Hemp Advocates Praise US House Passage of SAFE Banking Act
By Jean Lotus
Hemp industry advocates celebrated Monday as the US House passed banking safeguards that could protect financial institutions from being prosecuted under federal laws for working with cannabis businesses.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking act, sponsored by Rep. Ed Permutter, D-CO, passed 321-101 with a two-thirds majority and support from more than 100 House Republicans. It now proceeds to the U.S. Senate.
An international crowdfunding campaign seeks to launch a new watch made from compressed hemp wood and cruelty free pineapple leather.
A limited-edition version of the watch, which launched a Kickstarter campaign this week, has the time 4:20 marked on the dial.
The sleek, minimalist hemp MVMENT is the brainchild of Edinburgh designer Sam Whitten, who has operated the Hemp Eyewear sunglasses company for seven years after graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University.
Photo: MVMENT
Hemp Innovators in Mexico Await Changes in Cannabis Laws
By Jean Lotus
As Mexico waits at the threshold of a new era of cannabis decriminalization for adult use, medical marijuana and hemp, some hemp pioneers already have a head start.
Stephen Clarke, a Mexican native, and his team have been growing and researching industrial hemp for almost eight years with their company Heavengrown in Tulum, at the toe of Mexico’s Carribean isthmus near Cancun.
A four-story solar powered eco home in Tulum, Mexico, was constructed of hempcrete and bamboo. Photo: Heavengrown
In September 2020, U.S. Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA) introduced the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act – a bill which would provide a clear legal pathway for the sale of hemp extracts like CBD, while ensuring that products must comply with the rigorous regulatory framework existing for dietary supplements. The bill garnered broad bi-partisan support. On Feb. 7, 2021, Reps. Schrader and Griffith and 17 of their colleagues reintroduced the bill as H.R. 841. Support passage of the bill here.
On July 20, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to allow service members to use products containing hemp, including CBD. Unfortunately, the amendment was not included in the Senate’s version of the NDAA, which passed on July 23, and was not included in the final bill. However, as a new Congress meets this year, they are hoping for another hearing. Learn more.
The 2018 Farm Bill authorized hemp production but used an outdated definition of hemp that does not work for farmers or the hemp industry. The current definition limiting hemp to 0.3% THC has proven unworkable, forcing many farmers to destroy their crops. Congress must change the definition of hemp to allow up to 1% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) so that farmers can grow hemp without fearing that they will later have to destroy them. Add your name to the Vote Hemp petition urging Congress to redefine hemp as up to 1% THC.
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable has identified bills that need the hemp industry’s attention in key states including Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Missouri. Click here to learn more and take action.
In 1985, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp decided to put on a concert for America’s family farmers who were in dire need of assistance. They raised over $7 million in that first year and Farm Aid have been helping to support America’s family farmers ever since. We’re asking you to join us in asking Farm Aid to make industrial hemp a focus of this year’s event and into the future. Sign the petition here.
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#LetsTalkHemp is the ultimate platform that focuses on “Changing the Cannabis Conversation”. We provide news, education, and information about Hemp and Cannabis to our viewers so that they can learn more about the industry and get tips and tricks on the latest technologies. Subscribe to our channel and learn about everything from legal updates, farming, production, and new products entering the Hemp & Cannabis space.
Let’s Talk Hemp Podcast – Season 4, Episode 6 Available April 15, 2021
When it comes to participating in an industry that is millennia in the making, it seems appropriate and fair that involvement should be far and wide and inclusive. Hemp is a big tent that can allow family farmers, small to large processors and manufacturers, craft product makers, and everyone in between an opportunity to take part in this emerging industry. Author, investigative journalist and hemp farmer Doug Fine has been advocating for regenerative entrepreneurism since I first met him in 2014 when he released his best selling book Hemp Bound. Seven years later that message resonates louder than ever as we can look at the broken systems of society and realistic common sense solutions that can materialize after a global pandemic, where we the people can actually impact and create positive change.
If you’re not a member of Leafwire yet, you should definitely check out the largest business network in the cannabis industry, with more than 40,000 members. Members include growers, budtenders, accountants, lawyers, CBD companies, equipment manufacturers, investors and more. Leafwire is for anyone who works in the cannabis industry, and also features a job board with 1,100 open cannabis and hemp jobs. Leafwire is designed to be a LinkedIn-style business network where the cannabis Industry can share news, promote events, find new jobs, find investors and simply network with their peers. Leafwire is 100% dedicated to the Cannabis and Hemp industries and the perfect place to post and share information about your company, new product launches or other related news. We’ll see you on Leafwire!
About Let’s Talk Hemp
Let’s Talk Hemp is a publication of Colorado Hemp Company (a division of We Are For Better Alternatives) focused specifically on the subject of industrial hemp and cannabis. We present features and curate news from across the globe to share the benefits of cannabis on health, energy, manufacturing and planet (H.E.M.P.). Colorado Hemp Company also is the Producer of NoCo Hemp Expo and Southern Hemp Expo, the nation’s leading hemp conferences and expositions.
Publisher: Morris Beegle, Elizabeth Knight Editor: Steven Hoffman Web Developer: Debby West Design: Ben Wright Circulation: Evan Tompros Contributor: Heather Collins, Jean Lotus Financial Officer: Lori Buderus Let’s Talk Hemp Podcast: Morris Beegle