Founder & CEO at Canadian Industrial Hemp Corporation
What the World Needs Now ….” Is it possible the entire planet could be bettered with the advancement of a weed which grows almost anywhere? HEMP offers mankind 6 key physical essentials of human life: 1) Food2) Shelter3) Medicine4) Clothing5) Water ( * by requiring little)6) Air ( * by its exceptional CO2 sequestration) HEMP also has minimal need for fertilizers & herbicides (especially when grown for fiber) – which further protects soil! HEMP products serve both craft & commercial markets & generate excellent quality products. In some applications, these products are currently more expensive – but increased supply & availability will bring prices down. HEMP is sustainable, easy to grow (… it is a weed!) and MORE THAN 100% environmentally friendly. It’s fiber is durable, strong, lightweight & anti-bacterial; and, in some applications such as bio-composites, it meaningfully reduces production costs. HEMP can be grown almost anywhere. This means that local communities benefit together in: 1) Farming2) Processing3) Secondary production4) Service industries5) Trucking6) Education & technical skills development7) Final product assembly HEMP can make a meaningful difference in almost every country in the world as a builder of local economies! CIHC: We believe that hemp can make things better!
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]]>When I checked the definition of “community” on Wikipedia, it gave 2 Alternates:
1) a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common
2) a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, & goals
If you contribute your efforts, skills, positive attitude, physical energy, care & concern to create a respectful work environment for everyone – you have chosen to be a part of THAT community. Everybody in a community is respected
Working with others to accomplish goals for YOUR Community is very different than going to work at a job for somebody else. That’s one of the reasons that research has shown Co-ops are statistically 25% more successful than an individual business
How do you get a community: You give everybody a common cause, emotional support & opportunity. In a community – no man stands alone
Why do it this way? Because company’s fail when people lose their sense of community & more gets done when people accomplish ..for their community
Business tends to focus on management; communities focus on people.
CIHC: Just better!
#circulareconomy#sustainability#hempnews#zerowaste#cannabisnews#cannabisculture#sustainableagriculture
]]>Dear DEA and USDA, these are my comments to you regarding Hemp Cannabis. (RIN 1117-AB53/Docket Number DEA-500):
Please Note: Page Numbers reference the Federal Register
We appreciate your efforts and hope that all US Government employees involved with these rules remember that they represent all US Citizens and that any Final Rules need to be formulated for the Greatest and Highest Good of all Americans. Government Employees at all levels, including Government Employees, Elected Officials and Government Contractors, are not paid by special interests, lobbyists, campaign contributors, and specific political parties, but by the taxes of all hard working US Citizens. We all need to Collaborate and celebrate that The US Hemp Industry is being revived after 80 years of dormancy. We additionally have the added benefit that we can revive it with 21st Century Technology. Being that it is the 21st Century, it is time to let go of the 20th Century’s manufactured “Reefer Madness” stigmatization that cannabis has been subjected to for the last 80 years. Hemp has the potential to bring economic stimulus to Rural America and as stewards of our future and our future generations prosperity, we need to maximize this potential.
Just a Reminder, all Hemp is cannabis, but not all cannabis is Hemp by Statute only. Cannabis has never killed anyone and is unduly demonized by competitive obstructionists. The DEA should spend its time and taxpayer money going after the real killers such as opioids and Fentanyl
Since 47 states have found medical value from Cannabis, deschedule from its current Schedule 1 (“no medical value”). Deschedule completely at the state and federal levels, decriminalize. Leave to the states to regulate as each sees fit. End the last Nixon Dirty Trick.
There are over 43,427 studies on the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s PubMed on Cannabis and Cannabinoids, going back to 1840. That’s 43,427 reasons to deschedule starting long before DEA or FDA even existed.
Safe, popular, efficacious Cannabis products professionally-prepared by many of today’s mainstream drug companies and sold over-the-counter by pharmacists pre-date FDA by almost a century, and should be allowed today.
Legalizing medical Cannabis enjoys over 90% support, and legalizing adult-use Cannabis enjoys 70% support. Please follow the will of The People.
Respect the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals permanent injunction against DEA enforcing the Controlled Substances Act against chemicals found in compliant hemp. We both know 0.31% THC hemp is not marijuana and should be treated as such by DEA or the USDA.
DEA must not interfere with USDA’s administration of compliant hemp, including requiring analytical laboratories be registered with DEA.
Exempt from the Controlled Substances Act all products originally derived from compliant hemp.
Stalk and fiber has always been exempt from the Controlled Substances Act, so do not subject stalk, fiber and fiber products to maximum THC limits.
Allow FDA to declare Cannabinoids and resin GRAS, a food ingredient existing before 1994.
Encourage hemp as a non-tobacco tobacco replacement for improved public health.
Allow THC testing methods other than post-decarboxylation.
“Hemp extract works in process” should be exempt from THC limits.
DEA has no jurisdiction in wholly intRAstate operations. Even Justice Clarence Thomas agrees: “In the early days of the Republic, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession, and consumption of Cannabis.“
Schedule 1 is a very severe penalty for what DEA’s own Administrative Law Judge called “the safest therapeutic substance known to man.” Please deschedule completely.
Please clean up your language. The term marijuana (marihuana) is outdated, racist, and inaccurate. All Hemp is Cannabis but not all Cannabis is Hemp. Hemp is only Hemp due to Federal Statute which needs to change. .31% THC does not produce any psychotropic actions. Because the DEA has approved Cannabis medicine, Cannabis should be delisted from Schedule I immediately. Stop describing non-compliant Hemp as marijuana and allow growers to grow hemp just like any other crop as clearly stated in the 2018 Farm Bill.
For the purposes of these comments, we would like to remind you that hemp, as defined in the 2018 Farm Bill, means the plant species “Cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extract, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis” (Federal Register IFR Introduction Page 58523 et al). In the Sampling and Testing for Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (Section B Page 58524) it states that “… person shall collect samples from the flower material from such cannabis plants for delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration level testing”. As the Statutes require that only the flower material is being tested, and the definition of hemp includes any part of the plant, it is a non sequitur that the whole plant be destroyed if the flower material tests over the .3 THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) level. The cannabinoids are the most concentrated in the flower, but since we are referring to any part of the whole plant in the definition and the various parts of the hemp plant are used for different purposes, why are we only testing the flower? Of course the flower is used for cannabinoids for recreational and medical purposes, but the leaves and seeds are used for food, and the stems and stalks used for fiber and paper among thousands of other uses. We would propose that a much more 21st Century scientifically accurate sampling procedure be utilized. Specifically, to scientifically and accurately determine the THC level of the entire plant, we would strongly advocate and recommend that the sampling procedure collect material from not only the flower, but include equal parts (by dry weight) of the leaves, stems and stalks, including both the bark (Bast) of the stalk and the pith (Hurd) of the stalk. These components from the entire hemp plant could then be homogenized (blended together) and that more accurately representative homogenized sample be used to determine the actual and much more precise THC level of the entire plant. Logically, this would be a much more scientifically accurate analysis while still utilizing the post decarboxylation methods of testing that is recommended by the Bill.
