get a merchant account through West Town Bank’s payment processing service. This gave them the ability to seamlessly accept credit card transactions from their customers that prefer that option,

resulting in operational efficiencies, happier customers, and overall business growth.

International Hemp has lofty goals for their business and the overall hemp industry. They hope to expand the uses of hemp, particularly in the grain and fiber space.

With a greater need for these type of hemp products, International Hemp will be able to position themselves as the leader in providing high-quality grain and fiber hemp

varieties to farmers across the nation.

To accomplish this goal, Rachel Johnson stressed the need to bring legitimacy to the hemp industry. Something that is impossible without financial partners who are dedicated to the space. West Town Bank & Trust is proud to provide banking and payment processing services tailored to the industry, helping fuel growth for not only these businesses, but also the overall hemp industry.

CANNABIS LEGALIZATION IN AMERICA: AN UPDATE BY: CAMERON FIELD

Cameron Field is an attorney with the law firm of Michael Best in Austin and the co-leader of the firm’s cannabis practice group. Cameron counsels clients in the cannabis industry through complicated regulatory processes as well as commercial transactions. He is also an executive board member of the Texas Hemp Coalition.

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ach of the last consecutive years has marked a banner year in which the United States saw significant expansion in the legalization of marijuana on a state-by-state basis. Looking ahead, 2022 appears to be yet another big year in the slow march toward the end of prohibition.

This article provides an overview on where marijuana legalization stands on both a state and federal level.

One of the most common questions I get at cocktail parties when people learn I’m a cannabis attorney is when I think the federal government will legalize marijuana, so we will start with where the federal government stands on the topic since change at that level would be the most impactful. Currently, whether or not the

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federal cannabis prohibition ends is in the hands of the United States Congress as President Biden (and likely any other President) would not likely veto a law that changes the controlled substance status of the cannabis plant. However, Congress is currently facing many issues of higher priority, such as confirming a Supreme Court Justice.

Therefore, federal prohibition is not likely to happen anytime soon, but several individual representatives continue to make it a priority and test out various forms of legislation.

One method in which congress is attempting to legitimize the cannabis industry is through the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow federally backed financial institutions to legally bank cannabis companies. The SAFE Banking Act has repeatedly passed the House of Representatives by being attached to other critical pieces of legislation. Most recently, the bill was passed as part of a significant trade competition bill. However, while it continues to pass the House of Repre-

sentatives it is unlikely to become law as Senator Chuck Schumer, who controls the Senate, will not allow it to proceed through the Senate until cannabis is also federally decriminalized.

The MORE Act, H.R. 3617, was introduced in September of 2021, and aims to simply remove cannabis from the controlled substances list.

That bill appears likely to pass the House of Representatives as well, but like the SAFE Banking Act, it may lose steam in the Senate Chamber without a complimentary regulatory program attached to the decriminalization action.

As federal prohibition seems tied up by the Senate, the industry’s eyes are on Senator Chuck Schumer, who in 2021 identified he was drafting a bill called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, but he has not introduced the draft as a Bill yet.

On the state side, 2021 saw New York, New Mexico, and Virginia pass adult use marijuana legislation. In 2022, Maryland, Delaware, and Rhode Island are likely to address the issue.

Proving cannabis legislation is a bi-partisan issue, several more conservative states have also begun passing legislation to establish medical marijuana programs. Mississippi recently adopted medical marijuana, and the Carolinas and Kentucky appear poised to pass medical programs in 2022.

Ballot initiatives for adult use programs are also taking root in more conservative states. For example, the citizens of South Dakota legalized adult us marijuana at the ballot in 2020, but the Supreme Court of South Dakota struck down the law on a procedural technicality. Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska all have some level of legalization ballot initiatives set for 2022.

Currently, 18 states have adopted adult-use marijuana programs, and 37 states have medical marijuana programs. The trend continues to be that states first adopt medical programs before adopting adult-use programs. Texas, while it has adopted a medical program, has a very limited medical marijuana program compared to several other states that made the jump from medical to adult-use. It will be fascinating to see what the future holds for Texas and cannabis, and how the state reacts in the likely scenario that the federal government decriminalizes cannabis and leaves it to the states to enact their own regulatory programs.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND FEDERAL PROSECUTIONS – A NEW TAKE ON PROTECTIONS FOR STATE LICENSEES BY: BEN MORRICAL, BRIAN HIGGINS, AND ANDREA STEEL

In late January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued its opinion in United States v. Bilodeau, 2022 WL 225333 (1st Cir., Jan. 26, 2022), a case involving two marijuana growers from Maine who were indicted by the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) on charges of violating the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The growers were operating three facilities in Maine where they grew and/or distributed marijuana, purportedly as registered caregivers to qualified patients, which is legal under Maine’s medical marijuana laws. The growers maintained “facially valid documents” demonstrating their compliance with such laws.

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owever, after an investigation into the growers’ operation, federal agents executed search warrants for two of the growers’ facilities and subsequently indicted the growers for, among other things, “knowing and intentional manufacture and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in violation of the CSA and conspiracy to do the same.” The growers then petitioned the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine for an injunction preventing the federal government from proceeding with the prosecutions, arguing that the Rohrabacher amendment prohibited the use of federal funds for such an endeavor.

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Rohrabacher’s Practical Limit on Prosecution

The Rohrabacher amendment, named for former US Representative for California’s 48th district Dana Rohrabacher, is a rider that has been attached to Congress’ annual appropriations bill every year since 2015. The amendment stipulates that none of the funds made available to the DOJ under Congress’ annual appropria-

tions bills may be used to prevent any of the fifty states from “implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” As stated by the First Circuit, the Rohrabacher amendment “places a practical limit on federal prosecutors’ ability to enforce the CSA with respect to certain conduct involving medical marijuana.”

