Local Man Jumps Headfirst Into Wisconsin's New Hemp Industry
Friday, October 5th, 2018 -- 1:18 PM
-A local man has jumped headfirst in Wisconsin’s newly approved hemp industry.Cannabis Cultivators of Clark County was started by Jamie Degenhardt and his family and they talked about why they decided to begin this unique operation.
“Well, we heard about the pilot program and, at first, I thought we were just going to start growing fiber and grain. But then, I went down to an expo in Milwaukee and I seen a lady, she had the actual flower. And it was of really, really beautiful quality. I’ve traveled to other states. I’ve traveled to Colorado, Oregon and Washington, California. I’ve been to all those states and I’ve seen their cannabis markets. And it just amazes me as to why it isn’t happening here.”
“I saw an opportunity and I jumped on it. I told mom and dad that this is what we’re going to do. We researched for days and days and months. I don’t know. I don’t really know how we did it, we just did it. I invested everything. Everything I have. Every asset, every dollar I can find went in towards this entire hemp thing. And every dollar that’s generated has gone back into it.”
“We have tens of thousands of dollars invested into this. Some seeds were $1 to $10 each. We care for each one individually. Hand harvest everyone individually.”
Jamie talked about the response they’ve seen in opening their shop right here in Neillsville.
“From the community, it’s been amazing. We have had a few naysayers here and there, saying things like ‘that’s where losers go to smoke pot.’ I quick try to tell them, please inform yourselfs. Let me inform you and educate you on the the differences between marijuana and industrial hemp. That’s their ignorance that they’ll do that. That’s what people will do.”
“But otherwise, the positive remarks that we’ve had from everyone is very heartfelt. People come in and tell us their stories on what’s wrong with them or someone they know. They try our products and they come back and say, wow. Wow! There’s so many examples! We had one guy who was in a motorcycle accident, he couldn’t walk. His ankles were all swollen. He tried one of our pre-rolled cigarettes and after three inhales, he could feel his ankles. He was able to roll his ankles and move them and he was able to walk. So I gave him a stronger one, one that was more concentrated, and he was up using his walker. It was amazing.”
“Both my grandparents are currently using it, they both have arthritis. The lists are endless for them. They never had cannabis oil or anything like it in their life and now they’ve had it and they can move their hands. My grandma’s diabetes and blood sugar has stabilized. It’s reduced her, I believe, gout. She was on 7-9 different medicines and now she’s down to two. And she’s not the only one.”
“We’ve had people come from Appleton, people have come all the way from Appleton. I’ve had people calling me from Chicago, and Beloit area, one guy came all the way from Phillips. It’s just amazing to hear their stories about this. I know there’s going to be more people popping up. I just want to help educate and get this ball rolling.”
“It’s been fun, but it’s been very stressful. I’ve gotten very old in the last 3 or 4 months. Normally, I’m up until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, sitting in my lab, trying to figure this stuff out. I wake up in the late morning and try to go at it again.”
You can find a wide variety of products at Cannabis Cultivators of Clark County.
“Right now we have the raw flower that can either be smoked or infused into other types of oils to be made into edibles for people. People can do this at home as well. There’s a lot of information on the internet that can tell them simple, little recipes.”
“We have beeswax products. We have some lip balm, we have some lotion bars, some body creams. These are all locally made beeswax products by Sara’s Garden. They’re taking our CBD oil and fusing it into their products.”
“There’s more things that are going to be coming. It’s all a family business and we’re only capable of so much right now. When we can start affording to pay people, then we’ll start getting bigger. I know it’s coming. I know it’s coming!”
Jamie said ignorance is the biggest danger to the hemp industry and is doing his best to educate people regarding the difference between marijuana and hemp.
“Well basically, what cannabis is is cannabis. It’s all cannabis. Both marijuana and hemp are cannabis. That is what they’re called. But then they’re broken down into two different groups and, depending on the strain of cannabis, it will either define it as industrial hemp or marijuana. The one thing that makes those two different is the compound that the marijuana plant produces and that is THC. That’s the psychoactive drug that’s associated with the high. Marijuana will grow 10-30% now a days of THC. Industrial hemp will test with less than .3% THC. But it is good to have that small amount of THC in the hemp. What it does is causes an entourage effect. It allows all the other cannabinoids to work together. That is what gets the most effectiveness out of the cannabinoids.”
