The 8th annual Hemp History Week is June 5-11th and will be celebrated across the country in a variety of ways. HHW is a grassroots effort to recognize our historical connection to hemp, advocate for the full legalization of hemp farming, and introduce consumers to the wide variation of hemp products on the market and the benefits of choosing hemp over other alternatives.
With events that range from festivals to picnics to farm tours, there is something for everyone. And if you don’t see an event to your liking near you? Start your own! This is a grassroots campaign, after all, so anyone is welcome to register their own event on the Hemp History Week website.
There are many festivals and conferences planned for this week, including the inaugural Hawaii Hemp Conference in Hilo, Hawaii on June 10th. Hemp enthusiasts and entrepreneurs will come together for a weekend of work and fun focused on the burgeoning hemp industry in Hawaii.
As event producer, Morris Beegle said, “The opportunity to put together a local-centric hemp conference with a national and global perspective presented itself, and we jumped on it. Hawaii, not unlike many other states, has a big need for a replacement crop that can help rejuvenate both the local economy and the environment. There is no other agricultural crop on the planet that provides this opportunity to the extent that industrial hemp does today. Hawaii has several good legislators who understand this, and who seem committed to doing the right thing for the people of Hawaii. The timing couldn’t be better to push this across the finish line, not only for Hawaii but across the entire United States.”
While you are well aware that Hawaii is a vacation paradise, did you know it’s also a farming paradise? This makes it an ideal place to grow hemp and its new presence on the hemp farming landscape makes it the perfect place to celebrate Hemp History week.
Hawaii’s year-round warm weather allows for 3 harvests a year, unlike more temperate climates on the mainland that can only grow one. Its fertile volcanic soil has been harnessed for generations as the perfect medium for both small farms and large operations, such as the sugar cane plantations.
Now that the sugar plantations are gone, Hawaiians are working on restoring the ecological damage the plantations inflicted on the islands. Pesticide and herbicide – free hemp can help to rejuvenate soils, and hemp grown for oil or food fits perfectly for traditional small-scale family farm operations.
At the government level many officials strongly support hemp production in Hawaii, in fact, three of the keynote speakers are state and federal-level officials, including Tulsi Gabbard from the US House of Representatives. Representative Gabbard strongly supports legalizing marijuana and industrial hemp farm and is a co-sponsor of HB525 – The Industrial Hemp Farming Act bill.
Advocates and farmers alike have a lot of excitement for all the possibilities that the new hemp farming industry brings to the islands. You can be sure they will make a large contribution to the national conversation on hemp and will be a key player going forward.
For these reasons and much more, Hawaii is one of the most exciting places to be this Hemp History Week.
Hurry! Early bird tickets are on sale until May 26th. Visit the Hawaii Hemp Conference website to learn more and get your tickets!
The Hawaii Hemp Conference is produced by Colorado Hemp Company and presented by Functional Remedies, which cultivates organic hemp and a produces whole plant processed full spectrum hemp extracts.
Laurie Hanselmann is a writer, nonprofit management guru, and lover of the natural world. She enjoys exploring how to find more meaning and connection in her life as a ‘Type B’ person through self improvement and productivity hacks. You can find her at persistentlybetter.com.
