What’s missing from all the canna & hemp NGOs already out there?

1. Cognitive Liberty – Cannabis legalization is just a step; all forms of altering one’s consciousness, irrespective of chemistry or plant source, are a fundamental human right. This emergent Human Right and philosophical principle — as yet not enshrined in any laws that we’re aware of — should be at the root of all drug reform efforts — whether for full or partial de-criminalization, de- or down-scheduling, regulation, whatever. cognitiveliberty.org
2. Pivotal Enabler of a Localized, De-toxxed, Circular Economy — Hemp, in all its thousand forms and applications, as the foundation for the circular, resilient, decentralized (& de-financialized?) economy we wish for and and that the biosphere sorely needs (we presume!). Vet, refine & popularize the “value pyramid” of hemp use-cases. (FAAAT & ICACO make a noble effort to weave de-criminalization into UN Sustainability Goals.) Current regs re “cannabis waste” disposal are short-sighted; high THC hemp aka ‘cannabis’ stalk, root and leaf residue should be upcycled in a bio-refinery. Many bio-materials & hemp startups need the stuff. ReStalk LLC is on this tip. Waste not, want not.
3. Universal access to hemp-based medicine: support charitable donation mechanisms; build farmer-patient networks to connect specific ratio canna flower/oils to low income patients with specific needs;  support a network of non-profit R&D projects. California still needs dedicated charity and R&D license types; promote research and education around the Endo-cannabinoid System (ECS) (#EntourageEffect).
4. Public, open “demonstration/educational” canna greenhouse/manufacturing facilities. Not aware of any examples so far.
5. Coherent, widest-view hemp-cannabis-CBD regulatory paradigm needed. Currently most approaches in play are haphazard — they come from either a cannaBIZ trade or legalization pov, or a medical/pharma angle, or an ag farming/industrial hemp pov or a residual prohibitionist stance (ie government agencies). And rarely from a “holistic sustainability” perspective, with a few exceptions we can list in another post or down below. If cannabis/hemp must be regulated – an unfortunate reality, for the time being — ideally it would be informed by an integrated and expansive perspective, not driven by prohibitionist assumptions and biases (“THC is risky.”) (Check out this video discussion on bio-materials, waste and hemp for starters.)
6. Open source cannabis genomes — defend and expand. (PhylosBioScience and OpenCannabisProject are already active here – but once canna is de- or down-scheduled, the commercial pressures will become intense. True, technically you can’t patent a living organism; but there are ways around that, and the law is a bit murky around GMOs.)
7. Explore / debate implications of bio-synthesis of minor (& major) cannabinoids. Where normal cross-pollination can’t give adequate yields for medical research or production within a meaningful time frame. More than just cell propagation, talking here mainly about microbial / yeast / synthetic bio-engineering platforms. A handful of startups are working this space (Hyasynth, Librede… & now GingkoBioworks & Amyris are getting on the train). There are big HUGE ethical and environmental issues hovering over Synthetic Bio aka metabolic engineering — not to mention practical challenges around scalability & economics. (Why do organisms resist genetic tampering over generations?) Not much informed analysis from the cannabis-advocacy side so far.

Above draft points represent a platform for further discussion.

Thoughts?

— VirityLabs

Graphic by BrummbaerNA