“You have an endocannabinoid system in your body. It’s a very large nervous system. And, until recently, they’ve never researched it. And they’re realizing it’s the biggest one in your whole body. It works with the cannabinoids that are in cannabis. Cannabis has the highest concentration of cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are in other plants and everything, but they’re not as concentrated as in the cannabis plant. They’re finding that the more these cannabinoids are introduced to your body, the better a life it will promote. It allows your body to naturally repair itself even better from something like a regular vitamin.”
Jaime ended our interview by, again, stressing the importance of erasing the negative stigma that surrounds the hemp plant.
“The main thing that I want is I want people to try and erase that negative stigma that’s associated with cannabis. To inform themselves of the difference, so that way their ignorance is not blocking someone else from getting the benefit. In November, on the 6th, there’s going to be a thing on the ballot saying whether or not medical marijuana should be introduced and what people think about it. And by people saying no to that, they are hurting other people, in a way. And if they can become just a little bit more educated, it’s going to help a lot of people.”
“It’s not about reefer madness. Reefer madness was so blown out of the water. And I’m not sitting here trying to promote marijuana. I’m for the hemp. The hemp has so much more potential. The marijuana is more of a medical type thing, but it can be used recreationally, so I do believe it should be regulated. But this hemp shouldn’t be. This hemp, everyone should have access to. Everyone from children to elderly people. Animals. All sorts of stuff. It should be in almost everything because it’s going to really help a lot of people. The list goes on and on and on and on.”
“They’re doing research studies. Scientists are being allowed to do this and they’re finding out more everyday. It helps people stop smoking. I use to chew tobacco and I use to be an alcoholic. I would drink a 30 pack in two days. Well, one day I said, ‘I’m done with this,’ and that’s when I go introduced to hemp. I was out in Washington and I ran into someone who used industrial hemp. And I started using that and it was amazing. I was clear minded. I was motivated and energetic.”
“I’m in the process of setting up a store in Greenwood. I’m working on whole selling products to Marshfield. There’s a place in Marshfield that’s looking to buy some products so we can introduce it to that area. There’s places in Eau Claire, places in Thorp. I quit my job so I can do this! It’s been a month and a half since I went to actual work. But it’s been a month in half since I’ve had an income, so it’s pretty rough. I know it’s going to pay off. Just seeing the way it affects other people’s lives is enough for me. I know my sacrifice is going to be worth it.”
“My family and I, this has become our life. Mom and dad are in the field and in the store. I’m trying to figure out the processing parts and I need to find a greenhouse to get things indoors for the winter. I’m going to build a hemp-ire. I want to employ people. I want to create jobs for people next year. People that are just sitting around, looking for something to do, don’t no what to do. Well, I want to introduce them to this cannabis. They’ll go and I’ll help other farmers plant, figure out, buy their seeds. I’ll hire people come in the fields to help lay all the rows, come through and weed the garden, pick off leaves. I want to create hundreds of jobs over the next 5 years.”
“I just don’t know how to do it. I never cared about anything until I found out about this. And now I wish I would have paid attention in school. I wish I would have took a lot of different classes, but now I’m trying to pull all this stuff out of the air. All I have is google and youtube. It’s been fun. It’s been really fun. People can do it. They just have to have the determination and will power and the want to learn something. There’s nothing been more powerful than that right now. Because I want to learn. I’m dealing with short path fractional distillation! Separating molecules by their boiling point! I’m dealing with stuff that’s up 500 degrees. It’s just so neat! It’s like a small oil refinery. Right when it comes off the plant, it’s like when they pump the crude oil out of the earth. And now I have to process it into different types of petroleum products, but it’s cannabis oil products. It’s an oil. That’s what it is. It floats on water. It runs from heat. It’s an oil.”
If you’d like to learn more about Cannabis Cultivators of Clark County or the hemp plant, you can stop by their shop next door to City Hall here in Neillsville.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.