In our Research we’ve tried to determine why the .3% THC figure has been designated as the difference between Hemp and marijuana, and our research indicates that it is just an arbitrary figure with no scientific basis. It creates a confusing situation where all Hemp is cannabis, but not all cannabis is Hemp. A much easier and more common sense solution than the above would be to take all cannabis off the Schedule I Controlled Substance List as hemp has already been. We know that this is under the control of Congress, but pressure from FDA and USDA could expedite this process. This would give Producers much more freedom to prosper without all the onerous regulations and burdensome fees that Hemp is currently subject to. Even a change from the 0.3% THC level to a 1.0% THC level would ease some of the Producers’ concerns about having to destroy a crop that they have put blood sweat, tears, time and money into. Unfortunately, these percentage changes can only be made by the President or Congress but we are confident that this will happen sooner than later. The Rule states (Page 58524) that “Sampling procedures, among other requirement, must ensure that a representative sample of the hemp production is physically collected and delivered to a DEA-registered laboratory for testing”. However, related to the above, if only the flower material is tested, then only the flower material is subject to going over the 0.3% THC level. Therefore, logically, the only part of the plant that should be destroyed if the test goes over 0.3% THC is the flower material, allowing the Producer to recoup some of his time and money by utilizing the remaining undestroyed, untested segments of the plant. A viable alternative that would not require and change in test sampling or THC % levels is that, using 21st century technology, the Authorized person (DEA reverse distributor) charged with overseeing the corrective action of the non-compliant crop could be Authorized to oversee the digitally tracked channeling of that crop into an approved processing facility that would transform that crop into a non-ingestible product like hempcrete, fiberboard, paper, or numerous other non-ingestible products. Alternatively, utilizing 21st Century technology, as an alternative corrective action, the THC could be extracted from the flower material before it goes into the open market. Since the THC level is the only aspect of the plant that is not compliant, then the THC could be extracted and destroyed using 21st Century Technology without destroying the value of the rest of the plant for the Producers. The Producers would thus not be out their whole investment and may even realized a modest return to offset their expenses, but would not benefit from the THC portion of the plants. The suicide and bankruptcy rates of Farmers in America (Producers) are at an all time high and we certainly don’t want exacerbate those rates with over-regulation in the revival of a once important crop that was crucial in helping the US win WWII in the “Hemp For Victory” Campaign. These alternative considerations for corrective action are absolutely necessary and critical in assuring that the revival of the US Hemp Industry is given every possible chance to succeed. Utilizing these actions could also significantly defray the projected annual cost of $6.432 million for the disposal of non-compliant crop disposal and would add more positive benefit to the Producers and the country. This is also compliant with Executive Order 13563 to “select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits, which include potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, effect distributive impacts, and equity” (Page 58539). Although the “AMS adopted the best option among the alternatives” (Page 58548) for sampling procedures, it is very possible and probable that they did not consider all of the alternatives including the ones presented above.
Because the Rule (Page 58524) requests comments and information regarding the 15-Day sampling and harvest timeline we are offering the following comments. Not only is this protocol unrealistic from the Producer’s perspective, there are too many significant extraneous variables and conflicts to pinpoint an exact harvesting timeline to this level of specificity. Some of these variables are unpredictable weather, optimum maturity of the crop, availability of harvesting equipment and personnel. There is also a huge difference between procedures for successful harvesting Hemp to be used in CBD products and procedures for successfully harvesting Hemp to be used in whole plant processing. CBD products have been shown to have positive uses, but we feel that whole plant processing is the realistic future of the Hemp Industry because all parts of the Hemp plant have value, not just the flower material. The growing protocols for CBD production and whole plant processing are vastly different. The protocol for growing CBD crops involves only using feminized seed or clones or, alternatively, the male plants uprooted to prevent pollination. The reason for this is that Pollination decreases the cannabinoids in the plant and CBD producers want to maximize their CBD production. These plants are planted at about one plant every three feet and are bushy short plants that do not decorticate well. For whole plant processing, our recommended protocol for growing Agriculturally Cultivated Industrial Hemp is that seeds are planted at a rate of 75-90 plant per square yard. This planting method crowds out weeds, requires less herbicides, and forces the plant to grow straight and tall (for optimum decortication) and produces the majority of seed and flower at the top of the plant. For CBD Harvesting when the flower material is harvested, the stalks often go to waste and the plants are not allowed to produce seed. For whole plant processing, the seeds, residual flower, and stalks (decorticated into the Bast and the Hurd) are all valuable raw materials that are the basis for the thousands of products that can be produced from Hemp. Harvesting for these whole plant materials is really a two step process where, when the seeds are at their optimum maturity and dryness, the seeds and residual flower are harvested and taken to the processing facility for sorting and separating, leaving the erect stalks in the field to additionally dry out and not get moldy for optimum decortication. When (weeks or months later) the stalks are sufficiently dry, a different harvesting machine is used to cut them and then they are transported to the processing facility for decortication into the Bast and the Hurd. Thus, when harvesting for whole plant processing, there is really two harvesting periods which can occur months apart. How does this two-part harvesting procedure fit into the directive of having to sample within 15 days of harvest? In reality, we have a Preliminary Harvest for seed (which has virtually no THC) and residual flower (which has lower THC levels due to pollination) and a Main (final) Harvest for the higher tonnage stalks. To comply with this Rule as written for testing purposes, we would advise our Producers to submit the date of the main Harvest to comply with the Rule, as this is when we would be harvesting the bulk of the crop with the most THC due to the much larger biomass involved.
There were over 90 million acres of corn grown in the United States last year, but only 78,000 acres of hemp. To facilitate Hemp Acreage to grow into the commodity levels of corn and other major crops, it is crucial that Hemp be allowed to be grown from seed to seed, fully mechanized from seed to sale, and include whole plant processing with the two-step harvesting protocol we have outlined above. Any regulations that hinder this process are not in line with the IFR’s good cause in carrying out ” … the Public’s interest in expediting the ability of the nation’s farmers to enter the new agricultural market presented by Hemp” ( Good Cause Analysis page 58554). This restrictive rule as written will have a negative effect on the current and future innovation in the areas of industrial Hemp usage. This will produce a negative effect on Rural Communities who have the most potential to Benefit from successful Hemp cultivation including processing, manufacturing, and retail sales which in the end produces true trickle-down economics. This is acknowledged in the Introduction to the Rule as “Hemp is a commodity that can be used for numerous industrial and horticultural purposes including fabric, paper, construction materials, food products, cosmetics, production of cannabinoids (such as cannabidiol or CBD) and other products” (Page 58522). Since Hemp, as defined in the 2018 Farm Bill is no longer a controlled substance, the utilization of homogenized sample testing is virtually mandated to be the prevailing and preferred testing protocol.
