Yo, what’s good y’all? It’s your boy Dan, and I’m about to drop some knowledge on y’all about these two Tasmanian hemp business owners. We got Andi Lucas of X-Hemp and Tim Crow of Hemp Harvests, and they be straight up hustlin’ in the hemp industry. But they ain’t too happy with the current regulations, ya feel me?
In a recent interview with ABC News, Lucas was like, “Yo, they out here treatin’ us like we some drug dealers when all we tryna do is grow some hemp. It’s just a crop, man. Like grain or barley or wheat.” And Crow, he chimed in too, sayin’, “We missed a damn opportunity, man. The rest of the world is makin’ bank off this plant, but we stuck here dealin’ with outdated regulations.”
So let me break it down for y’all. Last November, the Tasmania government came through with the Industrial Hemp Amendment Bill 2023. This bill was supposed to free up all them restrictions that people like Lucas and Crow be facin’. They wanted to make it easier for these hustlers to do their thing in the hemp game.
The Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Jo Palmer, said they wanna improve the hemp industry and make things more transparent and efficient for all them licensees. They wanna align everything with the existing legislation and make sure everyone playin’ by the rules.
Now let’s talk about X-Hemp. Andi Lucas is holdin’ it down over there as the founder and president of the Tasmanian Hemp Association. X-Hemp is the only place in Tasmania that got a cannabis fiber processing mill, and there ain’t many of those in all of Australia. They grow their own crops and work with licensed hemp farmers in the state. They takin’ that leftover hemp seed harvest and turnin’ it into all kinds of dope products. They sellin’ hemp for buildin’ materials, mulch for landscapin’, bast for specialty paper, and even animal bedding. Talk about versatility, man.
Lucas been preachin’ ’bout the benefits of hempcrete, which is this badass building material made from hemp. She say it’s highly insulatin’, won’t catch fire, and it’s perfect for areas prone to bushfires. Plus, it’s all environmentally friendly and helps sequester carbon. X-Hemp even got the chance to supply hempcrete material for the University of Tasmania’s forestry building. That’s gonna be the biggest hempcrete building in the southern hemisphere, and it’s all locally grown and processed in Tassie. Now that’s what I call supportin’ the community, fam.
Now let’s talk ’bout my boy Tim Crow and his company Hemp Harvests. This dude’s all ’bout them hemp seeds. He got a company that processes hemp seeds and sells all kinds of cool stuff like hemp seed hearts, hemp protein concentrate, and hemp seed oil. This guy been all over Europe checkin’ out how they do hemp over there. In France and the Netherlands, they usin’ hemp fibers in car door panels for BMW and Mercedes. And they even makin’ natural insulation and flooring outta hemp. Now that’s some next-level stuff right there.
Crow also been peepin’ out the North American and Canadian markets. He say there’s a ton of investment goin’ into this hemp game over there. They really makin’ moves with them fibers, especially in buildin’ materials. People usin’ hemp for natural insulation and floorin’. It’s more sustainable and takes less energy to make compared to traditional methods. The only downside is that it’s a bit more expensive right now. But hey, if they can figure out a way to bring them costs down, we gonna be in business, my dudes.
So here’s the deal. Last November, they had this Industrial Hemp Amendment Bill 2023 on the table, but they ended up shelvin’ it. The government was talkin’ ’bout how the hemp industry could be worth $10 billion by 2050, and it’s gonna help the state move toward sustainability. But we still waitin’ on them changes, man. We need these regulations to catch up with the rest of the world.
On a bigger scale, Australia as a whole been showin’ love for cannabis. A YouGov poll showed that 50% of Australians wanna legalize growin’ up to six cannabis plants for personal use. And 54% support decriminalization. That’s a whole lotta people rallyin’ behind the green plant, my friends.
And let’s not forget that Australia made history last July. They became the first country to let doctors prescribe psilocybin and MDMA therapy. It took ’em three years to make that move and change the classification of these substances. So you know Australia ain’t playin’ around when it comes to pushin’ boundaries.
If recreational cannabis ever gets legalized across Australia, it’s gonna be a game-changer. A report from May 2023 said the industry could bring in $243.5 million per year in just five years. That’s some serious cash flow right there, my dudes. And it would also save money on things like police enforcement and court costs.
So come on, Tasmanian government, let’s step up our game and make these regulations work for us. We got some talented hustlers like Andi Lucas and Tim Crow puttin’ in the work, and we need to support ’em. It’s time to embrace the benefits of hemp and take this industry to new heights. We got the potential, now let’s make it happen.
That’s all from your boy Dan. Stay tuned for more updates on the hemp game and all things cannabis. Peace out, y’all!
