Consumers have taken to smokable hemp in a way that even the most optimistic industry enthusiast wouldn’t have predicted. While this mode of administration offers an additional consumption method that consumers can consider, smokable hemp comes with benefits for the industry and some possible drawbacks as the discussion below shows.
Why Smokable Hemp Is a Blessing to the Industry
For starters, some states within the U.S. haven’t legalized marijuana either for medicinal or recreational use. The existence of smokable hemp allows consumers in such jurisdictions to benefit from the other cannabinoids in cannabis (apart from THC).
Secondly, many cigarette smokers have admitted that having access to smokable hemp has enabled them to wean themselves off cigarettes. This could be because hemp allows them to engage in the same behavior (the hand actions involved in putting a cigarette in the mouth) without using the same substance (medicinal hemp instead of harmful tobacco).
When people smoke hemp, the misconception that smoking any quantity and type of cannabis results in stoner behavior gets chipped away. Consequently, cannabis is normalized and those who benefit from it aren’t regarded as people who just want to get high.
However, There are Concerns…
While the rise in the popularity of smokable hemp is commendable because of the benefits above, it also raises some concerns about the trajectory of the hemp industry’s future.
For example, regulators across the country have so far been giving industrial hemp the benefit of the doubt as a product which is largely distinct from marijuana in terms of how it is used. When people pop up all over the place smoking hemp whose appearance and smell in no different from that of marijuana, red flags could go up and regulators may swing into action and put all sorts of roadblocks in the way of the industry. As you may be aware, excessive regulation can put the brakes on the forward march of the industry.
For decades, there was no distinction between hemp and marijuana. The 2018 Farm Bill paved the way for these two crops to be differentiated but in many places, the prohibition-era mindset that hemp and marijuana are the same still exists. In fact, the legislature in North Carolina has agreed to ban smokable hemp next year, and many other states could follow suit. Such a ban could trigger pushback against the growth of the hemp industry. Images of people smoking hemp may therefore make it harder for hemp businesses to convince banks and other institutions to do business with them.
While it is still early days and one cannot for sure point to what sort of future the hemp industry has, experts believe that industry players like Sugarmade Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) and The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) may be getting concerned about the way smokable hemp could trigger unexpected consequences that could adversely affect the industry.
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