Other concerns regarding the 15-Day sampling protocol is that there is a great possibility there are currently not enough trained and certified personnel to effectuate a smooth harvest in a timely manner as the harvesting of the vast majority of the Hemp crops will occur within a very short time period. Another alternative that should be considered is to sample after 60 days of planting which will also give the samplers more flexibility in their whole plant sampling schedule and avoid the rush as harvesting time. In addition we are concerned that there are not enough DEA certified labs to test the samples in a timely manner. In searching the DEA’s website we could find no listing of the number and location of DEA Certified Testing Labs. As above, this is probably not compliant with Executive Order 13563 to “select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits, which include potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, effect distributive impacts, and equity” (Page 58539).
Also in regard to testing, the USDA is seeking comment on a testing lab approval as to whether or not to incorporate it into the subsequent final rule (Page 28525). Because “USDA is considering establishing a fee-for-service hemp laboratory approval process for labs that wish to offer THC testing services” (Page 58525), we would welcome more labs for testing. We would also strongly recommend that the fee for testing be very reasonable and not more than $25-50 per test as they currently are in Colorado. The more reasonable the Fee, the higher the likelihood that Producers will test more often to assure that they are remaining in compliance with the rule. In a lot of rural areas there are a lack of testing facilities and so we would welcome an increase in the number of USDA/DEA approved Labs to ease the burden of having to transport material long distances to be tested. Because the USDA is also requesting comment in regard to ISO 17025 accreditation (Page 58525), we would offer that the more accurate the testing is, the better it is for everyone. As long as this additional requirement doesn’t increase the fees beyond a reasonable level, we would accept that laboratories testing hemp should also have ISO 17025 accreditation if the USDA feels this is important.
In regard to The Farm Service Agency collecting information on crop acreage through the “Report of Acreage” form (Page 58547 and §990.7 Page 58559), we feel that this is an additional burden on the Producers. The State, Tribal Agencies and the USDA already have this information in regard to Hemp production and this information can be easily shared electronically with the FSA by the State Agencies, Tribal Agencies and the USDA. This is also in alignment with the Paper Reduction Act.
We respectfully request that in consideration of all of the comments above §990.24 (Page 58560) be amended to read:
“(a) At approximately 60 days post planting, a producer shall have an approved Federal, State, local law enforcement agency or other USDA designated person collect samples from the entire plant including flower material, leaves, stems and stalk of equal dry weight, and these equal samples be homogenized (blended together) for delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration level testing.”
Our last comment references your reasoning as to why hemp went out of favor in the 1930s (Page 58522 et al). Your statements are marginally true, but do not do justice to the real truth. Any student of Hemp knows that hemp was intentionally included in the same legislation that made marijuana illegal because Industrial Hemp was a threat to other industries controlled by the business magnates of the time. These included the oil holdings of John D. Rockefeller, the forest and paper industries of William Randolph Hearst, and the lucrative financial schemes of DuPont’s synthetic nylon and DuPont’s chief financial backer, Andrew Mellon of the Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh. This was done in conjunction with the “Reefer Madness” campaign promulgated by the first Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger. Mellon, who was Secretary of the Treasury and Anslinger’s Uncle In-Law, designed Harry Anslinger’s position to help eliminate Hemp’s as a primary competitor to DuPont’s new synthetic fiber, nylon. We only bring this up because the whole truth should be told regarding the real reasons that Hemp was made illegal and this should be correctly noted in the Federal Register. In addition, the cotton gin was invented in the 18th Century and according to your rational, all of a sudden it eased the harvesting of cotton in the 20th century (Page 58522 et al). The cotton gin is not used for harvesting, it is use for processing the harvested cotton and Hemp was a threat to this industry as well. We only mention this because Hemp has been demonized for long enough and we just want you to paint a more accurate picture of the unconscionable conspiracy to wipe out the competition to these other industries. These are the real reasons Hemp was made illegal in the first place, which was a travesty of justice. Fortunately we have slowly overcome this manufactured bias and we now have the opportunity to utilize this versatile plant for the good of all Earth Citizens. This can be effected as long as these regulations are based on facts and common sense in order to promote the cultivation of Hemp in such a way as to not be in contradiction with Executive Order 13563 to “select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits, which include potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, effect distributive impacts, and equity” (Page 58539).
Allow the release current nonviolent marijuana prisoners, commute, pardon and/or expunge past records. Restore their voting rights.
Encourage an end to Mandatory Minimum sentences which take sentencing discretion away from Judges.
Cut DEA’s budget by at least by 1/3, reflecting changes in state marijuana laws and thus its Mission. Address the growing and deadly opioid crisis or the trafficking of children instead.
Allow patients to choose, possess, grow, and make their choice of medicine without fear of arrest.
End the arrests of adults for marijuana in “legal marijuana” states.
Allow the release current nonviolent marijuana prisoners, commute, pardon and/or expunge past records. Restore their voting rights.
Encourage an end to Mandatory Minimum sentences which take sentencing discretion away from Judges.
Cut DEA’s budget by at least by 1/3, reflecting changes in state marijuana laws and thus its Mission. Address the growing and deadly opioid crisis or the trafficking of children instead.
Allow patients to choose, possess, grow, and make their choice of medicine without fear of arrest.
End the arrests of adults for marijuana in “legal marijuana” states.
We want to Thank You again for allowing us to submit these comments and would like to iterate that we are working diligently to collaborate and co-create the revival of the Hemp Industry onto one that is fully compliant and produces the greatest and Highest Good for all participants and especially for all US Citizens. We Thank you for Supporting all our efforts in your consideration of all of the above. We also hope that you will make decisions to change the current IFR with regard to our comments, and that any changes made to the IFR will also include those that benefit the Greatest and Highest Good for all US Citizens.
Respectfully,
Duane Stjernholm
Co-Founder and Operator
Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative
]]>The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative (CHPC) was organized to revive Industrial Hemp in the 21st Century in the Best way Possible. WE THE PEOPLE need to take our power back and control our destinies. Please Join us in that endeavor and become Shareholder today so we can Kick-Start the next $1 Trillion Industry in the USA. Please Watch and Share to everyone appropriate. Thank You!
The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative (CHPC) is a Limited Cooperative Association formed to bring much needed Economic Stimulus to Colorado and all of Rural America. The CHPC is a Tier 1 whole Hemp plant processor that is structured to protect and reward the people doing the work, the Patron Members, and Bring the highest possible return to the Investor Members in perpetuity. In addition, 2nd Tier Processors and Manufacturers will be assured that they have a stable Supply Chain to provide the materials necessary to produce their wholesale and consumer products. Our Sense of Urgency is predicated on preempting other entities who will take all profits out of Local Communities. In addition the CHPC has incorporated a methodology to increase Local Economic Stimulation while maintaining Local Control, and has extended that Collaborative Model to empower diverse, wide-spread, like-minded groups with similar objectives. The CHPC provides the Model for a true Win, Win, Win, Win scenario for all Shareholders involved… including Mother Earth.
