We are finally beginning to see and speak the truth – Industrial Hemp Is The Answer To Petrochemical Dependency. It’s time to Hemp the world!
This just in from FORBES –
Over the last three weeks, the Houston, TX area has been besieged by chemical fires—the latest resulting in the death of one person and the hospitalization of two others. A few weeks ago, another petrochemical facility caught on fire, consuming 11 storage tanks and sending toxic materials spewing into the air and Houston ship channel. During the initial fire, smoke billowing from the facility created a dark cloud that stretched over 20 miles across the City of Houston.
These types of incidents cast a pall over the petrochemical industry and reinforce the urgency of finding more environmentally-friendly—and human-friendly—solutions. Nonetheless, our dependency on petrochemicals has proven hard to overcome, largely because these materials are as versatile as they are volatile. From fuel to plastics to textiles to paper to packaging to construction materials to cleaning supplies, petroleum-based products are critical to our industrial infrastructure and way of life.
Smoke rising from a petrochemical fire at an Intercontinental Terminals Company facility drifts over Houston on Monday, March 18, 2019. Photo: David J. Phillip, STF / Associated Press
Although there are numerous companies and researchers attempting to use synthetic biology to obsolete our petro-industrial complex, much of this research is a long way from commercialization. Interestingly, however, there is a naturally-occurring and increasingly-popular material that can be used to manufacture many of the same products we now make from petroleum-derived materials—and you have undoubtedly already heard of it. That material is hemp.
Industrial hemp, not to be confused with marijuana, was recently removed from the federal government’s schedule of controlled substances in the 2018 Farm Bill. The crop can be used to make everything from biodegradable plastic to construction materials like flooring, siding, drywall and insulation to paper to clothing to soap to biofuels made from hemp seeds and stalks. Porsche is even using hemp-based material in the body of its 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport track car to reduce the weight while maintaining rigidity and safety.
What is the endocannabinoid system and how does it benefit our Mind, Body, Spirit?
Every ‘Body’ has an endocannabinoid system with receptors for cannabinoids. Cannabinoids balance our endocrine system, which balances homeostasis, which balances health on all levels!
In this educational video medical cannabis expert Dr. Dustin Sulak explains your endocannabinoid system and the role it plays in maintaining harmony and balance within your body. For more free education please view. https://healer.com/
Endocannabinoids are synthesized on‐demand from cell membrane arachidonic acid derivatives and have a local effect and short half‐life before being degraded by the enzymes fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL).
Interestingly, the Cannabis plant uses cannabinoids to promote its own health and prevent disease.
In humans, free radicals cause aging, cancer, and impaired healing, which can lead to a variety of pathologies, from neurodegenerative to immune disorders. Antioxidants found in plants have long been promoted as natural supplements to prevent free radical harm.
In order to understand whether whole plant or single compound may be better for you, please read here
This introduction to the Endocannabinoid System has been written thanks to the brilliant yearly review of recent scientific literature of “Emerging clinical applications of cannabis and cannabinoids” by Paul Armentino, Deputy Diector of NORML (Check and support their work if you read from the States!) They have a gift for concise and educational summary and I felt it was the best approach (compared to the peer-reviewed publication model I often adopt), in order to introduce the basics of the Endocannabinoid System.
Spread consciousness and smile more!
read more – https://naturegoingsmart.com/understanding-endocannabinoid-system/
American Banking has finally risen to a new level for the cannabis world and the Marijuana Banking Bill has been approved by the Congressional Committee. A congressional committee voted on Thursday to approve legislation aimed at increasing marijuana businesses’ access to banks.
Floor action has not yet been scheduled, but cannabis reform advocates are hopeful that the committee approval of the banking bill is a sign Democrats are ready to move broad marijuana reforms this year.
“We will guide it to the House floor for a vote, which I think it will pass with an overwhelming vote—Democrats and I think a lot of Republicans as well,” he said. “If we have a strong bipartisan vote that will increase the pressure on the Senate to do something.”
Following the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD sales have continued their massive growth in the United States and beyond.
Cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical found in cannabis, has seen a huge growth in sales over the past few years.
CBD can be derived from hemp, and the passing of a new farm bill in the States makes this form of cultivation legal at a federal level.
This forms part of wider growth in the cannabis market, as companies expand their operations in North Americaand even beyond.
Wildflower Brands Inc. is among the companies benefiting from this market, with an increase of more than 300 percent in online sales for its CBD products last year. Tilray Inc. is expanding with its acquisition of hemp foods company Manitoba Harvest. Canopy Growth Corporation announced revenue for its fiscal third quarter rose more than 280 percent compared to a year ago. In December, Cronos Group Inc. announced that tobacco company Altria would be taking a $1.8 billion stake in the company. Aphria has just completed expansion projects that allows it to substantially increase its output.
CBD Drives Growth for Hemp
Hemp, a plant that has long been out of the public eye, is returning to the spotlight in a big way. A non-intoxicating form of cannabis, hemp was primarily used for centuries as a natural source of fibers, which were used in cloth, rope and even building materials. Many ships in the great age of sailing relied on hemp for their riggings.
But in the sweeping anti-drug crusades of the 20th century, hemp became caught up in attacks on cannabis. Campaigners who were determined to save consumers from their own pleasures had cannabis outlawed at a time when there was little effective way of distinguishing between hemp and other forms of cannabis. No longer needed for cloth and rigging, hemp was made illegal. Now all that has changed – nowhere more dramatically than in the United States of America.