The growers asserted that, pursuant to the Rohrabacher amendment, the DOJ could not use federal funds to prosecute them for violating the CSA. They argued that because their allegedly illegal activities were authorized under Maine’s medical marijuana laws, a prosecution for such activities would therefore amount to the DOJ effectively preventing Maine from implementing its own laws authorizing the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana. The District Court did not agree with the growers, however, and ruled that the prosecution of all counts against them could proceed. The court premised this decision on its finding that the growers were “patently out of compliance” with Maine’s medical marijuana laws and were instead “part of a ‘large-scale… black-market marijuana operation’” that was clearly not authorized by such laws. The growers then appealed the Court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

A Nuanced Interpretation of Rohrabacher In hearing the interlocutory appeal, the First Circuit became only the second of

the federal circuit courts to interpret the Rohrabacher amendment, following the Ninth Circuit’s 2016 decision in United States v. McIntosh, 833 F.3d 1163. In its opinion, the First Circuit began by agreeing with the Ninth Circuit’s reading of the amendment and its conclusion that “the DOJ may not spend funds to bring prosecutions if doing so prevents a state from giving practical effect to its medical marijuana laws.” The First Circuit further echoed the Ninth Circuit by acknowledging that “the prosecution of persons whose conduct fully complied with” Maine’s medical marijuana laws would prevent those laws from having much practical effect, which is “precisely what the rider forbids.”

Importantly, however, the First Circuit ultimately disagreed with the Ninth Circuit regarding the circumstances under which a federal prosecution would prevent a state from giving practical effect to its medical marijuana laws. Rather than adopting the Ninth Circuit’s “strict-compliance test to differentiate between prosecutions that prevent a state’s medical marijuana laws from having practical effect and those that do not,” the First Circuit opted for a more nuanced approach. It rejected the strict-compliance test promulgated by the Ninth Circuit in McIntosh on the grounds that “the potential for technical noncompliance is real enough that no person through any reasonable effort could always assure strict compliance.”

While recognizing that the strict-compliance requirement went too far, however, the First Circuit stressed that “Congress surely did not intend for the [Rohrabacher amendment] to provide a safe harbor” to those with facially valid documents “without regard for blatantly illegitimate activity.” The First Circuit stated that in this case, the evidence clearly showed that the growers’ outward appearance of compliance with Maine’s medical marijuana laws was a façade, employed for the purposes of selling marijuana to unauthorized users.

Thus, the First Circuit upheld the ruling of the District Court, affirming its denial of the growers’ motion to enjoin their prosecutions.

Impact of Bilodeau on Medical Marijuana Laws

Though the Maine growers were unsuccessful in challenging their prosecution by the DOJ under the Rohrabacher amend-

ment, the First Circuit’s interpretation of the amendment is an important development in the field of medical marijuana law. The only previous judicial guidance regarding the application and effect of the Rohrabacher amendment, provided by the Ninth Circuit in McIntosh, stipulated that individuals involved in the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana must strictly comply with all aspects of their state’s medical marijuana laws to avoid being prosecuted by the federal government for violations of the CSA. The First Circuit has now supplied a fresh interpretation in Bilodeau that is much friendlier to those in the medical marijuana business.

Under the First Circuit’s approach, one who is legally engaging in the industry under their state’s medical marijuana laws cannot be prosecuted by the DOJ for it unless their conduct rises to the level of “blatantly illegitimate activity.” If a medical marijuana grower or distributor is making a reasonable effort to comply with their state’s medical marijuana laws, they will be protected from federal prosecution by the Rohrabacher amendment, even if there are aspects of their conduct that are not in strict compliance with such laws.

Of course, it must be noted that the First Circuit’s interpretation of the Rohrabacher amendment in Bilodeau is not binding on other federal judicial circuits, nor does it provide a bright line rule. The First Circuit itself acknowledged that in “charting this middle course,” it did not “fully define [the] precise boundaries” of what types of conduct would qualify as “blatantly illegitimate activity.” The only activity that the

First Circuit has clearly classified as “blatantly illegitimate” is that of the growers in Bilodeau – an operation “aimed at supplying [marijuana to] persons whom [none of the prosecuted growers] ever thought were qualifying patients under Maine law.”

Takeaways for Medical Marijuana Businesses

In light of Bilodeau, those engaging in the medical marijuana business should continue to make every effort possible to fully comply with all aspects of their state’s medical marijuana laws. Though it is promising that the First Circuit’s decision in Bilodeau interprets the Rohrabacher amendment as providing greater protection from DOJ prosecution for state-licensed medical marijuana growers and distributors, this is still a very new area of law which is rife with the possibility of conflict between the federal government and the state legislatures that have enacted statutes legalizing medical marijuana within their borders.

Those in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico who are legally growing, selling, buying, or using medical marijuana under their state’s laws can take some degree of comfort in knowing that they are not likely to be federally prosecuted for minor failures to comply, so long as they are not engaging in blatantly illegitimate activity. However, those in other states should continue to err on the side of caution when it comes to strict compliance, as there is no telling whether the First Circuit’s interpretation of the Rohrabacher amendment will be adopted by other federal circuit courts.

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10 TEXAS HEMP TESTING LABS TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR

BY JESSE WILLIAMS

BLUEBONNET LABS

Perhaps you’ve just entered the market for Texas hemponomics or maybe you’re a veteran in the field already. Whichever one you are, here are 10 Texas Hemp Labs you can keep an eye on.

The list is not all inclusive, and is listed in alphabetical order. These are labs that are showing up to conventions and trade shows to showcase their abilities.

ABS LABS, LLC

ANALYTICAL FOOD LABORATORIES, INC.

Headed up by Ruth Abdulmassih, ABS Labs was founded in 1995 and was formerly known as mSPEC. As the business grew in the 1990’s the focus of the business was providing preventative maintenance and on-site repair to laboratories using mass spectrometers. In 2009 the company partnered with the National Research Council of Canada, ultimately creating the Phoenix mass spectrometer upgrade program, making current generation capabilities available at lower price points.