Introduction
The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative (CHPC) was formed to bring economic stimulus to rural Colorado and rural communities throughout the world. Farmers and growers throughout the world are currently being held hostage by the big Agriculture monopolies. This has gone on long enough as growers are now little more than indentured servants. It is said that farmers buy everything at retail, sell everything at wholesale, and pay the postage both ways. Big Agriculture (Big Ag) dictates GMO seed prices and what chemicals have to be used to make those GMO seed grow. Big Ag dictates the price of those chemicals that have to be applied, and further handcuffs the growers with non-propagation agreements so they have to buy new need every year. Additionally, big Ag exerts undue control over the sale prices of the harvested crops. How is the grower, the ultimate entrepreneur, supposed to survive when battling both big Ag and the uncertainties of farming in general? This is an unsustainable business model that has resulted in poisons in our food, our water, our air, our clothes, and our homes, not to mention the fact that the applied chemicals are killing the soil microbiome to the point that nothing will grow in that soil without the applied chemicals. Is this the future you want to leave to your children and grandchildren?
Limited Cooperative Associations
Limited Cooperative Associations are one of the newest types of business formulations in the United States. They are the ideal business model for the 21st Century because they allow for both Patron Shareholders (the people doing the work) and Investor Shareholders. A National Template was proposed and approved by the Council of State Governments in 2008. According to a NCCUSL (National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) summary:
“The Uniform Limited Cooperative Association Act (ULCAA) is designed to promote rural development by creating the option of a statutorily-defined entity that combines traditional cooperative values with modern financing mechanisms”. ① Because the Statutes allowing Cooperatives are State specific, each State has to revise and adopt their own version of the National Template. “Three states enacted The Uniform Limited Cooperative Association Act during the 2007-2008 state legislative session; Nebraska (LB 848), Oklahoma (SB 1708) and Utah (SB 69)” . ② Colorado approved it in 2012 (Article 58).
“The Act will be equally useful in an urban setting, where the cooperative value of individuals getting together to democratically own, run, and share in the benefit of their business can be combined with modern financing techniques. The ULCAA builds on traditional law governing cooperatives, but recognizes a growing trend toward the “New Generation Cooperative” (NGC), which can include combinations of features not readily available under traditional law, such as legally binding delivery contracts or the opportunity for outside equity investment. This Act creates a new form of business entity and is an alternative to other cooperative and unincorporated structures. It is more flexible than most current law, and provides a default template that encourages planners to utilize tested cooperative principles for a broad range of entities and purposes.
The cooperative industry includes many interests, including, but not limited to, farmers, consumers, financial groups, and insurance organizations. In the Act, a “cooperative” is defined as an unincorporated association (a “limited cooperative association”) of individuals or businesses that unite to meet their mutual interests by creating and using a jointly owned enterprise. The Act contemplates the formation of various types of limited cooperative associations, including marketing, advertising, bargaining, processing, purchasing, real estate, and worker owned cooperatives. A limited cooperative association under the Act can be organized to pursue any lawful purpose. For example, the Act would allow a group of wheat farmers to build a value-added pasta facility, keeping their business in a cooperative form while being able to attract and utilize investment capital. It might also be used by an urban food cooperative to attract investment capital to build facilities for the operation of the cooperative’s business.” ③
Protecting the Patron and Investor Shareholders
The Importance of the Limited Cooperative Association is that it protects and rewards the people doing the work (The Patron Shareholders) and likewise rewards the Investors in the most equitable way possible. Like a more traditional Cooperative, every Shareholder (Patron or Investor) is only allowed one vote unlike corporations which allow weighted votes according to the number of shares owned. This protects the shallow pocket Patron Shareholders from the deep pocket Investor Shareholders who only want to skew voting results of the Cooperative for their own selfish benefit. Cooperatives don’t make a profit per se, but they do generate Excess Revenues and these Revenues are distributed to ALL Shareholders on a yearly basis on a pro rata basis. Shareholders are also responsible for all taxes on those Revenues. By Statute, a minimum of 50% of these Excess Revenue distributions have to be given to the Patron Shareholders. A higher percentage can be allocated, but 50% is the minimum. Again this protects and rewards the Patron Shareholders and assures them that they will receive just payments for their labor and participation. In the case of the CHPC, we will distribute the 50% to the Patron Shareholders and we will distribute the other 50% to the Investor Shareholders in order to pay them back their Full Investment. Once their full investment is paid back their Investor Share will revert to a Patron Share and they will continue to receive Excess Revenue Distributions in perpetuity along with the other Patron Shareholders. Currently CHPC Patron Shares are $100 per Share and Investor Shares are $1,000, so upon full repayment of their investment, Investor Shareholders receive at 10% ROI and will continue to build on that ROI in perpetuity with their yearly Patron Share Excess Revenue distributions. This provides the Investors with a potential to make a much larger ROI a than a simple loan that is paid off with a low interest rate after a few years. Yes, there is some risk involved, but the higher the risk the higher the rewards. However, the risks the Patron Shareholder growers take on a yearly basis are quite a bit higher in addition to providing all the labor.
Collaborating With Tier 2 Processors and Manufacturers
As a Tier 1 Processor, the CHPC will process the whole Hemp plant into 5 raw materials, these are the seed, the residual flower, the bast and the hurd from the decorticated stalks, and the biochar from the waste biomass which we have trademarked as CannaChar 
(from the medical and recreational cannabis waste) and HempChar (from the hemp processing waste). This is the total extent of the Cooperative’s processing activities. These raw materials will then be sold at wholesale to contracted Tier 2 processors and manufacturers who will perform their value added processing and manufacturing to produce more refined raw materials for specific industries or completely manufacture their consumer products. Because we will be contracting with our Patron Shareholders for their hemp crops and they also receive a portion of the excess revenue distributions, we will have a strong and stable supply chain which is immensely important. This will encourage 2nd Tier processors and manufacturers to contract with us for the raw materials they need to produce their wholesale and consumer products. Thus, CHPC will be as horizontally integrated as possible, provide the key link that everyone needs in a solid Hemp Products Supply Chain, and produce these materials in the most cost effective manner to the benefit of all of our Shareholders, Patrons, Investors, and 2nd Tier Processors and Manufacturers.
A Sense of Urgency
The Agriculturally Cultivated Hemp Industry is still in its infancy. We have the unprecedented opportunity to revive this Industry so that it is the most fair and equitable for everyone involved. In addition we will do it with 21st Century Technology. However, as cautious as we would like to be in rebuilding this Industry in the most beneficial manner, we must have a sense of urgency in getting it operational as quickly as feasibly possible. The reason for this is that there are foreign entities such as China who are looking at coming in and building processing facilities owned by them which will funnel all the profits back to their countries. We can’t afford to let this happen as we want to keep all generated excess revenues for Patron Shareholders in the communities that produced them as well as protect the interests of the Investor Shareholders in sharing the risks involved (however small) in reviving this exceptional Industry. If foreign interests are first in the markets it is going to be much more difficult to promote the American interests while playing catch-up. The advantage that the Cooperative Model offers is that the foreign interests will probably treat the growers just like Big Ag currently does which is a modern form of indentured servitude. The CHPC will treat all Shareholders as valuable allies in helping us to build this Industry. The Cooperative Model will produce true Trickle-Down economics to keep the much needed economic stimulus in the local communities, and will do it with local communities maintaining local control. In addition, we can take the model much further and add 2nd Tier processors and manufacturers to the mix in the same proximities, and additionally stimulate the local economies with the jobs and products these additional employers produce. Regionally, different processor facility locations can specialize in a certain segment of the Hemp products market and produce economies of scale. For example, one location could specialize in the production of Hemp building materials, another location could concentrate on Hemp foods, and a third area could concentrate on the production of thread, twine, ropes, and textiles. A third element is a consolidation of the retail side of the equation where Hemp Factory Outlet Stores can be situated in a central location for a third stimulus to the local economies via the jobs the retail setting will provide.
