Abilene Hemp Master Class overview

- Hemp class, Abilene -

Zachary Maxwell, president of Texas Hemp Growers and founder of digital newspaper Arlington Voice, presented Hemp Master Class at the SoDA building in Abilene yesterday, Saturday, February 29.

The room was packed; I would say over 200 people were there. I went to dispel the confusion I had in differentiating between hemp and pot. I've found a lot of people have hard opinions on the subject, but none seem to be the same. My takeaway was that hemp and marijuana (marihuana, in legislative literature) look the same, but have different THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the ingredient that makes you high) levels, although growers must constantly work to maintain the lower level in hemp.

I liked the information about licensing, fertilizing, plant sexing and what to expect all around in the crop. There was no mollycoddling about this being a fairytale industry, and I appreciated that knowledge.

I had some concerns about the legitimacy of one of the panel guests, who was presented as a geneticist, and the shortening of the title assistant commissioner for water and rural affairs to assistant commissioner of agriculture.

The various hemp groups and their affiliations are somewhat confusing. There's Texas Hemp Growers, Texas Hemp Growers Association and Texas Hemp Industries Association, all three with different websites. There are many groups that are very willing to unravel the mysteries of hemp for us! Closely watching the agencies that regulate hemp, such as the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), the TDA (Texas Department of Agriculture), the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the DSHS (Department of State Health Services), might help separate the hemp from the chaff.

Anyway, the meeting was clarifying and well rendered. It didn't hurt at all that it took place in the SoDA building on Third Street, an aesthetically pleasing venue.

Dan Hunter, the aforementioned Texas Department of Agriculture Assistant Commissioner for Water and Rural Affairs, fielded a question from the audience regarding the legalization of marijuana in Texas. He said he thought it would be a long way down the road, and taking a clue from the way Texas legislation has worked in the past, didn't see it happening unless it was legalized federally.