In 2018 ABS launched cannabis testing consulting services, providing licensed laboratories throughout North America access to innovative, compliant cannabis analytical methods, laboratory support, and leading testing technologies. AS of today ABS continues research and development for new applications in environmental sciences and healthcare, meeting the demand for accessible, innovative solutions ABS is headquartered in the Dallas, Texas metroplex area of Carrollton. For more information and how to get in contact with them visit https://altbio.com/abs-labs/ or call (972) 241-1388

Founded over 25 years ago, in 2018, AFL joined the Tentamus Group, which was founded a decade ago, providing clients access to a global network of labs. Accredited and licensed Tentamus Group tests, audits and consults on all products involving the human body.

Tentamus Group is represented in over 50 locations worldwide with more than 2,500 highly-trained staff members working in over 2 million square feet of laboratory and office spaces.

AFL can assist you with product analysis and development, trouble-shooting, quality assurance and compliance issues. Routine laboratory analysis is offered on a per test basis and to meet customer needs. AFL is an ISO 17025 accredited lab, and also holds accreditations with USDA, NELAC/ NELAP and is registered with the FDA. Procedures comply with official methodologies including FDA, USDA, AACC, AOAC, AOCS, ASTA, EPA AND USP. AFL is located in Grand Prairie, Texas.

For more information about AFL, visit https://www.afltexas.com/ or contact afl@ afltexas.com - 972-336-0336

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Bluebonnet Labs had the honor this past year to be the official lab for testing of the submissions entered into the 3rd annual (2021) Texas Hemp Awards. BL has been serving the hemp community since 2020. Bluebonnet labs yields a quantitative analysis to determine the potency of Cannabinoids and Terpenes. Contaminants such as Pesticides, Heavy Metals, Residual Solvents, Microbiological and Mycotoxins are carefully analyzed using baseline values established as unsafe or harmful and reported to a high level of accuracy.

BL offers cannabinoid potency testing, residual solvent testing, pesticide testing, microbiological testing, terpene testing, heavy metal testing, mycotoxins testing, along with filth and foreign material inspections. BL is AL2A certified and ILAC MRA accredited.

BL is located in Farmers Branch, Texas and can be reached at 214-903-4405, https://www.bluebonnetlabs.com/ and info@bluebonnetlabs.com

EASTEX ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY, INC. Eastex has been in the laboratory game since 1986. Eastex Environmental Laboratory is 100% employee owned – and they feel that ownership of their name, their quality of work, and their relationships is what sets them apart from the competition. Eastex offers along with hemp testing, (surface & core) complete soil evaluation of surface and subsurface samples per customer specifications, ground water evaluations of wells and public water systems, and water quality of lakes, ponds and creeks among other items.

EEL is Accredited for Chemical Sampling through the Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc. ALong with their various testing

packages, Eastex provides some consultation work to help ensure farmers are getting the most out of their time with their crops.

EEL has two locations in Texas, one in Coldspring and the other in Nacogdoches. For more information visit hemp.eastexlabs.com and https://www.eastexlabs.com/ 936-653-3249 hemp@eastexlabs.com

IONIZATION LABS Founded by Cree-Crawford, Ionization Labs is the testing service used by the Texas A&M Agrilife Extensions Hemp Program. Ionization Labs is an ISO-17025 Accredited Potency Testing Lab and AL2A certified.The unique thing about Ionization Labs is their CANN-ID testing system which allows for farm to market inhouse testing along with lab verification upon sending in samples.

This allows for anyone partnering with Ionization labs to test their products immediately upon either harvest in hand or on the shelf products to initially know what they really have.

From there an official sample is sent to Ionization Labs and their team verifies the results. This eliminates having to send multiple samples over and over and wait for turnaround. Just test the samples you want to test and send in the ones you desire for verification.

Ionization Labs is headquartered in Austin, Texas and can be reached at 737-231-0772 or find them online at https://ionizationlabs.com/

KJ SCIENTIFIC INDEPENDENT TESTING LABS KJ Scientific LLC is a certified Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) with a global reach. KJ Scientific was founded with a mission of ensuring human and environmental health through rigorous testing and analysis of the chemicals and products introduced to the market. To uphold these high standards, they became the first product testing lab in the world to exclusively use new, innovative in-vitro technology in their chemical testing products and services outside of the hemp sphere.

KJ Scientific utilizes advanced chromatographic instrumentation and detection techniques to test and analyze each sample to ensure they’re legally compliant and safe for market consumption. Consulting and Direction - their services cover every aspect of vertical production of CBD from extraction to final validation for the market. KJ Scientific is part of the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) and has ISO/IEC 17025 certification.

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is located in Georgetown, Texas. For more information visit https://kjscientific.com/service/hemp-cbd-lab/ or contact them at karla. johanning@kjscientific.com or 512-590-0080

evaluated in nonclinical and first-in-man studies.

Sante Labs is located in Austin, Texas. For more information on their lineup of services visit http:// www.santelabs.com/ or contact them at 512-8009117 and http://www.santelabs.com/

NEW BLOOM LABS

TPS Labs

Founded by Jesse and John Kerns, New Bloom originated in Tennessee and expanded into Texas once the state passed it’s hemp program in 2019. The lab is ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certified. NBL is capable of testing plant material, crude oil,concentrates, isolate, distillate, kief, topicals and ingestibles.

NBL built an entire customer service department in their company. What this means is that their dialogue with their customer doesn’t end when they deliver a certificate of analysis.

Instead, when a client needs a consultation or help interpreting results both their customer service team, as well as technical staff are available to help consult you on your results.

NBL also commonly helps customers create a testing and compliance program that’s the right size for their business. Not everyone needs to test as much as some others might. NBL will help you identify your best practice needs for testing crops and products, and keep you from ordering unnecessary testing.

New Bloom is located in Dallas, Texas. For more information visit https://www.newbloomlabs.com/, email john@newbloomlabs. com or call 1-844-TEST-CBD

TPS refers to their business as “Your Crop’s Dieticians.” TPS Labs has been operating in Texas since 1938 and helping farmers in various fields of vegative growth during that time. TPS Labs are one of only a few labs in the world that still use CO2 extraction to test nutrient availability. This process is very labor-intensive but mimics how plant roots extract nutrients from the soil, stating that’s why it produces the best results.