Nationwide Connections for Collaboration
A final piece of the puzzle that is advantageous to all the Cooperative Communities is that Cooperatives can be Shareholders in other Cooperatives. Because, as stated above, Cooperatives are state specific, the ideal situation would be to have similar Cooperatives in every state and every Cooperative be a Shareholder in every other Cooperative. This provides the ideal setting for Collaboration instead of the unsustainable competition that we are currently encumbered by. If all Cooperatives are Shareholders in every other Cooperative, they still maintain the all important Local Control, but they can all benefit from the Collaboration of sharing Standard Operating Procedures, Best Practices, production machinery, cultivars, and the sales and marketing of the raw materials and finished goods that they all produce to name just a few of the many advantages.
A Win, Win, Win, Summary
To help us on this Mission to create for the Greatest and Highest Good, we need your Help. The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative (CHPC) was formed to bring Economic Stimulus to Rural America and we need your help to get it done. The Collaborative mindset is sustainable, but we need to unite and make it happen together. We’re not asking for anyone to do it alone, but please join us and make it happen together by becoming a CHPC Shareholder at COHPC.ORG. We need a significant number of you to join us to do the work that needs to be done to Co-Create our planet into the Edenic Utopia it has the potential to be. With widely dispersed individual risks and lucrative shared collective returns we can develop the Hemp Industry for the Greatest and Highest Good. We can’t rely on governments or corporations to do this so it has to be done by WE The People! The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative’s model is a Win for protecting and rewarding the growers (Patron Members), a Win for protecting and rewarding the Investor Members, and a Win to provide the Tier 2 Processors and Manufacturers a stable Supply Chain for the production of their products. In addition, there is a 4th Win for Mother Earth by using the properly prepared and “Charged” CannaChar and HempChar to protect the soil microbiome from the damaging chemicals and pollutants that are threatening to extinguish the human population. In addition, these biochars can be used effectively for water filtration and also as a key element in the production of bio-degradable plastics. This is the True Win, Win, Win, Win that we need to make happen as soon as possible.
Thank you for your time and consideration. You can learn more and become a Shareholder at:
Thanks!
© Copyright 2020
Compiled and Written By:
Duane Stjernholm
Co-Founder and Operator
Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative
303-525-2611
COHPC.ORG
info@COHPC.ORG
① ②③ https://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/uniform-limited-cooperative-association-act-statement
]]>The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative (CHPC) is promoting all products made from whole Hemp plant processing. The new Section of our website the “CHPC Hemporium” has everything in place to do that. We have identified 98 Categories for Hemp based products and equipment for growing, harvesting, and processing Hemp. We call it the Shareholder Promotions Program. You can view those categories here: https://www.cohpc.org/chpc-hemporium-our-friends-products/
If you click on your category and there are no Products listed, this is your Lucky Day! We are now searching for product producers to fill these categories. On your Product Listing there will be a Featured Image of your Product and a “More Details” button. When prospective clients hit the “More Details” Button they will be immediately transferred to your website. Easy, Peasy!
The Shareholder Promotions is designed to promote all things Hemp produced by our Shareholders. Shareholder Participants can complete the form on our website here:
and we will promote their products in the Product Hemporium Section of our website. The only requirements are that all promoted products are made from a majority of Hemp, or used in the production of Hemp and Hemp Products, and that all the Listing Producers are Patron Shareholders of the Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative. You can become a Patron Shareholder here: https://www.cohpc.org/services/cooperative/
If accepted into the Program and at your discretion, we advocate that you offer a small discount (using a Discount or Tracking Code) to purchasers that come to your website through our site. The Discount/Tracking Code will be “CHPC”. This is for your benefit in tracking the amount of orders that come to you through our website. There are no additional Affiliate Marketing fees associated with your Product Listing and all of any discount goes directly to the product purchaser. The Benefit to you is that you will be able to track how the purchaser found your product. An additional Benefit to you, as a Patron Shareholder, is that once the CHPC reaches the point of distributing Excess Revenues to Shareholders on a yearly basis, you will also receive a Pro Rata Share of those Revenues in perpetuity.
For your product listing, we will need at a minimum: the URL to your Website; up to a maximum of five pictures of your product (JPEG format preferred); and a Product Description Paragraph. We can also post links to short videos. If Offering a Discount with the “CHPC” Discount Code, we need to know the number of that percentage. If Offering Products in different categories, 1 (One) Patron Share will be required for each different category that is under a different category heading.
Please contact us at info@cohpc.org if you have any questions.
Thanks for Collaborating!
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What Is Biochar?
Biochar is a type of carbon created by applying heat to organic material. Wood is the most commonly used material to create biochar, but other substances such as straw, corn stalks, and hemp stalks can also be used. Biochar is made by heating this organic material while starving it of oxygen — which would instead create flames and reduce the plant matter to ash — to produce a highly permeable, absorbent, carbon-rich biomass.① This process is called pyrolysis.
“The history of biochar dates back thousands of years to a civilization in the Amazon Basin where extensive regions of dark highly fertile soil know as terra preta (Portuguese for “black earth”) have been discovered and analyzed, revealing high concentrations of charcoal and organic matter, such as plant and animal remains. Found only within inhabited areas, the presence of terra preta indicates that humans were deliberately responsible for its creation. It is theorized by soil scientists that the ancient Amazonians used a “slash-and-char” process to develop this rich soil.”② With slash-and-char, plant material, crop remains, animal remains and even human waste were ignited and buried to smolder (rather than burn) which produced the carbon now commonly referred to as “biochar”. This process left the carbon of the burned material creating a hospitable environment for beneficial micro-organisms that nurture plants. This subsequently transformed the degraded soil to fertile soil. The micro-organisms do not eat this biochar, but it serves as more of a microbiome condominium that they live in. Biochar also retains moisture so it also provides the aquatic environment that these micro-organisms need to remain active and subsequently provide the necessary nutrients for optimum plant growth. The biochar is a long term carbon as it is still in the soil 3,000 years later in the Amazon. The short term carbon that the micro-organisms eat to produce the nutrients for plants is supplied by the other dead plant materials in the soil that has not been pyrolysed and is readily available for their use. It is small wonder that the hemp growers like biochar. In outdoor trials, the various strains saw flower yields jump from 20 to 107 percent when blended biochar was applied.③ “By using hemp biochar as a soil conditioner farmers can increase water retention, decreasing the amount needed, especially in drier climates and keeping nutrients in the ground, preventing runoff, and increasing crop yields, while reducing inputs. Water and quality soil are becoming scarce resources, they are also agriculture’s most vital resources and we all want to protect them for the future of America”④ and the World.
