Being part of Woody Harrelson's historic arrest for planting hemp seeds ignited a flame in eight year old Annie Rouse that is burning brightly today. This true Hemp Baron joins Joy Beckerman to talk about her many hemp endeavors including running Anavii Market for CBD and hemp products, Founding Friends of Hemp and producing Anslinger: The Untold Cannabis Conspiracy podcast. Produced by PodCONX https://podconx.com/guests/annie-rouse
Being part of Woody Harrelson's historic arrest for planting hemp seeds ignited a flame in eight year old Annie Rouse that is burning brightly today. This true Hemp Baron joins Joy Beckerman to talk about her many hemp endeavors including running Anavii Market for CBD and hemp products, Founding Friends of Hemp and producing Anslinger: The Untold Cannabis Conspiracy podcast.
https://podconx.com/guests/annie-rouse
HB0022 Annie Rouse D.mp3
Dan Humiston: [00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of Hemp Barons.
Dan Humiston: [00:00:07] On today's show, we have someone whose passion for the plant was ignited when she was just a child, which partially explains how this Hemp Barons has accomplished so much at such a young age. In addition to running a successful Hemp for profit business, she also founded and runs a successful Hemp, not for profit. And in her spare time, she studies Hemp history and produces a historical Hemp podcast. Let's join Joy's conversation with any rules.
Joy Beckerman: [00:00:45] It's always so fantastic to speak with you. You were unlike so many folks who are just finding themselves in this new emerging space of Hemp. You were born into the Hemp movement in the Hemp Industries in Kentucky. Can you tell us a little bit about your unique family history?
Annie Rouse: [00:01:06] Yeah, for sure. I was introduced to Hemp when I was at a ripe age of eight years old because my dad actually did videographer me in Kentucky and he filmed Woody Harrelson as grand arrests down in Kentucky when he planted for hemp seeds to try to purposefully get arrested and get the ticket to the Supreme Court ticket, get Hemp distinguish between marijuana on the Controlled Substances Act. So I was 8 when that happened. It was shining in my eyes. It was it introduced me to Hemp initially and made me really curious about the plant. And because of that, my parents always talked about it in the household. So it wasn't like they thought it was like this crazy drug, like a lot of people did. Instead, they always were very passionate about the fact that Kentucky needed to make it legal again in the United States, need to make it legal again. And that really was the impetus for me to continue to investigate it further, particularly when I was in college and I ended up writing a paper about it and scouring through the William Young Library at the University of Kentucky that has a fantastic collection, actually, the history Hemp and Kentucky, and that really set the future of my career and demotion in terms of understanding the plant, really sparking a fire underneath me and trying to do everything possible to help Hemp overcome the stigma that it has and try to make it legal.
Joy Beckerman: [00:02:32] And Kentucky and in the United States once again, and I think folks don't know. My my youngest son also went to University, Kentucky. And I think folks don't realize that that library I think it's something like the third largest university library in the country. It's very impressive.
Annie Rouse: [00:02:49] And it's actually the largest behind Harvard type, the second largest.
Joy Beckerman: [00:02:54] Oh, behind Harvard. I can't believe I knew that statistic. And thank you. Very, very impressive.
Joy Beckerman: [00:03:01] And obviously, Kentucky has a huge history in it and it has industries. And that is why, of course, back in the 90s, your dad and then I know the hickey brothers and some others, of course, along with Woody Harrelson, you know, really were very instrumental in the revival of the movement there through political actions and acts of civil disobedience, just like you just described, Woody Harrelson coordinating with your dad and others, the intentional act of disobedience, of planting those Schedule 1 controlled substance, Hemp seeds. Of course, they're not anymore and getting arrested. And can you tell us a little bit about the the history in Kentucky of the Hemp industry?
Annie Rouse: [00:03:50] Yeah, sure. So Hemp was one of Kentucky's largest cash crops and there and did 18 hundreds in early. Nineteen hundreds.
