Cannabis Breeder Reflects on the Cultural Importance of Hemp
Hemp has played a role in the lives of humans for a very long time, according to this week\u2019s podcast guest, Jeremy Klettke, cannabis breeder and owner of Davis Farms, based in Oregon and Massachusetts.
\u201cIt\u2019s clearly culturally assimilated with us. It\u2019s clearly evolved with us,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen you talk about it from an endogenous cannabinoid perspective.\u201d
\u201cWhatever we ask for, the plant seems to give,\u201d he said. \u201cFood, fuel, fiber \u2014 any of it, it\u2019s giving us these incredible versions of it. So there\u2019s clearly been a parallel evolution.\u201d
Klettke has been working internationally with the cannabis plant since the early 1990s and shares many tales from his experience on this episode.
While living and working in Copenhagen in the 1990s, he caught a glimpse of the cannabis trade that has existed internationally for thousands of years, an experience he called \u201cprofound.\u201d
\u201cIt definitely helped me to recognize that, you know, this plant was a culturally important part of our civilization for ... I didn\u2019t know how long,\u201d he said.
As a plant breeder, he shares his views on genetics and the role THC plays in the plant. He suggests that breeding THC out of hemp altogether will have unintended consequences.
\u201cWhen you remove THC, you\u2019re removing one of the primary defense mechanisms,\u201d he said.
THC also happens to be the compound responsible for psychoactive properties of cannabis which, he said, humans have been using as a spiritual tool since prehistoric times.
He cited the Dogon tribe in Mali, which would ingest fermented cannabis during their religious ceremonies.
This interview covers a lot of territory.\xa0
Davis Farms
News Nuggets
Hemp uses and potential economic impact in Pa.
https://www.witf.org/2023/11/13/hemp-uses-and-potential-economic-impact-in-pa/
Is hemp making a comeback? Tennessee farmers eye an era beyond CBD
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council's introductory video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fFW4d3Bykg
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Cornell University's Master\u2019s of Professional Studies in Integrative Plant Sciences with a concentration in hemp sciences.