“Biochar is a soil amendment designed to reintroduce nutrients and microorganisms back into the soil to increase fertility, increase the soil’s water holding capacity, remove toxins from soils, and ultimately sequester carbon, which is an imperative action to be taken in order to combat the effects of climate change and mitigate the forthcoming unprecedented changes to our planet” (Yu, Harper, Hoepfl and Domermuth, 2017) ⑤ Biochar is characterized “by high specific surfaces of more than 300 m2 per gram, distributed over countless nano-, micro-and meso-pores. The ability of these pores to store water makes biochar a very efficient medium for storing moisture. The pores also trap large quantities of practically immobile air; with the result that biochar constitutes one of the best currently known insulation materials.”⑥
Hemp Biochar (CannaChar/HempChar)
There is still much research to be done on hemp biochar for soil remediation and other uses. The quality of any biochar varies dependent on the type of organic material from which it is produced, the temperature of the pyrolysis process, and the length of time the material was “cooked”. If biochar is made using high temperatures it is not as suitable for soil remediation because all of the cracks and crevices that the microbiome like to occupy are not as readily created under those high temperature and long cooking duration variables. Also for hemp biochar (or any biochar) if it is added to soil without being “charged” with the appropriate microbiome that foster plant growth, it may initially have a detrimental effect on plant growth until there is a build-up of more beneficial microbiome. Although not technically “approved” by the USDA for use as a feed supplement, a natural way of “charging” biochar is to add a small portion to animal feed in a commercial feedlot and as it moves through the animal’s digestive system it picks up some of the beneficial microbiome that is needed to facilitate plant growth. This coupled with covering the ground of the feedlot also naturally infuses the biochar with microbiome. Then, the biochar and the manure mix that covers the ground of the feedlot can be collected and returned to the arable soil or put into a compost procedure that creates a concentrated liquid form of natural fertilizer. An added bonus of feeding and spreading any biochar on the ground of the feedlot corrals is that due to its absorbency, the biochar will decrease the odor of the feedlot and additionally retain moisture which cuts down the ever present ubiquitous dust generated in commercial feeding facilities. Using biochar in this way produces an excellent natural fertilizer containing long term carbon, short term carbon, and microbiome.
Turning Waste into Value
In Colorado and many other states, the nascent Cannabis/Hemp industry has been focused on the medicinal and recreational benefits of the versatile Cannabis plant. All Hemp is Cannabis, but not all Cannabis is Hemp only because of bureaucratic statutes that define hemp as different from Cannabis. The medicinal side and recreational side of the Cannabis plant definitely have their places and will continue to be a big part of the Cannabis/Hemp economy. However, this side of the industry only uses a portion of the plant and its focus is mainly on the flower. These states have tons of stalks and extracted biomass going to waste because no one quite knows what to do with it. By turning this “waste” into CannaChar/HempChar we can produce something that has value and utility for the above mentioned purposes of soil remediation, water filtration and even bio-plastics and building materials. With our portable biochar oven we can go directly to where all this “waste” is stored and create our CannaChar/HempChar on the spot, cleaning up the waste and adding value to the growers’ crops. The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative is currently seeking Shareholders and Strategic Partners who want to help us do this as we will need a small army of portable biochar ovens to cover the wild, wild west as well as all of the other Hemp/Cannabis producing states and countries. Please contact us if you are interested in partnering with us in this manner at Info@COHPC.ORG.
Multiple Other Uses and Benefits
“The latest developments at the Ithaka Institute are now focusing on its use as a building material. Why? As well as having excellent insulating properties, improving air quality, being able to soak up moisture and protect from radiation, biochar also allows buildings to be turned into carbon sinks. Every ton of biochar used in a building’s envelope means that the equivalent of more or less one ton of CO2 is prevented from re-entering the atmosphere.” ⑥
Here is a partial list of the benefits of using biochar plaster:
“Positive effects of biochar plaster
• Humidity regulation
• Insulation
• Noise protection
• Binding of toxins (volatile organic compounds)
• Protection against electromagnetic radiation
• Less electrostatic charging
• Conservation of wood
• Less dust (mites!)
• Deodorant
• Aesthetic
• Anti-bacterial, fungicide
• Air-cleaning
• Carbon Sequestration” ⑥
In addition to soil remediation and building materials, biochar can also be used for cleaning “grey water”, as an absorber in sports clothing, in batteries, a livestock food additive as mentioned above, fresh water filtration, bio-plastics, and other building materials. These and the numerous other possibilities for the use of Hemp Biochar (CannaChar/HempChar ) are still being explored and investigated. It can possibly be used as a precursor for activated carbon, cosmetic applications, coal replacement, a bio-composite additive, plastic reinforcement additive, and as an organic growth medium. Out of all these possibilities, the most beneficial uses will probably be for the afore mentioned soil remediation, water filtration, bio-plastics and possibly electrical storage in batteries and bast based supercapacitors.
An additional bonus in the production of biochar is that we are able to produce it in modern biochar ovens utilizing 21st Century technology. This technology can capture the Syngas released during the pyrolysis process. Syngas is a combination of Hydrogen, Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrogen. Syngas can be filtered and compressed and used like propane for the production of electricity. In addition, the excess heat produced by the pyrolysis process can be captured using a 20th Century technology called a Tesla Turbine (Developed and patented in 1913 by Nikola Tesla) and this excess heat can also utilized to produce electricity.
Tesla turbine at Nikola Tesla Museum ⑦
The time is right to explore and expand the many possible uses of hemp biochar. For CannaChar/HempChar to be of benefit to the greatest and highest good, we should look at substituting renewable biochar as an alternative to unsustainable and non-renewable petroleum based products to help clean up our planet, our air, our water, and promote a more healthy environment.