Growers utilizing TPS Labs HEMPlan will have a complete picture of what soil nutrients are immediately available and what’s in reserve. Customized fertility recommendations will show customers how to correct deficiencies, and sustainable practice recommendations will show them how to unlock tied up nutrient reserves.

TPS Labs’ program gives growers an edge over the competition by providing advanced notification of possible heavy metal contamination in their soil. They perform a complete 32 element heavy metal analysis on your soil to make you aware of any potential problems.

TPS Labs is located Edinburg, Texas. For more information visit https://www.tpslab. com/hemplan or contact them at 956-383-0739 or info@tpslab.com

KJ SCIENTIFIC INDEPENDENT TESTING LABS

SANTE LABS Santé Laboratories is an Accredited Hemp Testing Laboratory in the State of Texas. Santé Laboratories has a combined 35 years of experience in analytical chemistry, drug development and pharmaceutical sciences. Santé is committed to serving the hemp and CBD industry safeguarding all end-users through premium, high quality, and transparent testing.

Santé Laboratories is currently holding the ISO/ IEC 17025:2017 accreditation.

Regardless of phase in development and borrowing from relevant expertise in cannabinoid formulation sciences, Santé Laboratories can provide flexible drug delivery and manufacturing solutions to overcome solubility, room temperature stability, and absorption challenges to quickly transition into the clinic. In addition to leveraging the lipid-based nanoparticle delivery system, Santé Laboratories can perform rapid formulation screening studies which can be developed into candidate formulations to be

VETERANS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES Veterans Scientific has the honor of winning the best Texas-based Hemp Ancillary Support or Services category for the 3rd Annual (2021) Texas Hemp Awards. VSL was co-founded by Garvin Beach, B.A.S. and is currently led by James W. Johnson Jr as the CEO. Both gentleman are Air Force Veterans working in the cannabis space today.

VSL offers potency testing, moisture content, heavy metals, aerobic plate count, staph auerues, water activity, pesticides, coliforms/E Coli, yeast/mold, terpenes, residual solvents salmonella SPP, mycotoxins on hemp/cbd products. VSL also offers a line of fiber testing on hemp products.

Veterans Scientific Laboratories is located in San Antonio, Texas. For more information visit http://www.vetscilabs.com/ or contact them at 210-682-9883 or info@vetscilabs.com

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LOOKING AT THE PAST AND PRESENT FOR THE FUTURE OF TEXAS CANNABIS BUSINESS

BY JESSE WILLIAMS

It really boils down to two simple concepts will you vote for cannabis friendly legislators and will you make your voice heard to them during the legislative session.

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t least a few times a year, advocates like myself that go to the capitol and are talking to elected officials get asked the golden question: When do you think this will all be legal?

I used to have a trend to point at, a big business decision that recently happened, or some notes from federal elected officials to talk about in an attempt to give an answer.

Now the answer is completely different. An answer that sets no timeline, but sets an expectation on the people that want to see the change.

The plant will be legal when those that want it legal are ready to voice that opinion at the ballot box rather than online on a social media platform. When people are ready to show up to the capitol with the same number of supporters that we saw recently for other issues in the Senate in the 2021 session, we will see massive improvements on these laws.

It would be great to even give a forecast for current hemp businesses in Texas. To plot a trajectory, take in some trend analysis, graph it out and all that cool business. But with the turbulence seen during the 2021 Texas legislative session regarding hemp products containing delta-8, it could be a toss up. Especially a toss up if the legislature on both the Texas House and Senate sides have

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a similar mentality and approach as before.

While CBD and hemp oil extracts were hitting a boom shortly after the law in Texas passed in the 2019 legislative session, it started to wane a little and the market was correcting itself. Some shops were either closing down or on the verge of closing down in 2020 from being in a flooded market. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck and while some shops closed up, others saw a big boom in business as delta-8 became a popular market product.

Into the year 2021 the hemp market saw an onslaught of delta-8 products as consumers rushed to get their hands on a product that offered something beyond the typical hemp derivatives they had been buying since the 2018 Farm Bill. Profits surged for many hemp companies, but it drew attention from the medical marijuana market and recreation market in states where those programs truly exist. It was a competition and the new contender didn’t have to jump through as many hoops as its predecessor.

A good number of these states quickly saw a ban on the substance after pushes from those markets. Not for health reasons, but for financial reasons. Texas came extremely close to being one of those states, but not for financial reasons. For the reason that the people in elected office in Texas with power over the bill in its final

stages, are not fans of cannabis or cannabis products.

The only thing that stopped it from happening was the original author taking into consideration what the market had to say about this product when the language was changed against it in the bill. It is to be expected that this issue will arise again in the next legislative session. Don’t be surprised if other products on the market are targeted for a ban. There are going to be discussions arising from this product for some time. It’s still shaky ground because of this.

That’s not to say that Texas still doesn’t have room for financial growth in this market. You as a reader can make the difference to help out.

If you picked this magazine up at a smoke shop or cbd retailer, ask them which advocacy groups they are following. Ask if the owners are following news on these issues and keeping up with the various non-profit organizations that are working to inform the public about these situations. They have just as much skin in the game now as the people interested in consuming cannabis products at this point.

Customers can help turn retailers and manufactures into advocates as well.It would go a long way to creating a better industry for both the retailers and the consumers regarding the future of cannabis business in Texas.

THE HEMP INDUSTRY IN THE US

BY KEN GIBSON

For millennia hemp has contributed to man’s needs, providing raw material for rope, paper, textiles, medicine, oil and food. At one point it was the world’s most traded commodity.

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t that time, a new nation came into being, whose Founding Fathers grew hemp and encouraged its cultivation.

Ironically, a century-and-ahalf after the birth of the new state, hemp was basically outlawed.

In the 1960s, hemp activists started to raise the alarm, and Jack Herer’s classic tome The Emperor Wears no Clothes caused a greater outcry.

It was not until 34 years after his book first appeared that the federal government in the United States passed a law allowing states to decide the status of Cannabis sativa in agriculture. The 2014 bill, while it allowed the sowing of hemp, did so with rather narrow guidelines.

To this day not all states allow hemp to be farmed. Texas did so in 2018, and by now the total of such states stands at about 35.

