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Hemp: Where Do We

Go from Here?

The Florida economy has ground to a halt, except liver damage has been rare in anecdotal research.
food and basic necessities. These exceptions include The next push after cannabinoids will be fiber and grain. Whether or not we have
hemp. With a small dip in retail initially, Florida’s deter- economically competitive products will be decided by the market, more environmen-
mination that hemp was a food and therefore essential tally friendly products in the paper and plastic markets will push those markets too.
was a boon for business. Gabe Suarez, founder of Micro greens in salad, seeds for human consumption and fiber in concrete, insulation
Natural Life and a Florida Hemp Council Boardmember and compressed board are all being explored. Institutional boundaries in building
stated “our numbers have not changed at some stores and manufacturing are being overcome. Those approval processes for the building
and increased at a few others, it seems like the new cus- industry that take years to navigate and lots of money are nearing conclusion. Hemp
tomers as a result of this crisis are outweighing those we will be in our dairy, egg, beef, poultry and pork industries as animal food and horse
lost due to quarantine.” This hold true with several bedding as soon as the testing to insure that horses don’t absorb tetrahydrocannabinol
manufacturers who state that while wholesale account from hemp bedding is confirmed and that animals that consume hemp don’t have any
sales have dipped slightly, online sales have more than issues different from humans or any other mammal.
compensated. The fear that cotton and paper had in the 1930s that led to hemp prohibition will
With reports out that 94% of Arkansas farmers lost almost certainly be realized almost one hundred years later. The reason the hemp
BY JEFF GREENE money last year and the bankruptcies in Colorado and industry will come out of this pandemic stronger and larger is simple, the cannabis
Kentucky in the extraction space, the negative press cer- plant is a disruptor. The lock that the FDA has had on medicine and nutrition, the
tainly matches or exceeds the positive. One thing is certain, if you don’t have a net- timber industries lock on paper and the petroleum industries lock on plastics will
work, know the industry and know the plant, the chances of you losing money goes almost definitely be affected with the emergence of hemp based alternatives. The rub
up. If you can mitigate that risk, with 8 billion people globally more stressed, more on most environmental alternatives is that they are more expensive than their widely
anxious, more sedentary and more isolated, the market will most certainly increase accepted alternatives. With federal legalization of hemp farming and the entrepre-
over the coming years. neurial spirit of Americans, costs could come in competitive or less expensive than
Regulatory consistency continues to keep the big players out of the space, but once their competition.
the FDA gets past the COVID testing and immunization, if they keep in line with Whether you are afraid of jumping in to the industry, jumped in and been burned,
global direction, we will begin to see recommended daily allowances of cannabinoids took advantage of the uncertainty and built a brand or are just getting started. It’s
and eliminate the question of how to navigate this space. Once that is done, it will be never too late to get involved. We recommend The Florida Hemp Council as your
a mad dash for institutional investors looking for opportunities in the space to make first step in networking.
a splash. So far, side effects from using the only FDA regulated cannabinoid is seda-
tion and hepatic impairment. Using cannabis for sedation has been consistent and

Hemp Transportation: How to Avoid Potential Pitfalls

As the hemp industry continues to grow in the face of matic lesson to learn for those who make transportation a last-minute priority.”
COVID-19, many prospective Florida hemp enterprises This especially rings true in a perplexing era in which law enforcement across the
are looking to fill gaps in their plans to execute a prof- country are still routinely stopping and seizing hemp crops and products. The more
itable business strategy. Furthermore, with over 200 documentation of legality, transparency, and proof of compliance available, the better.
hemp cultivator permits already approved by the Don’t wait until the last minute, for assistance with transportation logistics: visit
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer 357company.com. To stay updated with all things hemp, become a member of the
Services (FDACS), local farmers are also looking to Florida Hemp Council at www.theFLHC.org today!
gear-up their operations. One integral, oft-overlooked
piece of this complex puzzle is the importance of hav- Joshua Navarro, Esq., is Operations Director, The Florida Hemp Council.
ing a quality transportation plan for shipping materials
in compliance with state guidelines.
In order to transport any form of hemp into the state
of Florida, one must stop at an Agriculture Inspection
Station with the proper paperwork on-hand. These
BY JOSHUA NAVARRO, agricultural inspection stations have been installed by
ESQ. FDACS to protect Florida agriculture as a whole, as well
as to maintain and ensure a safe food supply (hemp is
currently considered a food product in Florida). Once at the station, a transporter
must provide: (1) a phytosanitary certificate; (2) a certificate of analysis from a third-
party accredited testing laboratory showing total THC; and (3) the bill of sale/lading.
For transportation of hemp within the state, FDACS requires hemp materials to be
transported in fully enclosed vehicles or containers. In terms of appropriate contain-
ers, the Department has suggested simple solutions such as garbage bags with taut
draw-strings or tote containers with lids. There also remains an option to transport in
a fully-enclosed vehicle with solid walls, or in an appropriately tarped or plastic-lined
trailer or truck bed. As with the documents required for importation of hemp, it is
imperative to have these same papers on-hand in order to prevent possible issues with
law enforcement (especially the certificate of analysis that proves your product is less
than 0.3% total THC).
As is good practice for any business, hemp entrepreneurs should be making every
effort to ensure that their entire process – including transportation, is documented as
much as possible. Kevin Schultz, President of 357 Hemp Logistics and Member of the
Florida Hemp Council, said “It is imperative that the hemp industry recognizes trans-
portation as an essential expense that can be extremely risky, and realize that most
cargo insurance policies do not cover hemp! It can be a costly, and potentially trau-

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