Here is a more detailed list of other products that can probably utilize CannaChar/HempChar:
Food and Beverage Products
Bottle Labels
Coasters
Coffee Cup Sleeves
Coffee Filters
Coffee Packaging
Cup Holders
Disposable Plates
Egg Cartons
Food Trays
Fruit Packaging
Napkins
Placemats
Sandwich Wrappers
To-Go Containers
Tea Bags
Farm and Garden
Leaf Litter Bags
Plant Wraps
Seed blockers
Seed Tapes
Seedling Starter Pots
Sheet Mulch
Weed Barrier Cloth
Soil Remediation and Enhancement
Animal Food Supplement (needs Federal Approval)
Soil Moisture Retention
Home and Office
Air Filters
Book Covers
Book Marks
Water Filters
Ceiling Tiles
Computer Covers
Drop Cloths
Furniture
Hangers
Kitchen Waste Compost Bags
Picture Matting
Toilet Covers
Wall Coverings
Radiation Shields
Medical
Band-Aids
Biodegradable Bedpans
Biodegradable Disposal Bags
Biodegradable Kidney Dishes
Biodegradable Urinals
Gurney Liners
Patient Gowns and Slippers
Skin Wraps
Surgical Attire (Mask and Caps)
Underpads and Exam Table Paper
Shipping Supplies
Chardboard
Bags
Boxes
Cubicle Dividers
Edge Protectors
Envelopes
Fiber Drums
File Dividers
Folders
In and Outboxes
Notebook Covers
Shipping Tubes
Personal Use
Biodegradable Urns
Gift Wrap
Sanitary Napkins
Toilet Liners
Pets
Bird Cage Liners
Fish Tank Filters
Pet Caskets
Poop Bags
Kitty Litter Liners
Wee Wee Pads
Miscellaneous
Car Insulation
Caskets
Casket Liners and Crypts
Gaskets
Wall Insulation
Carbon Black Replacement in Batteries
Other Benefits Of Hemp and Hemp Biochar
High Insulation Properties
Air Decontamination
Noise Reduction
Low Electrostatic Charging of Air
Conservation of Wood
Increased Oxygen Production
Reduction of Dust and Dust Mites
Antibacterial
Antimicrobial
Mold and Mildew Resistant
Flame Retardant
Restoration After Floods
Humidity Regulation
Odor Reduction
Electromagnetic Radiation Shielding
Radioactive Soil and Water Remediation
Digestive Tract Health for Humans and Animals
To help us on this Mission to create for the Greatest and Highest Good, we need your Help. The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative (CHPC) was formed to bring Economic Stimulus to Rural America and we need your help to get it done. The CHPC is a true Cooperative organized as a Limited Cooperative Association, the 21st Century version of the more traditional Cooperative. We are on the forefront of changing the current negative competitive mindset to a positive mindset of Cooperation and Collaboration. The current competitive mindset has glaringly shown us that it is not sustainable. If it was, we wouldn’t have all these pollutants in our air, our soil, our water, our clothing and our food. The Collaborative mindset is sustainable but we need to unite and make it happen together. We’re not asking anyone to do it alone, but you can join us and make it happen together by becoming a CHPC Shareholder at COHPC.ORG. Patron Shares are only $100 and we need thousands of you to join us to do the work that needs to be done to Co-Create our planet into the Edenic Utopia it has the potential to be. Thank you for your Collaboration and Support!
① https://thehempmag.com/2018/09/bringing-back-biochar/
② http://biocharnow.com/history/
④ https://www.thefencepost.com/opinion/hemp-biochars-use-as-a-soil-conditioner/
⑤ https://stbe.appstate.edu/news/researching-biochar-hemp-waste
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Introduction
“Cooperatives have come a long way from their beginnings in the 19th Century.
Cooperatives help workers improve their livelihoods and protect their interests.
Cooperatives empower workers to own a share of the business and to govern themselves. Cooperatives are organizations of people who have the same needs. In a 1997 article in the ICA Review, J. Langmore says that cooperatives promote “the material conditions and well-being of members through their acting in concert; members [have] a greater say over their lives through their voluntary association in organizations controlled freely and democratically by their members.” “①
“Cooperatives provide a method for farmers to join together in an ‘association’, through which a group of farmers can acquire a better outcome, typically financial, than by going alone. This approach is aligned to the concept of economies of scale and can also be related as a form of economic synergy, where “two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the agents independently”. An important strength of a cooperative for the farmer is that they retain the governance of the association, thereby ensuring they have ultimate ownership and control. This ensures that the profit reimbursement (either through the dividend payout or rebate) is shared only amongst the farmer members.” ②
Cooperative Principles
“Cooperatives around the world operate according to the same set of core principles and values, adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance
1. Open and Voluntary Membership
Membership in a cooperative is open to all persons who can reasonably use its services and stand willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, regardless of race, religion, gender, or economic circumstances.
2. Democratic Member Control
Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. Elected representatives (directors/trustees) are elected from among the membership and are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote); cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
3. Members’ Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital remains the common property of the cooperative. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative; setting up reserves; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
4. Autonomy and Independence
Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control as well as their unique identity.
5. Education, Training, and Information
Education and training for members, elected representatives (directors/trustees), CEOs, and employees help them effectively contribute to the development of their cooperatives. Communications about the nature and benefits of cooperatives, particularly with the general public and opinion leaders, helps boost cooperative understanding.
6. Collaboration Among Cooperatives
By working together through local, national, regional, and international structures, cooperatives improve services, bolster local economies, and deal more effectively with social and community needs.
7. Concern for Community
Cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies supported by the membership.” ③
Cooperatives are clearly a superior and more equitable business model over other more capitalistic types of business organization. Cooperatives allow Shareholders to share the wealth and can bring economic stimulus to a wide swath of society rather than further enriching just the top few percent like the majority of other corporate business models. However, please don’t confuse the Cooperative Model with Socialism or Communism as the Cooperative Model relies on local control not central control like those more oppressive systems. Cooperatives are voluntary, socialism and Communism are not. Collaboration works because everyone involved initially agrees that they are doing what is best for the Greatest and Highest Good.
Competition Versus Collaboration
So, if the Cooperative model is so superior, why isn’t every business organized under it? There are several reasons, but these reasons may at first seem to be antithetical to modern business thinking. This is because in western capitalistic societies we have been brain washed and programmed into thinking and believing that competition is good. Friendly competition is good and healthy, but when it comes to the cut-throat competition that modern capitalistic businesses have evolved into, the result is that in the quest for the all-mighty dollar precludes doing what is best for all. These shameless entities are doing anything and everything they can to out-perform their competition. The unfortunate reality is that these modern business practices have evolved into a system that is not sustainable. If you look at the current western business practices based on the competition model, they have produced a world where our water is polluted, our air is polluted, our arable farmland is polluted, and we are eating food-like products filled with chemicals, preservatives, herbicides, pesticides and heavy metals. Big Pharma, in its quest for more dollars, creates customers not cures. Big Oil will stop at nothing to squeeze more crude oil out of our planet with fracking that causes earthquakes and water pollution, oil spill pollution, and the release of chemical agents that further befoul our oxygen deprived air. Our forests are being decimated and burned in the quest for the all-mighty dollar and our food has been tainted by big agricultural monopolies that utilize harmful chemicals to kill the microbiome in our soil to the extent that our arable land is rendered useless without the addition of more deadly chemicals. We have fluoride in our water. “In terms of acute toxicity, fluoride is more toxic than lead, but slightly less toxic than arsenic. This is why fluoride has long been used in rodenticides and pesticides to kill pests like rats and insects. It is also why accidents involving over-ingestion of fluoridated dental products – including fluoride gels, fluoride supplements, and fluoridated water can cause serious poisoning incidents, including death.” ④
In addition we have mercury in our vaccines, and aluminum in our deodorants, two metallic elements that have no reason to be in the human body and can end up in the brain. “Aluminum is a known neurotoxin and occupational exposure to aluminum has been implicated in neurological disease, including Alzheimer’s disease.” ⑤ “Many studies show that high exposure to mercury induces changes in the central nervous system, potentially resulting in irritability, fatigue, behavioral changes, tremors, headaches, hearing and cognitive loss, dysarthria, incoordination, hallucinations, and death.⑥ Remember that “Mad Hatters” became that way due to mercury exposure. All of this is a result of modern corporate competition. From first grade onwards we are indoctrinated that competition is good, but modern corporations have taken this to the extreme while disregarding the negative effects on our health and planet.
