Original Articles

Years before today’s companies even thought of starting, we won the Cannabis industry’s first awards, the Hemp Achievement Award in the Hemp Food category. Three of them, in fact, in just two years 1997/8, all for food innovation including HempNut brand shelled hempseed, the industry’s first. To:Assignments or News EditorDate:June 1, 1997 First Recipient of … Continue...

In the 1980s, in order to normalize Soyfoods which are foods made out of tofu or soymilk, I offered them in traditional American flavors and forms. Cottage Salad, soymilk, dips like Missing-Egg Salad and Tofummus, Soy-o yogurt, chocolate and strawberry puddings (Bill Cosby was big then), but also brands like LeTofu (similar to ice cream), … Continue reading "“Americanize” New Foods in Order...

Marketing is a fascinating soft science that is more psychology than anything. It’s so interesting to me that I went back to Sonoma State University at age 32 to study it, eventually getting a BA then an MBA with a concentration in marketing. I was always tweaking my branding and marketing efforts, a continuous improvement … Continue reading "Cannabis Marketing Best Practices"...

Pres. Biden’s pick to head the FDA, Dr. Robert Califf, previously ran the agency under Obama. From Natural Products Insider: “There is nothing that I am aware of to suggest that Dr. Califf will be focused on supplements or CBD, in the short term at least,” said Ivan Wasserman, partner at the Amin Talati Wasserman … Continue reading "New FDA Comm: Status Quo on CBD?"...

For years those growing non-Hemp CBD, typically marijuana or drug Cannabis >0.3% THC, have said it was less likely to uptake heavy metals and other toxins than Hemp. It was a silly assertion, of course, as Cannabis is Cannabis. Ironically, because of this canard Hemp might actually be “cleaner” than marijuana, as it may be … Continue reading "Marijuana = Hemp in Toxin Uptake"...

With these words written by Chief Justice John Marshall, the Supreme Court for the first time declared unconstitutional a law passed by Congress and signed by the President. Keeping that in mind, remember these facts; like the Marihuana Tax Act (MTA) before it, Marijuana in Schedule 1 is unconstitutional four ways to Sunday: 1) Congressional … Continue reading "“A Law Repugnant to the...

In 1999 Kenex Inc. was a Canadian company exporting many different hempseed and fiber products to the U.S. I was one of their customers for one shipment, and in reviewing pro-forma invoices in advance of the export to me in California I noticed a massive red flag: they put “Contains less than 10 ppm THC.” … Continue reading "2002: State Dep’t on Kenex NAFTA Suit"...

“Laws are like sausages, it’s better not to see them being made.” The following is the letter I wrote in 2015 to the person handling hemp for then-Congressman Polis. It was on behalf of 18 CBD companies, fifteen in Colorado and three of which were the largest in the country at the time. It was … Continue reading "2015: Making CBD “Sausage”"...

For U.S. hemp it’s time to get real, time for action not platitudes. Only legal 3 years now, acreages harvested are falling, 1/3 of the crops are noncompliant, bankruptcies frequent, and farmers and processors are losing interest and money fast. We need to make the pivot from hemp for cannabinoids to hemp for the other … Continue reading "USDA: Time For Action on Hemp"...

In 1997 HIA asked me to start and manage the True Hemp Fabric Certification Program. It was the first certification program in the North American hemp industry. They thought a food guy wouldn’t know how to do this, but with no loopholes only Denny Finneran’s Crucial Creations registered. I also designed the Certification logo. NEWS … Continue reading "1997: HIA True Hemp Fabric...

Ironically on April 20 in 2006, FDA released a statement entitled “Inter-Agency Advisory Regarding Claims That Smoked Marijuana Is a Medicine.” In it FDA states that “there is currently sound evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful. A past evaluation by several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies … concluded that no sound scientific … Continue reading "FDA’s Lies...

When I was running fast-growing Rella Good Cheese Co. (#281 on the Inc. 500 in 1993, known then as “Sharon’s Finest”), I realized some wholesale customers were a delight and some were a total Pain In The Ass, yet they both were charged the same price. Those who were a hassle took more of our time and … Continue reading "Pricing for Problem Customers"...

In eight countries in Europe, about a quarter of the 1,142 smokable hemp (flowers, resin, vape liquid <1% THC) samples tested contained the synthetic designer drug MDMB-4en-PINACA. It is a potent CB1 receptor agonist, first reported last year. The vape liquid samples contained zero phytocannabinoids. The toxic dose of MDMB-4en-PINACA is unknown, but it’s likely … Continue reading "Some...