An article by this author published in the Texas Hemp Register late last year noted some impressive achievements in hemp farming in California, with hemp stalks reaching over 24’ in height.

However, the bast and hurds from this harvest did not make their way into paper or textile mills in the US. Rather, they were sent to the People’s Republic of China for processing.

So the dream is still a dream. One could, of course, write about a number of hemp products now made in the USA, but these are still relegated to novelty items: soap, cosmetics, food, beer, paper and twine,

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but it is not being made use of as it was in George Washington’s era.

Why not?

A major reason is the lack of infrastructure. All across America we see mills that are now repurposed to be eateries or malls: or, as in the movie Walking Tall, dens of iniquity.

Until the issue of infrastructure is addressed the farmer does not have the market for his goods. Much as hemp is a good crop, which less pesticides and water than cotton and many other plants, I would love to encourage its cultivation.

But it has to make sense. One cannot expect the farmer to just spend time and money without a ready market. Presently there is a market, but nowhere near what there was or what there ought to be.

What needs to be done to bring this about? Hemp had thousands of years to build up to be the world’s most traded commodity. To restore it to this level would take great effort on a number of levels.

The first is the public, and much has been done to inform the public thanks to Herer and other authors activists who studied the issue and presented the facts in books, articles and other media.

The second is the press, which has at times published some feature articles on hemp, such as Lee Green’s “” in the LA Times. However, for the most part, the press is lax. I have spent years talking to NYT journalists with no result whatsoever; the Guardian in the UK only did one when

Iobbied for months, and that was in 2006.

Rolling Stone, also lobbied by me to focus on hemp, chose to talk about marijuana.

Rolling Stoned was the title of one of my posts on the Hemp for Victory blog that discusses this apathy on the part of journalists. The perception exists that hemp is not going to make them any money, and they reluctantly do an article at times but do not really care about the public or the environment as they claim to.

The third is the body politic, which for the most part, goes along with the press and the financial interests of the party and the members, many of whom specialize in insider trading, bribes and kickbacks.

While my general feeling about the politicians is not very positive, it would be wrong to omit the fact that many in the US are working hard to promote hemp.

Lobbying, mainly from Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, along with support from his son Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, caused the government to accept what was once the world’s most traded commodity and a part of American history. Many others in the GOP, which is the part of the aforementioned reps, have also campaigned for hemp. On the more liberal side of the aisle, I did get much support from former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney who took time to read my book and has since openly supported hemp. She became the Green Party presidential candidate in 2012. The next presidential candidate for the Greens, Jill Stein, did nothing. The Greens in the EU

are now supporting nuclear energy, calling it a ‘green energy.’ Is this because the nuclear energy lobby has billions of dollars to work with, the hemp movement is still a grassroots movement?

Another politician who is working with the hemp movement is Sid Miller, Texas Agricultural Commissioner. His office

the state of hemp production in New Jersey, in which growers complain of having to spend $50,000 to be able to harvest Cannabis sativa. Another issue with the farmers in the Garden State is that the infrastructure is not in place yet. Most of these are growing for marijuana/CBD oils, which do not require the heavy infrastructure that hemp textiles and hemp paper require. If they cannot even get their act together for these easier products, it looks like we are years away from producing hemp T shirts in that state.

It is good to note the faults of the government, but a better article would offer a solution. Subsidies and the restoration of infrastructure are part of this solution, and it is up to us to make sure that the people whom we elect and pay do their job. Along with politicians, journalists need to pay more attention to this issue than to celebrities and ne’er-do-wells who suck the oxygen out of the public attention span. Each of us needs to focus on a few legislators and a few editors to make sure that hemp is once again a part of the US economy.

I would much have liked to have written about how much the industry has advanced, about thriving markets and millions of tons of paper and textiles being produced right here in the good ol’ US of A. Hopefully I will be soon; but that will depend on the factors that I noted. Politicians and journalists owe it to this nation, which has been so good to them, to do their job. Let’s make sure they do.

responded to our requests for comment, informing us that the Texas permit for hemp only requires a background check and a fee of $100. With these reasonable requirements, Texan farmers have been able to cultivate and sell hemp. Other states, however, have had more difficulty; a recent WNYC radio broadcast discussed

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CBD CRAWL: EAST SIDE

BY MISTY CONTRERAS

M

y CBD Crawl took me to the East Side, where I met two retailers, in solidarity with their community and one another. Waiting, fingers crossed, for Texas law to catch up with the rest of the nation. These Austin business owners are not content to sit quietly and wait and see.

They are activists, entrepreneurs, ushering in a culture of change. Hemp and CBD are on terra firma on Austin’s East Side.

Sarah Kerver, 1937 Apothecary, 906 E. 5th St. Suite 105, 1937apothecary.com In 2018 I started 1937 and I launched with smokeable hemp. It was about a week before the federal farm bill was passed. From someone that’s not a personal THC consumer, I felt that there was a need for this, and for everybody to know about it. Before that, I was going around and talking to people in Texas about CBD and everybody was apprehensive and resistant to it. Now, you look around at all the shops and CBD is a household name. It’s interesting the difference a few years made.

Since smokeable hemp was where I started and that was my roots, during the legislative session I was helping to answer some questions around hemp and HB1325, and some of my input was actually used in the writing of the bill. I worked directly with some of the lobbyists happily and openly to answer questions without my own personal agenda. My only agenda is for every Texan to have access to all cannabis products, but of course those need to be regulated as well.

I opened a store in East Austin because I felt like it was, at the time, an underserved area but also an area of great growth within the downtown space, so that’s why I chose east 5th Street specifically. I do have a relationship with Estella at Austinite Cannabis and we communicate regularly about our businesses and the industry. I think it’s important for us all to work together so that we can truly help the industry grow and not be self-focused.

