First and foremost, Memphis Hemp Fest aims to educate about marijuana benefits
A supplier with Rush Hemp Farms speaks to a guest at Mid-South Hemp Fest.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Organizers of the very first Mid-South Hemp Fest could not have wanted a better way or turnout for their event at Overton Park on Saturday.
The festival, which lasts from. From 10 to 17, sellers selling or even giving away are arranged all kinds of hemp-based goods such as CBD infused foods, CBD oil, hemp flower and smoking equipment. Lee Otts of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Memphis Chapter, who planned the incident, said it went far beyond their expectations.
"We expected it to be much smaller, honest," Otts said. "It just blossomed into the largest cannabis event in several states around us. It just shows what the people really want and how bad the law is here in Tennessee."
Lee Otts, director of NORML Memphis Chapter, talks about Hemp's success Feast.
A recent press in the Tennessee Legislature for Legal Medical Marijuana was drawn next year, and a few other decriminalization efforts have been halted. A bill proposed by the Tennessee Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) for removing crime charges for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana failed on April 10.
"You should not lock people up for a plant" Otts said. "It's such a race thing. Minorities are four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis use than non-minorities, despite the same statistical use. That's not right."
A 2014 bill adopted in Tennessee allowed hemp to be possessed if it contains less than .3% THC, which is the chemical in marijuana which gives a high feel.
CBD, the chemical in marijuana used for medical purposes, also became legal in 2014 in Tennessee for infusible oils for edible products.
Otts said he injured his neck a few years ago, so he wanted the medical legality of the state to be expanded so that people could use several types of products. With a recent accusation of 60 medical professionals nationwide in a federal opioid degradation, including some in Memphis, Otts said he hopes people learn that they can turn to cannabis for the same needs.
A band plays the scene at Memphis Hemp Fest on April 20 in Overton Park.
"Those (doctors who run opioids) are those who want to control the medical marijuana bills," said Otts.
Arkansas recently legalized medical use of marijuana, with dispensers set to open in the state in May, and otts said that acceptance of marijuana growing in a southern state is promising.
that medical use is exactly what tennessee hemp and CBD laws are supposed to help, and hemp manufacturers know it.
one of the vendors at Hemp Fest, Ryan Rush of Rush Hemp Farms in Maryville, Tennessee, gave away hemp flower and 500 bottles of CBD oil to visitors to the festival, saying his goal was to reach low and no-income people and give them the gift of CBD for medical problems they may have. 19659017] Ryan Rush of Rush Hemp Farms in Maryville, Tennessee, has a pre-rolled hemp joint and a bottle of CBD oil.
"We don't sell anything," Rush said. "We are just looking to give away products and Try to spread a message trying to get this plant back in one as well ale with as many people as possible. "
Bottles are 1000 milligrams of CBD oil, and each cost about $ 100 retail, a total of about $ 50,000 in product he gifted all day long. Rush said he was not worried about the loss of profit because he has a goal of getting the benefits of medical marijuana to as many people as possible, especially those who need it but cannot afford it.
He said he used to work in construction, but now he is going to work in a business he loves and that can benefit other people. He said he has different goals than most hemp suppliers.
"Growing hemp and giving it away to people who are underprivileged as if at one time, even with family members' health, speaks more deeply than money ever does," Rush said. "I love my job."
Otts said he hopes he can get more events like this in the future because of the success he saw this 4/20.
