Texas Hemp Coalition Q&A Column

BY ILISSA NOLAN

Meet Aaron Owens, Founder of Tejas Hemp

Why did you get into the hemp industry?

Pretty simple really, a genuine and sincere love for cannabis. Funny anecdote: I got caught with the first cannabis plants I ever tried to grow by my parents at the age of seventeen. Dad wasn’t impressed…haha. After he took those 4 plants from me, he just about wore my bottom out. What’s even funnier, is that later my stepmom tried to bake these plants whole in the oven without letting me know, and ended up smoking out the whole house. Dad was NOT happy, with either of us! Then, just to wrap it up, he found all the plants growing in my flower bed that where I had been discarding my seeds outside my back door later that year. Poor guy. Let’s just say a sincere interest and a wealth of experience and study has brought me to the point of Tejas Hemp today. We are VERY happy to be legal, and even better here at home in Texas.

Tell me about your company? What does it specialize in?

What Tejas Hemp has always focused on is creating the absolute most effective formulations from hemp scientifically possible. Everyone likes to make money, but that is far from why we got into this business. We are here because I love cannabis almost as much as I love helping people…and ranching. We have put years at this point into R&D on processes that preserve the presence and integrity of the most delicate molecules present in the Hemp plant’s precious medicinal oils. We are the EXACT and EXTREME OPPOSITE of CBD Isolate. The cannabis plant has many different assets. For extraction purposes, these two main assets are simply Terpene, or Essential,” Oil and Cannabinoid Oil. Tejas focuses on extracting these two assets separately in their completeness and entirety with an absolute minimum adulteration. Once extracted, the Terpene Oil is then reintroduced into the cannabinoid oil at the point of formulation, meaning that it’s concentration can then be managed. This is by far the most complicated, slow, and expensive way to extract and formulate; but by far, and without question, the most effective formulation process that exists in all of Cannabis worldwide.

For production, we farm the most cutting-edge genetics, with cannabinoid and terpene profiles that exist nowhere else in the world; and I do mean that. This provides us the opportunity to make different symptom specific formulations for things like general aches and pains (RELIEF), Parkinson’s Disease (RELIEF), High Stress (CHILL), Sleep Apnea (SLEEP), Obesity (SKINNY), or even Diabetes (FOCUS).

For 2023, we are entering the mainstream recreational space with our beverage product, Tejas Tonic. Super exciting!! Tejas Tonic is a 16oz can of tasty bubble water, has a hint of Lime, and is infused with organic hemp derived terpenes and full spectrum cannabinoid oil. Each has 25mg of naturally occurring full spectrum CBD that includes 5mg Delta 9 THC; all at a 2:1 ratio with our in-house Hemp derived terpenes. Tejas Tonic tastes good, is sugar free, and non-alcoholic. It’s not over the top in strength or flavor and can be enjoyed by Cannabis and Non-Cannabis users with all levels of experience. Think Topo Chico and Lime, but with Cannabis! For 2023, Tejas Tonic is what we will be specializing in :)

What do you think are the main challenges within this industry?

Education and Infrastructure. There is an immense lack of education in the industry here in Texas, and everywhere for that matter. This unfortunately allows people to have their ignorance taken advantage of and falsely elevates products that are not really what they claim to be; all while providers are capturing substantial margins based on fiction. Surely with time and exposure this will get better though for not only users, but also conscious manufacturers and providers. The infrastructure challenge comes on the production side. For farmers, cannabinoids are not going to be what gets things moving on the traditional Texas scale, but rather hemp production for true industrial applications. For now, if a

Texas producer raises livestock, there’s an opportunity to haul a trailer to town once a week and drop off livestock at the sale barn. Texas has supply chain infrastructure to take possession of these farm/ ranch products, as well the ability to cut a check for the farmer/rancher the same day. This does not exist for Hemp. If you produce 5000 acres of industrial hemp, there is not currently anywhere in the State of Texas to haul your lot. There’s no sale barn, no hemp gin, no industrial processing facilities.

For now, we do not have supply chain infrastructure to process and manage real industrial hemp products like fiber, hurds, and grain, etc. This is the single largest challenge with not only the State of Texas, but the overall American Hemp Industry all together. Once these facilities are created and become accessible, Hemp farmers will finally have a real opportunity to produce industrial hemp at scale. This is when true Texas agriculture producers will have the opportunity to mature in hemp production and processing, to become the global leader that we are poised to be.

What is the most important advice that you would give individuals who are looking to get involved in this industry?

The smartest thing someone can do if they want to create a successful business in the Industrial Hemp Industry, is to start by creating their own demand. Then, after success, they can begin working backwards up the supply chain. If you start with creating your own demand, you can then work step by step backwards up the supply chain into manufacturing, then processing, then maybe even to the point of production/farming. But build your brand first! Very few people will pull this off. If you start with production, then try to work towards processing, manufacturing, and then sales, you are fighting an almost impossible battle. What I have learned is that unless you have an expansive pocketbook with substantial staying power, you will likely find that aligning with others who are professionals in their own capacity at the different core points along the supply chain is the most effective and efficient business decision. There are really no supply chains in agriculture where vertical integration from actual seed to sale are anywhere near possible for ninety-nine percent of folks. And if they are, they are very challenging to scale. Start small and start with building demand before you make any substantial investments. That’s my best advice.

What do you hope to see for the future of the hemp industry in Texas?

Infrastructure development, and access to real patients. As I described before, once material management and processing infrastructure is built out, Texas farmers will finally have an opportunity to become a real leader in Industrial Hemp production. Until then, if we could somehow figure out a way to access patients who could really benefit from what we are making now, which are cannabinoid focused products, that would be great. As I mentioned before, whether it’s Parkinson’s Disease, sleep disorders, fibromyalgia, or even Diabetes, we are already making effective remedies that help with these symptoms; but it’s hard for those folks to sift through all the non-sense to find what they need, as well equally hard for us providers to access these real patients. Let’s be direct.

There are more superior medicinal solutions coming from the Hemp Industry currently than have ever come out of the Compassionate Use program for example, not to mention that these hemp derived solutions are more affordable and accessible. I’m not trying to put the medical program down; but this is the current truth and reality. Hopefully over time, all Cannabis education will increase, and easier accessibility to safe and effective solutions will be the norm.

Include your links to your social media and how to contact you/your business:

For now, you can find us at TejasHemp. com or on Social @tejashemp; but be looking for TejasTonic.com and @TejasTonic very soon!

The Texas Hemp Coalition’s goal is to provide industry specific information to growers, processors and entities that are involved in the Texas Hemp Industry. We will serve as an advocacy, educational and networking liaison to reputable entities within the hemp industry.

Visit www.texashempcoalition.org for more information and membership availabilities.