Mandi’s thoughts on the lack of cost protections in the cannabis industry [03:07]
Why CBD is classified as a drug by the FDA [06:54]
Why Mandi is looking to transition to focus on hemp [08:20]
How hemp fiber is grown [12:04]
Even though hemp is legal in the U.S., why isn’t there more widespread use? [14:12]
Why Mandi started the Associations of Hemp Associations [21:41]
How to ensure you’re purchasing quality CBD [33:53]
Mandi’s hemp education efforts [38:50]
Tim’s thoughts on the demand in Utah for Medical Marijuana [46:00]
Utah CBD Collective on YouTube
Mandi is the co-founder of Utah CBD collective. Mandi is passionate about the hemp and cannabis space. While spending the last four years at B2B networking and events for lead generation, she became aware of the pain points in the cannabis and CBD industry such as access to banking, payment processing solutions, and advertising options.
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) provides protection in the agricultural industry and acts as an insurance policy for farmers. For example, if you agree to buy 500 bales of hay at $300 a bale, but later come back to the farmer wanting to change the contract because the market price dropped to $90 a bale, the PACA act would protect the farmer from those losses.
However, in the cannabis industry, there are no protections for either side.
CBD is classified as a drug because CBD is used in Epidiolex, which is now FDA approved. This defaults all CBD in the U.S. to be classified as a drug.
Currently, CBD has a strong national representation. However, where Mandi believes that industrial hemp representation is lacking, which is why she is transitioning from Utah CBD Collective to the Association of Hemp Associations.
Mandi sees an opportunity with hemp helping drive economic growth with sustainable uses of building materials, building homes, plastics, fibers, etc. Thus, a goal for the Association of Hemp Associations is to lobby for the hemp industry.
An example of a use for hemp is “HempCrete”, which is a concrete alternative that can burn at 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit under direct flame with no damage. Hemp is also mold-proof, making it a useful component for products such as drywall.
Other benefits of hemp include lower growing costs and a smaller carbon footprint (it requires one-twentieth of the water that cotton does.)
A hemp stock grows tall like bamboo. Thousands of plants can be grown on a single acre. Once grown, it is broken down, processed, and bailed like hay. Hemp can be further processed into fibers, plastics, oils, or construction materials like “HempCrete” or drywall.
While it is inexpensive to grow hemp, the cost to process hemp into usable materials can be higher due to the lack of processing facilities in the U.S., which is why the lobbying efforts of the Association of Hemp Associations are important.
The issue is the lack of manufacturing facilities in the U.S. Farmers can easily grow hemp on their land, but because there is nowhere for them to sell their crops, it does not make sense for them to invest in hemp.
Another issue is the lack of access to banking and advertising. For example, Google and Facebook prohibit advertisers from promoting cannabis-based products on their platforms. Without the ability for companies to sell hemp products at scale, not enough demand can be generated to incentivize farmers to grow hemp.
Mandi realized that cannabis and industrial/manufacturing industry associations and groups were divided by either product, region, or type of processing. An organization that brought together everyone involved with hemp was necessary
The goal of the Association of Hemp Associations is to provide support from the ground up for everything in the hemp industry, including building supplies, infrastructure, economic development, sustainability, and diversity. The Association of Hemp Associations will also focus on grassroots education on traditional broadcast and digital platforms.
Much of the textile and fabric manufacturing is done out of the United States. The low manufacturing costs come with a trade-off of child labor and human trafficking in those countries.
Bringing our supply chains back to the U.S would improve our economy and improve global child labor and human trafficking.
Products should have a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) and lab tests that show the quality of the product.
Mandi has done daily shows on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram with Utah CBD Collective, interviewing over 100 people. She has begun making the shift to hemp education with the Association of Hemp Associations.
Mandi also posts events on Eventbrite and LinkedIn.
Tim believes that the state will not be able to keep up with the demand for Medical Marijuana. Specifically, he believes that it will take 2-5 years for the state to catch up. Potential solutions could be opening up control to the cities or federal decriminalization.