Patent- METHOD AND COMPOSITION FOR TREATING EATING DISORDERS Abstract“Method and composition for treating eating disorders in humans and veterinary animals by administering a composition including: (i) mirtazapine, (ii) a cannabis compound and (iii) a fat-soluble vitamin.”...

Performance evaluation of hemp concrete by non-destructive testMaterials Today: Proceedings, available online 25 September 2021 Abstract“Non-destructive test (NDT) is used to find the physical properties of concrete without any destruction to the structure. There are various methods of NDT in order to calculate the strength of concrete members. Hemp is a type of agro-waste which …...

Someone please sell a phytocannabinoid product containing all the minor cannabinoids so that a Big Pharma company can’t “pull a GW” and get a monopoly on that cannabinoid from the corrupt FDA. And do it soon please: the corruption is polluting FDA daily with their Exclusion Rule (ER), used to the exact opposite of its … Continue reading "The Lie of FDA’s Exclusion...

The (Poly)Pharmacology of Cannabidiol in Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Molecular Mechanisms and TargetsInt. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(9), 4876 Abstract“Cannabidiol (CBD), the major nonpsychoactive Cannabis constituent, has been proposed for the treatment of a wide panel of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy and drug addiction...

Cannabinoid metabolites as inhibitors of major hepatic CYP450 enzymes, with implications for cannabis-drug interactionsDrug Metabolism and Disposition; September 7, 2021 Abstract“THC competitively inhibited CYPs 1A2, 2B6, 2C9, and 2D6, CBD competitively inhibited CYPs 3A4, 2B6, 2C9, 2D6, and 2E1, and CBN competitively inhibited CYPs 2B6, 2C9, and 2E1. THC and CBD showed mixed-type inhibition...

Four hemp food companies, especially with vegan meat and dairy alternatives: https://Planetbasedfoods.com https://neprafoods.com/ https://www.lettherebehempfoods.com/ https://www.hempwayfoods.com/...

I’m finding Cannabigerol (CBG) a potent pain med, at least for dental and jaw pain. I’m guessing my dose was around 100-200 mg. Like with CBD, if and how CBG works for pain will depend on the reason for the pain. I’ve noticed CBD is better for pain from inflammation than other causes, perhaps it’s … Continue reading "CBG for Pain"...

California passed AB45 recently, which is being heralded as legalizing CBD in that state. But did it really? It banned the products of “chemical synthesis;” that’s a vague term, would it include decarboxylation? Delta-8? CBD > THC using an acid? CBD > THC > CBN? Although it left the door open to hemp smokables, California … Continue reading "Cali Legalizes...

Effect of malting on nutritional and antioxidant properties of the seeds of two industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars Food Chemistry, Available online 7 October 2021, 131348 •Effects of malting on the antioxidant and nutritional features of hempseeds were investigated. •Malting improved the antioxidant profile of hempseeds and increased their protein content without affecting the …...

Here are some persistent myths regarding hemp: Hempcrete requires hemp (most of the millions of tons of ag waste burned every year can be used). Ricehouse even makes it out of waste rice hulls. Hemplastic requires hemp (ditto). CBD shrubs contain usable fiber (while tall stands bred for fiber work great for hurd and bast … Continue reading "Myth Hemp"...

Evaluation of Hempseed Cake on Cattle Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Feeding Behavior in Finishing Diets Journal of Animal Science, Volume 99, Issue Supplement_3, November 2021, Pages 184–185, Published: 08 October 2021 “AbstractAs cannabinoid production continues to increase, there is increasing interest in feeding byproducts of industrial hemp production to livestock. An...

In the announcement of their ban on Delta-8 THC, MED said: ““chemically modifying or converting any naturally occurring cannabinoids from industrial hemp is non-compliant with the statutory definition of ‘industrial hemp product’” in state laws.” Decarboxylation of CBDa to CBD fits that definition, as does the current practice of converting CBDa to CBN. Plus the … Continue reading "Did...

I did the USDA MAP program around 1999 for a few years, through WUSATA. Displayed hemp foods at the London Consulate for local buyers they assembled. The “killer app” would be to get a double booth in the USA pavilions at BioFach, Anuga, and national food trade shows in Europe and Asia, using MAP funds. … Continue reading "USDA $ For Hemp Marketing Abroad"...

As I’ve been saying for years, hempseed oil which naturally contains CBD is not a Novel Food in UK and EU, nor an adulterated food in the US. At 0.2% max THC in UK and EU it could be 4% CBD, at 0.3% in US the hempseed oil could be 6% CBD. Hemp can have … Continue reading "CBD Hempseed Oil Not a Novel Food"...