During the unrelenting frenzy of the 2019 Texas Legislative Session and Lt. Governor Patrick’s complete disregard for the interests of the Texas Republican Party’s 2018 platform along with a sadist level of giddy joy he took from killing the numerous cannabis-related bills that were approved by the House of Representatives with noticeable majorities, one of those bills passed unanimously out of both houses and was signed by Governor Abbott. And despite reforms in cannabis decriminalization and medical access being murdered quite brutally by a vasectomized on-air lieutenant governor, House Bill 1325 was undoubtedly a monumentally useful and potentially prosperous bill for the agriculture industry in Texas, an industry that serves in unison with the oil and gas industry as the economic backbone of The Lone Star State.
Long before Governor Abbott’s signature on HB 1325 and even prior to the passing the Federal 2018 Farm Bill which finally descheduled industrial hemp and allowed for states to implement their own program, the Texan hemp industry had one very influential supporter. Longtime Texas politician, farmer and larger than life public figure Sid Miller, who currently serves as Commissioner of Agriculture, has become one of the strongest and most ardent supporters of the multi-useful crop, traversing the state and doing everything from speaking at high schools about the potential for the crop, and mentioning his support of both industrial hemp as well as CBD and cannabis for medical reasons on numerous occasions.
Even in the midst of an uncharted and unpredictable time in Texan and American history, the white hat-donning Commissioner has continued to show support for industrial hemp and medical expansion. In fact, Miller visited the facility and dispensary of Compassionate Cultivation just two weeks ago with the very distinct purpose of learning more about cannabis, hemp, THC, CBD and all matters related to the medical use of cannabis.
Throughout the expansive tour, Miller once again stated his strong and clear support of the medicinal aspects of cannabis, much to the political disagreement of many of his fellow high-ranking Texas Republicans.
“I would certainly expand medical marijuana. If it’ll help somebody, I’m for it,” Miller informed. “Whatever it is. I mean, a toothache, I don’t care. If it’s a cure, if it [alleviates] pain, we should be able to use that.”
Continuing his tour of further cementing his support for Texas’ newest agricultural commodity, the nine-time Rodeo Champion turned Agriculture Commissioner and his bright white cowboy hat that he should consider trademarking ventured to the farm of the grandmother and grandson team of Laura and Mason Berry, who run Alamo Remedy, a Texas-based hemp producer.
Among the attendees of the meeting were representatives from all sectors of the hemp industry and hemp advocacy. Hemp/CBD business owners and manufacturers, lawyers representing the legal matters of hemp companies in Texas, plant researchers from Texas A&M University, For a closer look into the event from an attendee’s present perspective, we had the pleasure of speaking to a longtime titan of an advocate for both cannabis and veteran-related matters, Texas Veterans for Medical Marijuana founder David Bass.
Despite disagreeable comments and views occasionally stated by Miller in the past, the fact that he’s an eighth-generation Texas farmer whose familiarity with the endless rural communities cannot be understated. As well he holds considerable merits on the subjects of how to boost opportunities of prosperity and employment for farmers across the neverending farmland of The Lone Star State.
“Commissioner Miller said that this will be an industry.” Bass recollected. “More than just growing a crop. It will provide all types of jobs. Testing, transportation, manufacturing. He sees this as a program that will bring thousands of jobs to Texas and that’s why he wants this to be successful.”
At the meeting in between personal examinations and observations of the top quality hemp grown on Texas farms, Miller revealed a fascinating detail into which herbal supplements he’s been consuming recently to treat lasting injuries received during his illustrious Rodeo career. Miller stated that he had been using, of all the wild supplements with debatable claims, cannabidiol (CBD) products for those injuries.
“He was a rodeo cowboy, which is similar to being a pro football player or a veteran.” Bass added. “The commissioner believes that cannabis is medicine. He understands, and that’s always the first step into helping people understand that cannabis is medicine. When you cross that bridge, you can really expand the conversation about the entire plant.”
Among the other attendees were Texas NORML Director Jax Finkel, a hemp processor who’s producing a hemp-based version of the popular six-pack plastic rings that almost inevitably become thrown into a landfill and unfortunately becomes entangled around a pelican’s neck more frequently than the a $60 dollar toy bought from Disney World that becomes entirely ignored within two weeks, and two representatives from the Oregon-based Lady Jay’s hemp cigarettes.
Bass mentioned Lady Jay’s interest in expanding into Texas, dependent on the smokable hemp ban lawsuit currently going through litigation. Assuming smokable hemp is permitted, they may eventually serve as one of the first among several expanding hemp companies that recognize Texas’ unmatched agricultural advantages.
“He wants him and his department to do every possible thing they can to support farmers and businesspeople with the hemp program.”
Through the connections created and forged at the meeting at Alamo Remedy’s farm with Commissioner Miller, Bass described a true collaborative network formed from the variance of the professions of attendees.
“There’s a whole lot of people paying close attention to it and all these people are talking to each other so we have established this network of expertise in all facets of hemp and we’re all in contact with each other. So no one will be operating in the dark and we’re all linked in to Commissioner Miller and his department. To me, that’s the formula for success. Government talking to people on the ground and people having a direct link to the government office. They’ll be a lot of give and take and conversations, but no one will be making decisions in a vacuum.”
And finally, Miller again affirmed his support for cannabis use for medical reasons. Miller explained that although he can only act as Agriculture Commissioner upon the decisions of the Texas Legislature, any possible medical cannabis expansion bill approved by both the Legislature and Governor Abbott would ideally be supported by the legendary Texas public figure simultaneously.
Specifically, Bass can confirm that Miller’s support for Texas veterans runs so apparently deep that he sees the benefit of medical cannabis for veterans and the possibilities for veteran employment in the Texas hemp industry. And on October 17th, in sponsorship by Alamo Remedy themselves, Miller will be speaking at the virtual event of the Texas Veterans for Medical Marijuana Cannabis Conference. Featuring pre-recorded segments and live discussions, it’ll be quite a diverse and non-partisan look into medical cannabis.
For further coverage of both the Cannabis Conference and Commissioner Miller’s involvements in the Texas hemp/medical cannabis industry, stay tuned to Texas Cannabis Collective.