Welcome to Season 3 of Let’s Talk Hemp! As the world has come sliding to a halt there is some upside in the midst of all the downside: Carbon emissions have slowed way down, the skies are looking better and our Earth is getting a small breather as travel has decreased dramatically.
In this inaugural episode of the new season, we talk with the indomitable Paul Benhaim of The Hemp Plastic Company and Elixinol — a leading manufacturer of the highest quality hemp oil extracts — about the challenges of creating the first plastic from hemp and the cost of hemp plastic versus regular plastic.
We also interview two experts on their respective countries for our international spotlight segment: Oliver Zugai from Columbia and Tommy Prendergast from the United Kingdom. Tommy is the director of the Hemp CBD Media and the organizer of the Hemp and CBD Expo and he has some ideas on why British farmers aren’t getting involved in growing hemp.
It was a pleasure chatting with these folks across the world who are working in the cannabis space, have plenty to say, and shared their time, expertise, and favorite hemp products. We talk about the state of the cannabis industry in the U.K. and Colombia, the outlook for full federal legalization of cannabis in the United States, and the largest obstacle facing the hemp industry.

“2020 Will be the year of the proof of the pudding for the industry with regards to its commercial viability.” – Paul Benhaim
Show Notes:
- How NOCO 2020 is being affected by the pandemic
- What to do with your time during the Coronavirus
- The state of medical cannabis in Colombia
- The largest obstacle facing the hemp industry
- Paul Benhaim’s favorite hemp product
- The state of medical cannabis in the United Kingdom
- Who qualifies for medical cannabis in the United Kingdom
- The state of recreational cannabis in the United Kingdom
- The state of industrial cannabis in the United Kingdom
- Why British farmers aren’t getting involved in growing hemp
- The challenges of creating the first plastic from hemp
- The cost of hemp plastic versus regular plastic
- The most popular hemp plastic product
“The main problem with industrial hemp is that we need to see a demand.” – Tommy Prendergast
Links Mentioned:
- Connect with Paul Benhaim:
Paul Benhaim | Twitter | Facebook