This week on the Hemp Podcast, we have a long conversation about hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids with Chris Fontes, president of the U.S. Hemp Authority and founder of Trojan Horse Cannabis and High Spirits Beverages.

Trojan Horse Cannabis was the first company to bring so-called intoxicating hemp derivatives to market, changing the hemp space forever.

For decades, hemp advocates said hemp was different from marijuana because hemp couldn't get you high.

But the 2018 Farm Bill created the perfect conditions for the birth of a whole new chapter in the story of hemp.

Fontes said when he read the hemp language in the 2018 Farm Bill, "My first thought was: We have uncontrolled THC. There is now a version of THC that is not controlled. Something could be done with this."

THC is the chemical compound produced in the cannabis flower known for its psychoactive properties.

Applying basic principles of math, Fontes realized that this legal THC "can be put into a product at a 10 milligram standard dose and could be shipped through the mail to anyone in the country at the time as there was no state by state blocking and interstate transport was explicitly protected," he said.

Thus, the intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid market was born.

And that's where this conversation gets interesting.

This isn't your typical fiber and grain hemp discussion. But if you want to understand why lawmakers are reacting, why definitions are shifting, and why the word hemp feels contested right now — you have to understand where this market came from.

That's what we have in store for you in this episode. Enjoy.

Learn More

High Spirits Beverages

drinkhighspirits.com

U.S. Hemp Authority

ushempauthority.org

USDA Hemp Overview

usda.gov/farming-and-ranching/plants-and-crops/plant-breeding/hemp

HEMP Act of 2025 (Bill Text)

congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2112/text

Hemp Planting Predictability Act (Bill Text)

congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7024/text

CRS Report: The 2018 Farm Bill's Hemp Definition and Legal Framework

congress.gov/crs-product/R48637

News Nuggets

Italy's Industrial Hemp Seed Lines Surpass EU Germination Standards

hemptoday.net/leading-italian-hemp-varieties-post-2025-germination-bounceback-after-years-of-doubts/

Hemp and Marijuana Are the Same Species — So Why the Different Laws?

lpm.org/news/2026-02-03/hemp-and-marijuana-are-the-same-species-so-why-all-the-different-laws

Federal Hemp Definition Shift Could Impact Fiber and Grain Markets

rfdtv.com/hemp-definition-shift-threatens-fiber-and-grain-expansion

Washington Still Hasn't Decided What CBD Is

hemptoday.net/washington-still-hasnt-decided-what-cbd-is-as-markets-linger-in-legal-uncertainty/

Thanks to our Sponsors

IND Hemp

indhemp.com

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americhanvre.com