Original Articles

For millennia people have been eating hempseed, and even now a billion people eat it weekly (China). A vegan source of complete protein and omega-3, it tastes great raw...

From Cannabis Evolution and Ethnobotany by Clarke and Merlin: “Biotechnology in the form of genetic modification has also reached Cannabis. An Irish research group successfully transferred genes for grey mold resistance to an industrial hemp variety (Clarke and Watson 2007). Grey mold is one of the leading pests of Cannabis, causing crop loss and contaminating … Continue reading "GMO Hemp"...

In America, the fastest way to introduce something new and spur diffusion and acceptance is through that one-eyed monster, TV. To normalize Cannabis a generation ago, the easiest path was by using marijuana’s red-haired stepchild, hemp. Ironically, hemp has proven to be the sharp point of the Cannabis legalization spear. And especially food, as it … Continue reading "1999: Hemp Foods on National TV x5"...

FDA allows drugs Kava-kava and St John’s Wort in foods, and we’ve already had a half-dozen years of massive CBD diffusion, ie: “real world experience.” There are 20,000 unregistered NDIs like CBD, but only CBD raises their ire. But only if crossing state lines. Intrastate/10A FTW. “Jessica Wasserman, a Washington DC-based cannabis attorney, told Schiller … Continue reading "FDA’s CBD Mismanagement Borders on the Criminal"...

Regarding INDUSTRIAL HEMP: GLOBAL MARKETS AND PRICES (1997) by Valerie L. Vantreese in the Department of Agricultural Economics at University of Kentucky. Many think China banned hemp cultivation sometime in the last century. I know they did not as I purchased hundreds of tons of seed from them in those years. Here is confirmation: “China … Continue reading "INDUSTRIAL HEMP: GLOBAL MARKETS AND PRICES (1997)"...

Comments of Richard Rose on the ProposedStandard of Identity for Primary Hempseed Products ASTM Subcommittee D.37.91 is considering primary hemp product standards of identity. The following is in reference to “hempseed” (one word) for technical uses and “hemp seed” (two words) for sowing uses. For decades, “hempseed” has been the existing convention to differentiate the … Continue reading "On a Standard of Identity for Primary Hempseed Products"...

Here’s the story of the soyfoods industry standards for presentation to the FDA which I helped write in 1984-1986, from History Of Tofu and Tofu Products. Back then 37 years ago we had to type our comments on a typewriter, sign it with a pen, fold it in thirds, put in an envelope, address the … Continue reading "1986: Soyfoods Standards Development Timeline"...

The HempNut Story           We believe HempNut is the greatest invention to happen to hempseed ever!  Most people agree that the outer shell is not very tasty, more for birds than for humans.  It’s dirty, with typical field contaminants such as pathogens and manure.  And the shell has trace amounts of THC on it, not … Continue reading "1996: The HempNut Story"...

City of Baltimore Citizen Citation Baltimore was where I first introduced hemp foods, at ExpoEast in the convention center in September 1994. When my amazing PR agent Sandra Weinstein asked them to give me this Citizen’s Citation and why, they agreed! It was a surprise, I didn’t even know it was a Thing. “City of … Continue reading "1996: Citizen Citation"...

Tofu cheese and rock ‘n’ roll Santa Rosa Press Democrat Business section, Sept 18 1994, by Brad Bollinger. What can you make of a guy who has an MBA, hair down below his shoulders and plays guest guitar with a band called the Pink Flamingos?           A budding business star, according to Inc. magazine.           … Continue reading "1994: Tofu cheese and rock ‘n’ roll"...

Want to naturally infuse hemp buds with terps in a certain ratio to mimic any Cannabis strain? Then combine this:https://theterpenestore.com/terpifuse-bucket-system/ with this:https://therichardrosereport.com/relative-terpene-content-of-popular-strains/...

This is a good way to visualize the latitudes of Europe with North America. It’s an important consideration for U.S. hemp farmers using European seed, especially varieties which are bred, developed, and certified for performance at the maintainers’ latitude. Moving even one degree south changes performance. Using Polish seed in Texas? Might be a problem. … Continue reading "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Magnitudes"...

For Sale: Old School Hemp/Cannabis Collection. Intermediate and compliant hemp for fibre, grain, and dual purpose. These are not necessarily for cannabinoid or terpene production, although selections from them might be suitable for those applications. This is a germplasm collection of seventy varieties, mostly landraces from all over Europe and Asia. Parent lines have 100 … Continue reading "For Sale: Old School Hemp/Cannabis Collection"...

For Sale: Old School Hemp/Cannabis Collection. Intermediate and compliant hemp for fibre, grain, and dual purpose. These are not necessarily for cannabinoid or terpene production, although selections from them might be suitable for those applications. This is a germplasm collection of seventy varieties, mostly landraces from all over Europe and Asia. Parent lines have 100 … Continue reading "Breeder Inquiry"...

In September 1996 a few hempsters were asked to go to Window Rock in the Navajo Nation. Woody Harrelson, Chris Boucher, Michael Myers, Jim Robinson and I traveled there for 3 days, on our dime and at Christie Bohling and Patrick Lange’s request, to consult on hemp with the Navajo Nation administrators and a Judge. … Continue reading "1996: Hempsters Consult With the Navajo Nation"...

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 Editor Date: June 1, 1997 … Continue reading "1997: First Recipient of Award for Hempseed Food Achievement"...

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 to be Literally and Culturally Palatable"...

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"...

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 Certification Program"...

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 Kill"...

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 1980 many vegetarian entrepreneurs had a collective vision inspired by the Book of Tofu (William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi). Some of us went on to create Silk soymilk, Westbrae tofu, and TofuRella cheese alternative. Small village style tofu shops, thousands across the country just like Japan. Yes, we were naïve, yet we persisted. I … Continue reading "The Birth of “Business = Activism”"...

“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”"...

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"...

I write a lot about FDA, and the things I say are admittedly not in the realm of Conventional Wisdom. See it here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. So then, why listen to me when it comes to FDA? I don’t know what you … Continue reading "My Forty Years Under FDA’s Thumb"...

The Alabama Board of Pharmacy asked DEA whether or not Delta-8 THC (D8) is a controlled substance. Delta-8 is an isomer of Delta-9 THC, and today is made from CBD from hemp. On September 15, 2021, Terrence L. Boos, Ph.D., Chief of the Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section, Diversion Control Division replied what many of … Continue reading "DEA Admits the Obvious: Hemp Delta-8 is Legal"...

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"...

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 Constitution is Void”"...

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 Smokable Hemp in Europe Sprayed With Toxic Synthetic"...