Annie Rouse: [00:04:00] Kentucky actually in the nineteen and nineteen hundred ninety percent of the United States is Hemp came out of Kentucky, mostly within the bluegrass area in central Kentucky, and it fed a lot of the a lot of times Hemp would correlate production would correlate with war time efforts and there were lots of fiber processing mills and grain processing mills throughout the state as well as a lot of the farmers actually have read through old archives of pharmaceutical companies working with farmers who would harvest the Hemp that was growing on the riverbanks of Kentucky and Ohio Rivers.
Annie Rouse: [00:04:40] And they would harvest that and sell it to the pharmaceutical industry like Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb and those companies, and use it within their Cannabis oils that were marketed prior to the Marijuana Tax Act. And then once Hemp for once the Marijuana Tax Act came into place, that, of course, really pushed the industry underground. And with the. But then when with the rise of Hemp for victory because of World War 2, actually there was a pretty tremendous uptick in production in Kentucky and around the area. And that, in fact, the as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's work to reinvigorate the farmers to grow Hemp. They actually purchased a big warehouse in Winchester, Kentucky. And when they went around to really try and control the seed stock for Hemp, they they purchased it at a farmers would say a very low rate as to what its true value was. They went around and purchased or come in beared. One farmer said the seed stock and put it all the seed stock into this warehouse in Winchester, Kentucky, and then re-allocated that back out to the farmers so that they could understand exactly who was growing and how much they were growing in order to supply the Navy with proper rope and have enough reproduction of the seeds as well for the following season. So Kentucky played a very pivotal role. And in those Hemp victory campaign and the World War two efforts to bring Hemp back into the economy for a wartime effort. So the very important critical state at that time.
Joy Beckerman: [00:06:26] Critical role. Yes, a critical role. And as for the listeners, for those out there who don't know what we're talking about when mentioning or referencing this movie, Hemp for Victory, if you haven't seen it, please, in your next spare time, you'll only 13 and a half minutes. That will change your life when you go into YouTube. Dot.com search Hemp for victory and try to get the results. There's lots of them. That's around 13 and a half minutes. And it's the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture's film to because the Japanese, of course, had invaded the Philippines during World War 2, cutting off our supply of Hemp. And so we had no choice, even though we had basically taxed and regulated Hemp out of existence through the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. Five years later, 1942, we're now begging farmers to please, oh my goodness, plant more Hemp because we need it for the Navy and that so that Hemp victory just real life changing. When you see in our government's own words and through their own produced film, the real role that that Hemp has played here and it's certainly Kentucky is highlighted in that film.
Joy Beckerman: [00:07:35] So no, her day to get it moving up to the current day, miss.
Joy Beckerman: [00:07:42] And if you are involved in so many things, the Hemp industry and the Hemp movement is so blessed to have you. We serve on the NCAA board together. We do a lot of important Hemp Industry Association board together. We do work together through the US Hemp roundtable. You vote hands through the various coalitions and you're just such an active and valuable member. I want to talk for a minute about your view, your Hemp Barons ness, your commercial endeavors which are so important and are so successful. And now the market that you and advocacy and Hemp industry leader Jason on the two she founded together. Can you tell us a little bit about the Navy market and what makes the Navy different than other portals or outlets selling Hemp extract products and CBT Hemp?
Annie Rouse: [00:08:30] Yeah, definitely. So Anavii was really born out of the fact that I had had a health problem a couple years ago and decided to turn to CBD knowing so much about the industry already, but really being more on the grain fiber side. I gave CBD a try and it really helped in this initial product that I tried really helped me a lot. And then I started trying other products and realized that they didn't help me as much as the initial product that I had tried and started investigating the space more and noticed that there was a large discrepancy between companies and the products that were on the market. And you see that more and more now with FDA coming out against a couple of companies and with different studies saying 70 percent of the CBT products on the market are mislabeled and other companies having contaminants and things like within the products that aren't healthy for people who are trying to get healthy off of these products. So we Jason and I met at actually be a bit acquainted in the industry prior, but really got to know each other at the Hemp industry's association conference in Lexington in 2017 and decided that we were very compatible as business partners. And I had already been tinkering with this idea of creating a marketplace for verified CBD products. And so we ended up partnering together to bring that into fruition. So a Navy market was born in January of 2018 and Ravi stands for. It was a word that we made up, but it the definition is an alternative lifestyle. And in Sanskrit with one eye, it's actually Sanskrit for kind of people, which is really the motto that we have and that an Ivy market is kind to people because we really care about the individuals that we're providing these products to.