The store, 1937, is actually a collective, and we’re all about helping out exclusively Texas brands be able to say, “hey, this is my flagship store, this is my home.” And then they can be comfortable with R&D on a product and see

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how well it does for the consumer. The name 1937 is about prohibition. 1937 was when the Marijuana Tax Act passed. Also part of the collective is Custom Botanical Dispensary, so-called because we do a lot of customized products in-store. We’ve just brought in 15 different pre-rolls that are customized for specific issues. They have different herbs in them like lavender, rose petals, peppermint, which are all food-safe and smokeable because they are grown organically. This is how we choose which brands to carry, based on the blends. We try to have as much of an assortment as we possibly can because no two people are the same, some people don’t want to smoke, they would rather have a capsule. Delta-8 is NOT for everybody, so I try to explain that to people who come in, and I help them to find what is best for them and their situation. We carry only 1937-brand Delta-8 and one other brand. It takes a lot of time to vet the quality of Delta-8 and make sure that it is clean. We have a huge array of edibles, from lollypops to gummies, chocolates, cereal bars, cookies, hard candies, syrups, chocolate buds, coffee and honey. We also have a huge selection of tinctures from 300mg, and we worked with our extractor and we’re about to bring in a 4800mg full-spectrum with a total of 5100mg of cannabinoids in a one-ounce bottle. I have not seen this formulation before without added isolates so it’s very exciting! We have muscle salves, muscle lotions, arousal oil, lubricant, essential oil, roll-ons, facial serums,

beard oils, sparkling beverages, and a variety of vape carts that we do in-house from a shelfstable CBD, so there’s no additives, and an HHC and a Delta-8 vape. We also have capsules, and of course flower. We have a huge assortment of flower and pre-rolls.

At our north location, we just launched a café within the store that’s going to have all of the coffee, which is all locally sourced. We plan to expand and offer teas and other infused beverages in the future. The north location has also been very well received by the community.

We’re on Anderson Mill Road. People come in and they seem to be really surprised by how much stuff we have. There was some apprehension by my landlord up there to have the green dispensary flag flying in the wind.

People think that the more conservative and suburban areas are not wanting this but they are wrong. People may not want to talk about it, but they definitely want it.

We were one of the first, and we’ve seen other people come in with investors backing them. We’re still “mom and pop” or I guess I should just say “mom”. It’s been a challenge to compete. Legalization of marijuana in the state of Texas is going to happen. This year’s election is going to be a determining factor.

We see surrounding states light years ahead of us. I say “light years” because the cannabis industry moves so quickly, one year in cannabis is like one dog-year. It was great to see that the program expanded this last session, but it’s still not enough to really give everybody access that needs it. And it’s a very confusing program for the consumer, and for the patient. We have to push, advocate and remember that the governor and Lt. governor that we currently have in office have had opportunities to make something more robust happen and they have not done so.

Estella Castro, Austinite Cannabis, 2009 E. Cesar Chavez St, austinitecannabis.co We formulated Austinite Cannabis in August of 2020. We had been a family trucking business since 1978, and I just knew that I didn’t want to do dirt anymore, so it was getting to the point where I needed to decide on whether to sell my shares and actually start something new. I knew that starting something new was going to be

huge, but what I knew was making money was selling dirt. But I decided to go for it and I sold my shares of the family company and we started to move forward with trying to start a brand and a company.At that time, COVID was happening, but foremost, I had a lung disease that was affecting me since 2015, which really helped me put a lot of things into perspective. That’s where the sale of the company started to come into play because it just wasn’t going to work for me, working eight-hour days, working my butt off when I’m starting to get sick. After I sold my shares and started trying to decide what to do, I realized that cannabis was the one thing that had always stuck with me, I was using RSO and CBD to heal my lung stuff before even opening up Austinite Cannabis, so I knew the benefits of it.

So I started researching how to open up a CBD shop and looking at hemp farms and processing operations and going to conventions, trying to gather as much information as possible.

When we were ready to open, COVID was happening, and I’ll never forget making relationships on Skype. Some of these people that we were messaging and getting seeds and all this other stuff from, we didn’t even physically meet until we had already been working together for two years. The space where we have our store was empty space, my mom actually owns the property. I think it helped us that the East Side is where my husband’s family is from, it’s like home. The community took a huge liking to us, anyone who had any kind of pain would hear about us from the older ladies at the church. It’s me and my family that run the business, word gets around and I think people really appreciate that aspect.

When I thought Texas was going to turn and have marijuana be legal to everybody, I really wanted to open Austinite Cannabis and I was in support of that legislation and I did give a lot of proceeds to the cause, even sometimes to my own detriment, in terms of using those funds to help the cause versus helping to improve the shop. I would try to have gatherings and cocktail parties or anything I could do to bug Heather Fazio and Jax. We were at The Capital all the time testifying or whatever we could do. When the legislation didn’t pass, I went into Oklahoma and opened another store. I don’t plan on ever closing down Austinite Cannabis, it’s always going to be there, it’s just that we were not able to accomplish what we set out to do.

I’m now in two markets, it’s my dream job, but I have to drive four hours away. But it is so rewarding, at the end of the day it’s all medicine.

It’s frustrating because I’d rather make it in Austin any day than to have to be doing what we’re doing in Oklahoma, even though it feels like we’re getting even deeper in Oklahoma because we just bought our second location, we’re going full throttle there and It’s doing well.

It’s sad for Texas because they’re doing it right, gambling is legal in Oklahoma as well.

The demographic at Austinite is a lot of the younger crowd but then we also have a really good older set of clients from old Hispanic churches that still believe in plant medicine. In Oklahoma, it’s working class everyday people that work at WalMart getting their medicine.

We sell a lot more flower at MediCan-OK than we do here. In Oklahoma, we’re in the process of getting our farm going, we already have the space but we just don’t have our plants yet, but

we should be off the ground with our processing operation within a couple months. We’re just waiting on some of the legalities of the city of Ardmore. Aside from that we sell clones at our dispensary, so when we’re ready we’ll just move the clones straight over and we’ll be ready to rock-n-roll. You have to get an extra license to have clones, we got that so we could easily transfer them over when we’re ready. But the big thing we’re working on in Oklahoma is the kitchen. We really are wanting to do all of our own gummies, whether they be CBD, Delta-8 or THC. In that way we will try to separate ourselves from the rest if we can just make it all in-house.