“In the 1987 movie Wall Street, Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko gave an insightful speech where he said, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” He went on to make the point that greed is a clean drive that “captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.”⑦ “As markets rely on trust and cooperation, unmitigated greed has the potential to undermine a free economy” ⑧ as evidenced by current global conditions. This is where we can turn to Cooperatives to reverse this reality because the more evolved voluntary collective mind-set of the collaborators will minimize the greed factor for the benefit of the greatest and highest good for all involved.
Federal Versus Local Control
Another problem with big money monopolies is that they have the resources and lobbyists to influence the Federal Government at the highest level. The Federal Government, unfortunately, is manipulated by these Lobbyists because they can help candidates get elected through campaign contributions and other “perks” that drastically affect how Congress people vote. Whatever happened to anti-monopoly Laws? It is sad that these laws have been so ignored to the extent that they have allowed 4 or 5 big Ag companies the control over the majority of seeds supplied to farmers. This is one area that Cooperatives can be the most effective. Seed supplies should have the option of being open sourced like they were a century ago before the seed industry was hijacked by big Ag. Open source seed frees the seed from non-propagation agreements for growers so they can reap the economic benefits and other positive attributes that are inherent when growing their own seed.
21st Century designed and promulgated Cooperatives can be organized with Local Control so there can be no mandates from national or federal monopolists to govern their use and productivity. Sure, there are Federal Statutes that have to be followed, but Cooperatives can own shares in other Cooperatives so everyone is working toward the same end, and that end is increased economic stimulus for all. Cooperatives are even exempt from some Monopoly Laws because they are not seen as a threat to a national agenda. Cooperatives can develop and distribute open source seeds that anyone can use without the restraints of non-propagation agreements required by big Ag. In addition, Cooperatives can spread and share the most effective regenerative agricultural methods that have the ability to remediate our soils and water damaged by all the chemicals used by big Ag’s GMO seeds. By working together, Cooperatives can share Best Practices, Standard Operating Procedures, cultivars, machinery, sales and marketing of the raw materials they produce, and most important of all, the substantial financial rewards from all of their hard work.
The Positive Future of Cooperatives
The nascent Hemp Industry has the potential to become the next Trillion Dollar Industry in the United States. This is a huge pie, and with collaboration utilizing the Cooperative Business Model the pie will become even larger and Cooperatives will share it to everyone’s positive benefit. The Cooperative Business Model is the most fair to everyone involved. Yes, we need to share the expenses, but we are also collaborating to share the fiscal rewards. In a Limited Cooperative Association the collaborators includes the Patrons (the people doing the work) and the forward thinking Investors who share in this positive big picture vision of the future and the potential (substantial) fiscal rewards.
The current Big Ag monopolized path of 21st Century Agriculture is not sustainable. As forward thinker, inventor and World Citizen advocate Buckminster Fuller has observed, “Cooperation has become the optimum survival strategy”.⑨ If Earth Citizens want to not self-destruct then we must change our thinking from competition to collaboration. The world does not need greater concentrations of power, by multinational banks and the Federal Reserve, but much more widely dispersed power and the shared economic benefits that Cooperative can provide. Cooperatives are the most logical means to achieve this end. If we take a step back, this economic evolution really begins with taking control of the taxes we pay and those taxes deposited into publically owned public banks instead of the biggest Ponzi Scheme in the world, the Federal Reserve. Without local public control over funds generated by taxes a better future is drastically hindered, but that is a discussion for another time.
This is not an empty request for change, it is an imperative that will positively impact the planet and those of us who live here. The best way to minimize the influence of misanthropic companies is to not patronize them. This unprecedented opportunity for our Planet’s Economic Revolution starts now with Hemp and Cooperatives! If you truly want to save the planet for your children and grandchildren you will be intrinsically impelled to collaborate with us. We really do not have another viable choice as positive as a collaborative world powered by the united masses and not being subject to the greed and vagaries of the current big-money monopolists. The local economic stimulus provided by locally controlled Agricultural Hemp Cooperatives is designed to buoy up the economic status of rural America. Rural Citizens across the planet have been marginalized and excluded for way too long from the prosperity they deserve for all of their hard work, a fact that I can attest to from firsthand experience. With Agricultural Hemp Cooperatives as a beginning, we can realistically provide an economic environment that will at last allow rural America (and eventually the rest of the world) to be free from the chains of economic oppression imposed by the current monopolistic corporations and start to thrive. The resurgence of the Hemp Industry coupled with the economic equity of 21st Century Cooperatives is an unprecedented opportunity that we may never see again. Let’s not waste it! We must collaboratively act to fully utilize it for the Greatest and Highest Good for All!
To help us on this Mission to create for the Greatest and Highest Good, we need your Help. The Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative (CHPC) was formed to bring Economic Stimulus to Rural America and we need your help to get it done. The CHPC is a true Cooperative organized as a Limited Cooperative Association, the 21st Century version of the more traditional Cooperative. We are on the forefront of changing the current negative competitive mindset to a positive mindset of Cooperation and Collaboration. The current competitive mindset has glaringly shown us that it is not sustainable. If it was, we wouldn’t have all these pollutants in our air, our soil, our water, our clothing and our food. The Collaborative mindset is sustainable but we need to unite and make it happen together. We’re not asking anyone to do it alone, but you can join us and make it happen together by becoming a CHPC Shareholder at COHPC.ORG. Patron Shares are only $100 and we need thousands of you to join us to do the work that needs to be done to Co-Create our planet into the Edenic Utopia it has the potential to be. Thank you for your Collaboration and Support! Please help us make the Hemp Industry a true economic stimulus for all economically depressed areas. We are fortunate that we can revived the Hemp Industry (that has been suppressed for over 80 years) with 21st Century technology and business models. With low shared individual risks and high shared collective returns we can utilize the Hemp Industry for the Greatest and Highest Good. We can’t rely on governments or corporations to do this so it has to be done by WE The People!
Thank you for your time and consideration. You can learn more and become a Shareholder at:
COHPC.ORG
Thanks!
Please Forward and Share this with anyone that wants to help Co-Create a Better World. Thanks!
© 2019 CHPC
Written by Duane Stjernholm – Co-Founder and Operator of the Colorado Hemp Processing Cooperative
Now Accepting Shareholders and responding to inquiries at:
COHPC.ORG
References
① https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_cooperative_movement
③ https://www.electric.coop/seven-cooperative-principles%E2%80%8B/
④ http://fluoridealert.org/issues/health/
⑤ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140212093300.htm
⑥ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3395437/\
⑦ https://www.thebalance.com/greed-is-good-or-is-it-quote-and-meaning-3306247
⑧ http://www.valuesandcapitalism.com/greed-is-not-good-but-self-interest-is/
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