POLITICO: Ben Droz used to be the best-known hemp lobbyist in Washington- strolling around the Capitol in hemp clothing and sporting a hemp briefcase, extolling the virtues of the magical cannabis plant. On October 18, POLITICO Agriculture published an in-depth investigation into the growth of lobbying registrations for hemp. What they found was a staggering increase to over 80 'hemp lobbyists' today. But by looking back, they confirmed that Ben Droz, AKA 'The Hemp Guy', is

Banking regulators have had increasing pressure from Congress, including letters from Senate Leader McConnell and longtime hemp champion Senator Wyden. On August 19, 2019, the National Credit Union Administration responded with an official Regulatory Alert on "Serving Hemp Businesses". In document, the NCUA full contextualized the issues facing hemp businesses. and showed once again that the cogs of government are looking carefully into the new hemp laws, and working to imple

DC Radio Interview - "Cannabis Conversations" with Ben Droz In Washington, DC, cannabis is legal possess, use, and even grow yourself, in addition to a burgeoning medical program, which just began accepting reciprocity. Thanks to the Mayor's leadership, the cannabis industry in our Nation's Capital is certainly something to watch. The official radio station of DC, has a radio show and podcast, hosted by Linda Mercado Greene. Former Chief of Staff to DC "Mayor for Life" Mari

"That's The Angle" Podcast: Ben Droz, Cannabis Lobbyist On July 10, I attended an historic cannabis hearing on Capitol Hill. When I got back I ran into my friend Bruce, who had just wrapped up a podcast interview. We started talking about scheduling an interview, and I jumped in said, "why not right now"? Totally impromptu, we sat down and talked about the hearing that had just happened. The hearing was historic because it was the first time that a Congressional Committee

Published in HEMP Magazine: https://thehempmag.com/2019/07/senate-hearing-provides-update-on-federal-progress-for-hemp-regulations/ It’s been another big week for the cannabis plant on Capitol Hill. This time, senators, administrators and advocates discussed what the hemp industry needs to succeed. On July 25, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a landmark hearing called “Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill,” in order to gather more information about what the federal gov

A federal hemp lobbyist recounts the decade he worked for hemp legalization on Capitol Hill, culminating with the 2018 Farm Bill, and considers what the future could bring. Originally published in Issue 6 of HEMP. Subscribe HERE or find in a local grocery store. I first arrived in Washington, D.C. in 2008. President Obama had just been elected, bringing a new wave of electrified idealism, fresh ideas, and the perspective of the nation’s first black president to the White Hous

On July 25th, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a landmark  hearing on hemp production and the 2018 Farm Bill. The hearing began with opening statements from the Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, and special guest Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. All of these Senators took time to talk about the history of hemp farming in the US. The statements were followed by two expert panels and questioning.  The hearing was the first dedi

On May 31st, the FDA held their first public hearing on cannabis products - ever- and announced a pubic comment period. The Hemp Guy took the opportunity to submit a comment to the public record. The comment reiterates the legality of Hemp-derived CBD products, that was clearly the intent of Congress. Then, The Hemp Guy uses simple mathematics to eviscerate the FDA's claim that Hemp CBD is too similar to Epidiolex to be considered a dietary supplement. The comment is now pu

I personally like to just ignore the haters, and have valid reasons to do so.

On April 2nd, outgoing Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, and his office, published an official notice for a public hearing and requests for comments. This is the first time that such an action has occurred. Officially, the FDA has authority over Cannabidiol (CBD), but considers it at least partly as a drug, thanks to the years of trials for newly approved pharmaceutical, Epidiolex. For this reason, FDA does not technically or currently endorse CBD be

So much happening!! Bill signing ceremony was delayed due to an impending Government Shutdown. It got signed! Official Video from White House See my coverage on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bendroz/videos/10100137414911625/ <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbendroz%2Fvideos%2F10100137414911625%2F&show_text=0&width=267" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"

Photo by @TheHempGuy This Comment was submitted April 23, 2018 For more information: http://deschedulecannabisnow.com/ Agency: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Title: International Drug Scheduling; Convention on Psychotropic Substances; Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs; Cannabis Plant and Resin; Extracts and Tinctures of Cannabis; Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol; Stereoisomers of Tetrahydrocannabinol; Cannabidiol; Document ID: FDA-2018-N-1072-0001 Comment: Cannabis, any pa

This weekend is Earth Day, but it seems more people are excited about 420, the international celebration of cannabis. While there seems to be little done on addressing climate change, there is a lot being done to address and reform the United States' harsh over-regulation of cannabis. The past two weeks alone has shown historic progress. The headlines began when former GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner came out of retirement to tweet, "I'm convinced de-scheduling [marij

​On April 12, 2018, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, S. 2667. This legislation follows the footsteps of The Industrial Hemp Farming Act (IHFA), which has been in Congress since 2005. While the original IHFA was a simple and succinct two pages long (and fit on one sheet of hemp paper), this new version is over 15 pages and amends several Federal laws. The full text will be available on Congress.gov here. First and foremost, the

On the Road Again! We took a two day road trip before arriving in Colorado. This is the mobile Hemplements van. Morris Beegle, Founder of NoCo Hemp Expo, with Ben Droz.

A federal hemp lobbyist breaks down the national progress that was made and missed in 2017 on the issue of hemp legalization. This piece was originally published in The Hemp Mag on January 8, 2018 https://thehempmag.com/2018/01/state-of-hemp/ 2017 was a big year for industrial hemp indeed. In November, Vote Hemp released their annual hemp crop report, showing over 24,841 acres of hemp were grown in 19 states this year, more than doubling from 2016’s historic 9,770 acres in 15

On January 4, Attorney General Jeff Session went back on his own words during his confirmation hearing, going against both public opinion and science to reiterate his opposition to Marijuana. He reversed the “Cole Memo”, which set clear guidelines that respect State's Rights, to prioritize federal resources away from licensed business operating legally under state laws. Instead, Mr. Sessions shows he is against States Rights, and in favor of outdated and overbearing Federal p

Hemp Update: Hemp History Week 2018 is June 4-10. Sign up to host your own event and get free hemp giveaways! Industrial Hemp has emerged somewhat quietly yet increasing quickly as an issue across the country over the past several years. For American consumers, Hemp has gone from rope and burlap to a wide variety of new products from high protein superfoods to building materials for homes. This week marks the 5th annual Hemp History Week, a national education campaign to br

This piece was published on Medium, the week that Donald Trump won the election to be President of the United States. While it is very hard for many of us to come to grips with the results, we must not be blinded by the divisiveness and racism that has defined the newly elected. We cannot assume this is as dangerous as we do. That only breeds anxiety and denial about the new reality that our set of laws and freedoms has ushered in. Instead we should look at what really happen