Annie Rouse: [00:10:23] And that's why we've taken it upon ourselves to make sure that all the brands that we represent within our marketplace are fully vetted. We've gone out to the facilities. We know the companies, we've met with their scientists, and there are many in the manufacturers and the, you know, their business development. And and we've seen the lab tests and then we'll actually take samples and we'll send them off to. To your offense and which is a leading lab within the within the nation and really the world, so that we know that the products that we're providing to others are safe and legal.
Annie Rouse: [00:10:57] Freedom from legal Hemp and that they can provide the best impact for the individual that's using it. Just like I wanted when our very first got introduced to CBT products several years ago. So we wanted to bring that to other peoples so that they could have a positive experience. Because if people aren't having a positive experience with these products that are new and come up and coming, then they're not going to turn back to them again. And that's not good for the industry in the end. So it's all about building a sustainable industry and making sure that what we provide is safe and effective.
Joy Beckerman: [00:11:33] Indeed. So what sets Anavii apart of other outlets that sell multiple brands and CBD is that you have to carefully and and diligently curated the products that you sell for safety, quality assurance and obviously sourced from from legal Hemp.
Joy Beckerman: [00:11:50] So when folks shop on Anavii market, they know that those are diligently curated products that meet very high standards for oh, we've tried them all ourselves, making sure that they work within, you know, work for me.
Annie Rouse: [00:12:04] They work for my my for Jason. They work for our employees. So we're not afraid to take them either. And yes, they're highly curated. And then we have a lot of educational content as well. Think know tips to help people improve their experience with CBD. We have a what we call our wellness panel, which is a product selection tool so that people can answer a question, a series of questions, and then it provides recommendations based on on their desires and needs. So it is highly curated platform and you can find it on a Anavii market dot com. It's ANAVIIMARKET.com.
Dan Humiston: [00:12:48] I want to take a minute to thank all of our Hemp Barons listeners and to let you know that you can support the show by subscribing to MJBulls premium. It's only four dollars and ninety nine cents a month and you gain access to all previous episodes of Hemp Barons as well as all MJ bowls, other podcasts and exclusive content. Go to MJBulls.com and enter promo code BARONS to get your first month free.
Joy Beckerman: [00:13:16] Yes, ma'am. Speaking of great blogs and great information, you also have your own podcast. What is the name of your podcast?
Annie Rouse: [00:13:25] It's called and Anslinger the Untold Cannabis Conspiracy, which is so brilliant.
Joy Beckerman: [00:13:33] It is. So if you want to tell it to Henry Anslinger it.
Annie Rouse: [00:13:39] Anslinger the Untold Cannabis Conspiracy is a brainchild of mine, it's a combination of narration and interviews with experts on the topic at hand.
Annie Rouse: [00:13:49] So for the last 10 years or so, I've dug through our government archives around the United States and particularly within Harry and Salinger's archives, who as chief commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962. So he created all the drug enforcement strategies that exist today.
Annie Rouse: [00:14:09] Obviously, Cannabis is one of them, including Hemp. And so the podcast really takes the look at this drug prohibition within his eyes. And what was he doing in that time and who was he and how did his his approach to drug control impact the way that we view? Narcotics today and medicine today and imprisonment and a whole series of things that across a wide range of spectrum that have really influenced modern America.
Annie Rouse: [00:14:46] So it's a deep dive into that. And it's nine episodes right now. They take a really long time for me to create. So a lot of research and editing and narration and. So I've gotten you know, you can find it on iTunes and Google Play. And Spotify and Stitcher and pretty much anywhere but an which is my personal blog. But yeah, that's fascinating.