Things are just so different in Oklahoma as far as zoning and permits. I could never throw something up as fast as I’m throwing it up there.

They don’t make it easy in Austin. The issue that I’m having with the legalities is a minor one, normally they don’t have any problems. The diplomatic process there is just more efficient.

The politicians are amongst the community. The collective mind there is that when a politician is not liked, he’s gone. Dan Patrick would have been gone.

In terms of product, we have CBD tinctures, CBD gummies, salves and roll-ons, pain creams, topicals, tinctures and facial cream. Everything is hand-picked and we research all of our products before we bring them here. We have an array of different cannabinoids, I like to specialize in different rare cannabinoids, so we have three different types of THCA tinctures, which help with weight loss and mood-stabilizing. We have CBG gummies and CBN gummies, for someone who might not want to take a tincture. We really try to offer different ways of consuming it for all sorts of people. People take Delta-8 to get the euphoric high but we’ve also noticed that when we put in tincture form, 750mL or 1200mL, it’s really medicine and it helps with Parkinson’s, for example. We have three of our close family friends that we’ve supplied for the last year and it’s done wonders. We carry a product called Olah, it’s CBD, CBG and CBN. It’s a disposable vape that has helped a lot of people get off of smoking cigarettes. There are six different flavors of that.

My oldest daughter and her boyfriend are finishing up their horticulture degrees so they can be our growers. My job is very rewarding because when I was in the trucking business, I didn’t impact making people’s lives more manageable. I feel like I can help someone who has pain like I do. At the end of the day, it’s not about making money, it’s about helping people.

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AUSTIN JAM BAND THE LEAGUE OG

BY STACEY LOVETT

S

ometimes what’s truly meant to come together should be left up to kismet and that’s exactly what surrounds Austin Jam Band The League OG. They don’t claim the title of ‘band,’ as they say “bands break up”

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but instead embraces both the flow of music and players as a collective union. This league involves a revolving cast of players around a core group of local musicians who have crossed paths over the years and come together over a shared passion and

to have fun.

When COVID hit in 2020, Shane reached out to many of these talents he had met over the years in the local scene.

With many of them having had split from their respective bands or out of work they all joined together and bloomed into what is now the League of Ordinary Gentlemen – or The League OG for the marquee’s sake. The group allowed for individualism as far as musicians having the freedom to drop in and out, not officially being claimed as creative “property” of any entity and became a platform which allowed them to make magic happen in this circle and just jam completely in the moment. Through it, new bands have formed along with many industry relationships and facilitating this natural alignment is what Shane prides himself in with the project.

The core group consists of CJ Bills (electric mandolin, guitars, bass, drums, keys, anything with strings), Eddie S (guitars, bass), John S (drums, bass),

JAY MAGUIRE

BY STACEY LOVETT

Jay Maguire serves as the Executive Director of the Texas Hemp Federation and is working to provide a public face to the industry through his efforts in organizing policy support and strategy in the hemp industry.

W

ith 30+ years experience in public affairs, Maguire has done extensive work in the nicotine and vape sector.

With the natural evolution of the passing of Farm Bill and House Bill TX 1325, many of the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers from this industry turned to adopting hemp products and he followed suit with meeting the needs of his main stakeholders towards this direction. As he began to familiarize himself with the industry he quickly became involved in subsequent legislation.

In this past legislative session he managed the lobby teams the Texas Hemp Federation hired to defend hemp derived cannabinoids from the proposed ban late in the session.

His position also led him to testify in front of the Senate Water/Agriculture/Rural Affairs Committee on behalf of this sector of the industry.

Maguire is working to grow the organization and help the industry mature. They are banding together to adopt self-regulating policies like marketing practices, getting behind the notion of age gauging, identifying deficiencies in the industry, ensuring correct product portrayal & appropriate lab testing, and all of the nuances a trade association should be doing in the industry.

As the Texas hemp industry is still in an age of education, the current public relations approach is key to get valid information out to the masses. With the manufacturers being the most visible, they tend to be the first avenue that the media usually reaches out to. Under his position with Texas Hemp Federation, Jay Maguire handles the public relations for public policy and hemp related lawsuits and deals with the media on the legal and legislative side. According to a re-

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cent study out of the University of Texas, a supermajority of Texas residents approve of legalization of cannabis in some form.

The general attitude towards the industry has shifted – much to the aid of firsthand success stories – but politicians have not kept with that same trajectory. There still remains a minority in legislation who cling to the war on drugs mentality and this is where Maguire writes those wrongs and proves the beneficial side of this plant to the public.

The Texas Hemp Federation represents farmers, laboratories, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of hemp derived cannabinoid products in the state. It is not their mission to legalize marijuana, but to assist the hemp industry in Texas with hemp and all hemp derived products legal in the state. They provide a public face to the industry through giving advice to people on how to best present their story and products, organizing the industry and industry efforts to defend against poor legislation developing a strategy for lobbyists to go forward and execute it as well as hire legal teams to protect the industry against the Department of Health and Human Services’ illegal ban.

As Executive Director, Jay Maguire closely watches the trends and relies on the stakeholders to ultimately determine the trajectory of the market. For instance, we are gradually understanding the technical applications for industrial hemp but until there is proof of mass profitability the acceptance isn’t fully there. The industry is still young and steadily building with wellness as the primary focus and as a consumable commodity this comes with great responsibility for responsibly regulation and quality control. The goal of the Texas Hemp Federation remains to make sure their products and

anything consumers purchase from this industry is exactly what the label states it is and are all safely manufactured to their highest standards. They want to assure consumers can trust the products they are investing in.

The other side of their mission is to educate consumers on how to responsibly consume these products, especially those with a level of psychoactive properties like Delta 8 which, as a biphasic substance, allows for a therapeutic benefit in a microdose.

With this, the Federation is instituting manufacturing suggestions so that the product remains on the market to continue to benefit consumers with relief while also meeting reliable standards like proposed imprinted cut lines on gummies for dosage awareness.

