Photo by Ben Droz State Update: West Virginia grew 14 acres of hemp in 2017. VIENNA, West Virginia. (AP) - JAKE ZUCKERMAN, Charleston Gazette-Mail AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE Day aside, this past Tuesday marked the first day West Virginians could apply to the agriculture commissioner for a license to grow industrial hemp for commercial purposes, although several industry pioneers already are well into their second growing season and thinking big. Morgan Leach serves as the presid

Fast Fact: The Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act of 2017, S. 1276, and currently has 7 Senate Cosponsors Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is a powerful Senator from Iowa. Senator Dianne Feinstein is an 84 year old Senior Senator from California, who despite the openmindedness of her constituents, continues to fiercely oppose marijuana legalization in 2017. The two of them are the Co-Chairs of the Senate Caucus on International Drug Control, which despite their best

Photo by Ben Droz WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana Currently, industrial hemp can only be grown as a research crop in Indiana. Purdue researchers have planted test plots to study basic production factors such as expected yield, optimal soil conditions, effective nutrients, and pest and disease management. “Every crop has challenges. We hope by showing some of what these challenges are we’ll be able to help interested growers make informed decisions,” said Janna Beckerman, professor of

Fast Fact: the Charlotte's Web Medical Access Act of 2017, H.R. 2273, currently has 31 cosponsors; the Therapeutic Hemp Medical Access Act, S. 1008, has 11 Senate Cosponsors. Update : As of April 2018, The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 S. 2667 and H.R. 5485, would legalize hemp and CBD as well. WHEN THE movement around CBD reached its first all time, non-psychoactive high after the passage of the Farm Bill, the Coalition for Access Now moved forward to introduce Federal Legislatio

The term "Billion Dollar Crop" was coined in a 1938 article in Popular Mechanics, which talked about the many emerging uses for industrial hemp. The article claimed 25,000 uses and included photos of some of them. The article was largely forgotten until it was discovered in the Library of Congress by Jack Herer, as he was writing the landmark text "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" Unfortunately, the article was published just months after the "Marihuana Tax Act", went into eff

Humans have co-evolved with life on earth, and this is no more apparent than with cannabis. I have been developing a theory that the hemp plant is to the plant kingdom, as humans are to the animal kingdom. The hemp plant has dominated every continent, has strength and utility. As far as plant intelligence goes, if that were to exist, cannabis has won in every way. My theory takes a new level by looking at physical characteristics. The hemp plant is perfectly to human scale

"Banning Hemp because it's related to marijuana is like banning portobello mushrooms because some mushrooms have psilocybin" While this analogy is more illustrative than it is accurate, it certainly makes a good foundation to describe a growing connection between these two amazing organisms. I first learned about the amazing potential of mycelium when I was in Los Angeles and had the opportunity to see a speech by Paul Stamets. (Thanks Thatcher from Eat More Hemp!!) New Yor