Joy Beckerman: [00:15:12] That's such a fascinating subject. And one of the more fascinating history we in any form of Cannabis history presentations that I've ever seen or heard, you just really made in history growing up.
Annie Rouse: [00:15:28] But reading this and understanding this and really creating this podcast has made me up history.
Annie Rouse: [00:15:35] It's kind of an odd not experience at all.
Joy Beckerman: [00:15:40] Yeah. No, indeed. I mean, it's a fascinating it's a fascinating history. And for the listeners who don't know, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was the original incarnation of the Drug Enforcement Administration. So the S&P end turned into the DEA.
Joy Beckerman: [00:15:56] It's just really great to understand who we are, to understand our psychology as a people, as a nation, as a civilization. And then get more information and more advocacy work as if your adversary advocacy work with all of these other organizations wasn't enough. And I don't know how you do it. You you also have friends of Hemp. Can you tell us a little bit about what Friends of Hemp is?
Annie Rouse: [00:16:22] Yes. So Friends of Hemp was created in late 2015, early 2016. And really because we needed a nonprofit to help with the educational movement that we were doing.
Annie Rouse: [00:16:36] So we started doing a lot of Hemp Foods, cook offs and Hemp tap takeovers and just getting chefs in the community to start understanding how to incorporate Hemp into their diets and into their everyday routines. So it started out as that we continue to do those events now. But more recently we have brought on the Food Coalition, which is a program now as Friends of Hemp. And it's a group of industry stakeholders who are working with manufacturers to try to get Hemp approved as an animal feed. So it's a really important movement. It's actually pretty bizarre that this is the oldest crop on earth, but yet one of them.
Annie Rouse: [00:17:15] But yet we don't have all of this research that proves or past marketability, that proves that Hemp was used within animal feeds or certain products prior to when certain regulations went into play. So we actually have to do all of these clinical trials for dogs and cats and horses, different production animals like cattle and pigs and chickens, so that we can prove that this that these products are actually safe for animal consumption and that they're safe. And usually when the animal consumes it and then when we consume that animal. So we have to go through this really deep dive into making sure that that the products are safe. And it's pretty weird to think about because I was reading some information the other day about cattle feed and a cow can actually up to 3 percent of its diet can be candy.
Annie Rouse: [00:18:09] And yet we're sitting here trying to prove that Hemp is actually safe for cattle to consume.
Joy Beckerman: [00:18:15] So can be candy the candy with the same that is you. Did you just say did you say candy with the sea?
Annie Rouse: [00:18:24] Candy with the c like Mars? Yeah. Still ahead, they will. They're they're like byproducts of manufacturing. They want to do something with it. Right. So I guess, you know, a decade ago or so, they decided, oh, let's just throw it into the cattle market. So they'll sell that to manufacturers who then grind it down into the mix it up with other feeds and then they'll feed that into the cattle market. So it'll be like spring good and snickers and, you know, old food. Indeed.
Joy Beckerman: [00:18:54] No animal feed, animal feed and pet feed is is a highly exploitive market. And when we had the mad cow disease scare, that's when things really started to change in ag feed. But getting back to the Hemp Feed Coalition and Hemp specifically, even though, of course we know that it is much healthier for the animals and will produce a healthier result, both with omega 3s, with protein and all of the various functions of the of the systems, animal systems that depend on each phase for optimal functioning men. Not a single ingredient for a single species. Has been approved in even North America. And is it right that the FDA requires a application for each ingredient, for each species? So Hemp seed is one ingredient. Hemp c hold him seeds is one ingredient.
Joy Beckerman: [00:19:48] Hemp seed oil is another ingredient and extract would be another ingredient.
Joy Beckerman: [00:19:53] So a separate application for each ingredient and each species other than of course, dogs and cats. I guess they give us that freebie because we don't consume dogs and cats per say in this country. Is that correct?
Annie Rouse: [00:20:06] Yeah, that's right. We might be able to add certain ingredients on to other ingredients. It just depends on what the moisture is and what the initial nutritional analysis and toxicological reports provide. But as long as they're within the same realm of nutrition and moisture, the FDA Center for Veterinary and Medicine may allow us to combine those products. However, when we initially approached them, it was each ingredient per animal.