Educated regulation is essential to maintaining a balance between the public and legislative sectors and ensure positive, healthy growth in the hemp industry in Texas. Under the executive direction and public relation strategy of Jay Maguire and the entirety of the team in the Texas Hemp Federation, the industry has had a voice between what is working for the people and what they’re pushing for the rights for. It is through continued work like this that we will remain to advance the full spectrum of benefits of this plant.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: PRIMARY INDICATES LESS CHANGE COME NOVEMBER

BY JESSE WILLIAMS

Remember the phrase elections have consequences?

I

n the simplest way it was a way for politicos to remind people that you get what you vote for. That people that voted for change, will be seeing change because they desired change so much that they voted for it.

In Texas, that’s not always the case. People will say they want to see change but at times do not vote for change. This last edition we had an article about candidates running for Texas Agricultural Commissioner. In the hemp space it would be considered one of the few elections that would have a major impact on the hemp space.

In this primary election Texans saw Carey Counsil, Rep. James White and incumbent Sid Miller running on the Republican ticket. While in the Democratic primary Texans had a choice between Ed Ireson and Susan Hays on their ballot.

The Republican Ag Commissioner primary was something noted by multiple election reporting outlets that there was a focus on Miller’s time as incumbent and the current case ongoing with his former staffer and a top political consultant, Todd Smith. Smith was indicted in January on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for state hemp licenses that are doled out through Miller’s office.

Despite this incumbent Sid Miller came out on top with an easy majority of the votes at 58.5%, with Rep. White behind him and Counsil in 3rd. On the Democratic side Susan Hays, the cannabis super attorney of Texas won with 82.9% of the votes. The two will face each other on the ballot in the November general election where all of Texas voters will make a decision.

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The Lt Governor ballot saw several contenders against incumbent Dan Patrick on the ballot and several on the Democratic ballot as well competing to go on the ballot in November. On the Republican side Texans could vote for Zach Vance, Daniel Miller, Tracy Bradford, Aaron Sorrells, and Todd Bullis. Patrick came out on top with 78.7% of the vote at the time of reporting.

On the Democratic ballot, Texans saw a return of Mike Collier, Rep. Michell Beckley and Carla Brailley running against one another. The Democrats will go into a primary runoff as not one candidate cleared a majority of 50%. Mike Collier received 41.8% and Michelle Beckley received 30.2% of the vote.

And while on the topic of runoffs, the state will see both Democratic and Republican runoffs for Attorney General. On the Democratic ballot, Texans could vote for Rochelle Garza, Joe Jaworski, Lee Merritt, Mike Fields, and S. T-Bone Raynor. While on the Repub-

lican ballot Texans could vote for Incumbent Ken Paxton, George P. Bush, Eva Guzman and Congressional Rep. Louis B. Gohmert Jr. Incumbent Ken Paxton and George P. Bush advanced to a runoff. They defeated Eva Guzman and Louis B. Gohmert Jr. Paxton received 42.7% of the vote while Bush received 22.4% of the vote. On the Democratic side Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski are going into the runoff as Garza attained 43.1% of the vote while Jaworksi came in second place with 19.6% of the vote, narrowly beating out Lee Merrit.

Given past elections and the trend of Texas voters, we will likely see the same incumbent Republican candidates unless a major unforeseen shift takes place and voter turnout for new place holders takes place.

Runoff for Texas primaries for early voting will be May 16-20, 2022 and the full election day for the runoffs will be May 24, 2022.

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CANNA SCIENCE

PHOTO & FARM: JACKALOPE FARMS, OUTDOOR ORGANIC OKLAHOMA

Tell me more about CBD & THC and what are their major differences?

By Dr. Pepper Hernadez ND, Ph.D., BNHP This is a great question that I get from many clients and cannabis medical patients outside of the cannabis growing community. Newbies that want to learn more to help themselves and see if it’s the right medicine for them often want to know more about the cannabis specifics.

So let me try to explain a few of the major differences and get clarity around this question.

Let’s begin with the fact that both THC & CBD are cannabinoids. What are cannabinoids, you might ask? Cannabinoids are naturally occurring compounds found in the Cannabis plant. There are over 480 different compounds, and only around 66 are termed cannabinoids.

But don’t worry, we are not going to go into all of them today. Just CBD and its benefits.

The main way in which cannabinoids are different is based on their degree of psychoactivity. THC, for example, is a cannabinoid that can alter your perception of reality. This could be an excellent thing for chronic patients, but maybe not be needed for the more acute symptoms. Now CBD, on the other hand, is non-psychoactive. This means you can use it and have little to no side effects when using oil from a quality source farmer and distributor.

CBD is well tolerated, even in large doses.

Both CBD & THC have the same molecular structure: 21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms. A slight difference in how the atoms are arranged accounts for the differing effects on your body. CBD & THC are chemically similar to your body’s endocannabinoids. Yes, our bodies have their own endocannabinoid system, made to interact with the cannabis plant. This system allows both CBD & THC cannabinoids to interact with your cannabinoid receptors. The interaction affects the release of neurotransmitters in your brain. Neurotransmitters are the chem-

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icals responsible for relaying messages between cells and have roles in pain, immune function, stress, and or sleep.

CBD has been researched and successfully proven to help with other various conditions, such as: • Seizures • Inflammation • Pain • Mental disorders • Inflammatory bowel disease • Nausea • Migraine • Depression • Anxiety CBD & THC both have medical benefits.

In whole plant form, they are also both considered safe. The World Health Organization suggests “any side effects that oc-

cur with CBD use are likely the result of drug-to-drug interactions between CBD and other medications you may be taking.”

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. The information provided is derived from research gathered from external sources. Please check with your Cannabis Educated Primary Health Care Physician or Cannabis Therapy Consultant before beginning any new diet or lifestyle change. Dr. Pepper Hernandez is a Naturopathic Nutritionist, Cannabis Therapy Consultant, the Founder and Education Director of the Cannabis Holistic Institute. To find out more about her private practice, educational programs, videos, and other offerings you can find her on the massive inter-webs, social platforms, or at drpepperhernandez.com.

Go forth, Go Cannabis...

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