The Farm Bill
Hemp is making a comeback thanks to the growing popularity of cannabidiol (CBD), an active ingredient found in many forms of cannabis. It’s an ingredient that companies such as Wildflower Brands Inc. a creator of plant-based health and wellness products, have been making extensive use of in recent years. Combined with other naturally occurring plant compounds, full-spectrum CBD is used in a range of Wildflower products, including capsules, topicals, soaps, tinctures and vaporizers.
Until recently, the production of CBD in the United States faced serious restrictions and uncertainties. Many states had legalized the production of cannabis in some form, either for medical or for recreational use. In addition, there were licensed trials of the cultivation of hemp, which can be rich in CBD. But all of these plants were illegal at a federal level, meaning that even with state-level approval, cultivators faced financial limitations and the threat of government action.
All that changed in December with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. One of a regular series of bills governing the U.S. agricultural sector, this bill removes hemp from the list of controlled substances, making it unambiguously legal for farmers to grow hemp. This changes the landscape for CBD products in the States. Companies such as Wildflower, which has already got its products into many outlets in the health and wellness sector, will be able to expand their reach even further.
States have the right to set their own rules around restricted substances, and some states have taken an unsympathetic attitude to CBD. The Farm Bill doesn’t force states to change this attitude, but there are already signs that public opinion on all levels are changing. The regulations in many states assume adherence to the federal guidelines, and some states, such as Alabama, have already softened their stance since the Farm Bill became law.
Under the Farm Bill, hemp production will be tightly regulated. Most states already have existing regulations in place, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be developing its own regulations as well. But for an established company such as Wildflower, which already works in California, Washington and New York, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Cannabis companies are accustomed to working in a tightly controlled environment and meeting the legal standards set by state legislators, as well as the product standards required by retail outlets. In that context, working within new federal regulations shouldn’t present a significant challenge, while the existence of consistent national standards will create opportunities for growth.
CBD Demand Grows
The Farm Bill has been driven in large part by the growing demand for CBD. An obscure and seldom discussed chemical a decade ago, CBD has emerged as an important consumer product. The gradual legalization of cannabis and research into its medical effects drew attention to the fact that those benefits were not all related to THC, the psychoactive chemical that gets cannabis users high. Identified as a chemical with great potential for health and wellness, CBD has started to be marketed in its own right and is used in products such as the Wildflower Wellness line.
Public interest in CBD has grown seemingly from nowhere. Tapping into interest in both cannabis and natural remedies, and offering treatments that may succeed where others have failed, CBD sales have soared. Hemp-derived CBD alone was a $390 million market in 2018 and is expected to reach $1.3 billion by 2022. And that doesn’t even include all the CBD products derived from other forms of cannabis.
The results for producers have been staggering. Wildflower saw its online sales grow by more than 300 percent in just nine months in 2018. In response, the company opened its first New York retail store, a sure sign of a product’s popularity in an age when so many companies are shedding their brick-and-mortar presence.
Companies producing and selling CBD products are springing up across North America, Europe and beyond. Demand is growing, especially among millennials. That’s bolstering the impressive sales of companies such as Wildflower and putting pressure on politicians to further liberalize the laws around hemp.
Making the Most of a New Market
A lot of companies are now making the most of the growing popularity of cannabis, CBD and hemp. With its acquisition of Manitoba Forest,is tapping into an extensive U.S. distribution network and an upcoming line of CBD products.
Manitoba Harvest sells hemp-based granola, protein powder, milk and other food products at more than 13,000 points of sale across the United States.
Canopy Growth Corporationimpressive increase in sales was boosted by the company’s first sales of legal recreational marijuana in Canada, which accounted for more than 70 percent of gross revenue. Chairman and co-CEO Bruce Linton attributed the lift to the company’s decision to make early, “meaningful” investments that helped it corner a big part of the Canadian market when the law took effect. Canopy Growth is a world-leading diversified cannabis and hemp company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and softgel capsule forms.
‘Hemp Cultivation is moving into full swing in the US despite challenges in state-to-state regulations supporting the farmer, the consumer and the state.The main point is to Hemp the World, and bring natural resource sustainability back to all life!’ Darlene Mea, comments
As you might remember, a few months ago, the Roundtable’s intrepid attorneys at Frost Brown Todd identified a provision buried in the statutes of more than a dozen states – when there was a federal de-classification of a drug, the state must follow suit.
This led to an obvious conclusion – hemp should be removed from drug control in these states.
Our voice was heard.
This week, we heard back from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Their Commissioner reviewed our letter and agreed: and on March 15, he filed a regulatory amendment declassifying hemp as a controlled substance.
Of course, there’s more work to be done.
An important bill has been filed by Rep. Tracy King which would not only establish a hemp growing program in the Lone Star State but also make 100% clear that hemp products such as CBD could be sold at retail. Read more here.
There you will insert your address, and with the click of a button you can fire off your own letter to your legislators in Austin, encouraging them to support hemp farmers and hemp products for consumers.
If you don’t live in Texas, please share this portal with your friends in Lone Star State, as well as all of your social media contacts, helping us keep the pressure on Texas policymakers. As we’ve proven so often inthe past, when we share our voices, politicians listen.