Annie Rouse: [00:20:36] So we're looking, you know, like seven different speech, seven to eight different species and probably about eight different ingredients. So it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of money to ticket these to get just Hemp approved as an animal feed. But, you know, it's so important in for the farmer and for the processors. There's a ton of byproducts right now that's just essentially being wasted. And we can easily use that within with an animal feed markets and create healthier, you know, having Dena. where you're being a co-owner, being a co-owner of a Hemp grain processing facility.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:13] You know, I'm acutely it's not painfully aware of. We call it co products. There ain't no such thing as a byproduct.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:20] And they're all co products.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:22] So so, yes, you know, painfully aware of piling up as as we can't keep up with the hemp seed oil orders. But the seed cake, which is the co products, which is, you know, milled into protein powder is of course, granular, have flowers and certainly use for ag seed is really piling up. So we really need to open up those agricultural markets for our farmers and for our processors for an obviously healthy ingredient to add and incorporate into animal diets. And isn't it true that the bio accumulation of THC with Disney species is sort of the the big question mark that the FDA and other departments of AG and Department of Health are wanting to look at bio accumulation of THC as that sort of the big issue?
Annie Rouse: [00:22:10] I would say that's part of it. I think it's also due to animals eat it. Do they want to eat it? And then how is it going to impact, for instance, ruminant animals versus non ruminant animals? So they just don't really know how and then how that those omegas might carry over. And there's just a lot of unknowns. However, I think you could pretty easily understand how the omegas might carry. Just by looking at flax or other grain products that are similar in the omega profile as Hemp is. So I would say that the cannabinoids in general, maybe not necessarily just THC, but the whole spectrum of cannabinoids is probably a concern, not necessarily because the other cannabinoids are intoxicating because they're not, but just knowing, well, how much is gonna be in it when the cattle, you know, gives milk or when you eat the cow. And then are how much of that is accumulating in you because then obviously will will impact to the health of humanity probably for the better. But that's just my opinion. But we'll see what the science is.
Joy Beckerman: [00:23:20] Indeed, no one I know in the Washington State Department of Agriculture. I used to live in Washington State. I was tasked with doing a study of Hemp as ag seed for the laying hen. That was their major thing in the end was. Boy, we just were concerned about a consumer appearance that if you buy your eggs from Washington, that you're gonna get high off them.
Joy Beckerman: [00:23:44] If we start feeding them, you know, and when.
Joy Beckerman: [00:23:47] And by the way, Washington Department is far more sophisticated than you know, than that truncated comment I just made. It just said, you know, it's a consumer issue. It's a safety issue.
Joy Beckerman: [00:23:56] It just seems like, again, is this social engineering that we are all still dealing with now is still raises its head, even in AD and with any if people want to donate to the Hemp Feed Coalition, which is doing some of the most important work right now in the country. And for the farmer, where could they go to to donate?
Annie Rouse: [00:24:19] You can go to friends of Hemp dot org and there are different tabs in which you can be prompted to donate. Right now we actually got our PayPal account shut off because we're dealing with Hemp, but we are looking for alternate alternatives to be able to donate online and in a simplified manner.
Annie Rouse: [00:24:41] So ideally we'll have this setup, but our address is on the page and you can send a check to that address and we and your donations are warmly accepted.
Joy Beckerman: [00:24:54] Checks and money orders. Excellent. Well, Miss Annie Rouse, it just Hemp Barons and Hemp, goddess of epic proportions of Anavii market of friends, of Hemp, of your incredible podcast and of all the nonprofits you serve as president of HIA
Joy Beckerman: [00:25:12] Thank you for your service on the board. We are so grateful to have you today and for your time and for everything that you do for Hemp. And I hope that we get to have you on again.
Annie Rouse: [00:25:23] I hope you'll come back again. And thank you for all of your hardworking industry,.
Joy Beckerman: [00:25:27] My honor. My pleasure. Always, sister. Thank you so much, Miss Dandy. Until next time.