Hundreds turned out Friday to learn about business opportunities that legalized hemp can bring to Wisconsin.
“My product contains zero percent THC, will not make you fail a drug test,” said Rachel Cartwright, of CBD Therapeutics of Wisconsin.
Cartwright makes therapeutic oils and gummies using hemp. Hemp is a variety of cannabis, but it lacks THC — the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
“You could smoke a joint of hemp the size of a log, and you still wouldn’t get high,” Cartwright said.
Cannabis activist Jim Naumann fought to legalize hemp. Now, he’s set his sights on legalizing marijuana.
“This is not the evil we were taught in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. This is medicine. This is jobs. This is revenue,” Naumann said.
The Marijuana Policy Group said after Colorado legalized marijuana, 18,000 new jobs were created and more than $2 billion was generated in 2015 alone.
Ty Rieck said legalization would also reduce crime and overdoses.
“Everybody should be able to get it from a dispensary, maybe not from some sketchy dealer or something, where they can get it safely, and they know it’s actually quality stuff that they’re getting,” Rieck said.
Cartwright said she’s ready to transition from hemp to marijuana.
“All these people standing around are here because we legalized hemp, and we’re just crossing our fingers and waiting for the day when our Legislature will listen to their constituents and realize that medical cannabis is wanted by the people,” she said.
So far, efforts to legalize even medical marijuana have failed in Wisconsin’s Legislature. People at the Hemp Expo are hoping hemp may bring them one step closer to full legalization of marijuana.
