'ONTARIO RACES AHEAD' HEMP TIMES - WINTER 1999    | return to index |

Excerpts taken from article by Malcolm MacKennen ........

About 70% of all Canadian manufacturing takes place in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Toronto, the hub of Canada and an urban jewel on the banks of Lake Ontario, has quickly become Hemp Central for the nation. Jay Blair of Joint Hempstock, Inc. grew 126 acres this past year just outside the city with six contracted farmers, and in '99 will undertake to bring up 1000 acres of certified organic hemp. Blair already has contracts with The Body Shop to produce the oil for their skin-care products, and will soon be marketing hemp fireplace logs that burn with zero ash and are virtually smoke-free.

Ruth Shamai and David Hutchinson grew their certifiably organic hemp last year in Saskatchewan, 500 acres, of which the Body Shop snapped up half. Their Toronto company, R & D Hemp, received a C$60,000 grant from Health Canada in the industry's formative stages to research hemp oil. Hutchinson, a highly skilled plant breeder, studied 15 different varieties for yield, fatty-acid content, and the volume of oil the breed was able to produce, which has allowed R & D to move with authority into the hemp-oil market.

However, no one is working the oil market as slickly as Greg Herriott. A former landscape designer, Herriott now runs his own advertising firm in Toronto concentrating on corporate identity packaging. But these days his firm is split into two separate wings - one handles the ads, the other handles Hempola.

Hempola is one of Canada's first big hemp success stories. Five years ago Herriott became attuned to the approaching industry, and as a landscape designer, who in effect attempts to recreate nature, the notion of hemp roused his creative juices. In fact, Hempola products really started out as fodder for Herriott's Advertising's promo, to show clients how Herriott Advertising handles graphic design projects. But simultaneously, Herriott became his own client.

By relying on his own gift in marketing, and "calling upon the experts" to perfect the product, Hempola products leaped to the front of the hemp-oil marketplace and are now distributed across Canada and the US.

It's clear that Herriott has been successful in accomplishing his "mission of a value-added Holy Grail." He knows his expertise is in marketing. With that in his pocket, Herriott approaches parties who demonstrate excellence and share common philosophies. To watch Herriott in action is an exercise in easy-going entrepreneurship. He enlists massage therapists for input on the best blend for new massage oils. At restaurants, he offers Hempola food oil to chefs for trial. At Daniel et Danisl, Toronto's foremost full-service catering outfit, Herriott has depended upon his friendship with star chef Daniel Claret, a fellow wind surfer, to see Hempola oil make its way into the awards-winning recipes he conjures up. In fact, Claret has supplied invaluable insight into an incipient salad-dressing line.

"My goal has always been "the perfect oil" to make the best in soap, the best in moisturizers and massage oils and, of course the best in food oil." But Herriott adds sagely, "People don't understand what it takes to get a product into the public eye. You can't just give them a product. You've gotta tell them about it."

Or you could just let them taste it - not the soaps or moisturizers or massage oil, but Hempola food oil. Herriott made sure that this reporter was well-versed in Hempola's varietal nature, jazzing up pizza and a pasta for me with Hempola Best of all were the creations of Daniel Claret, who delighted our palates with exquisite hemp crepes styled with the soon-to-be released Hempola hemp flour. Hempola is adamant about education and talks up hemp's benefits, while disregarding the shrill warnings about "THC" that the DEA continues to blare. Herriott tests out his products for the THC at four parts per million, an untraceable amount, and sees the THC question as the DEA's last-ditch effort to contaminate hemp with anti-marijuana prejudice.

"The fact is, North America's natural-food products industry is being fuelled by an increased sense of concern over dietary issues," asserts Herriott. "And I'm astounded at the increased perception of the public concerning hemp oil and its healthy properties. What it boils down to is, people have become much more aware of the foundless arguments of the DEA."

When asked about his ability to fast-track Hempola to this point of success, Herriott modestly concedes, "I think I have a strong capacity for vision. If you try to engage the senses to imagine what action is best to take, but also envision the possibilities that may occur and your reaction to them, then you increase your chances of succeeding."

February 17th, 1998    OTTAWA CITIZEN    | return to index |

Canadian Hemp To Be Planted This Year.
Hempseed oil will be sold at supermarkets, advocates say.

BY DEREK PUDDICOMBE

Canadian-produced hempseed oil may soon be found in stores across the country. Changes in federal legislation to permit the commercial cultivation of industrial hemp will mean companies like Hempola, of Port Severn, Ont., will be more widely distributing hempseed oil later this year.

Hempseed oil is not illegal in Canada, but growing hemp for the seed is. As a result, hempseed for oil is imported, mostly from China. And the oil is viewed as a fringe product, available in health food stores rather than mainstream outlets.

Hemp advocates expect that once the law on cultivation is loosened - perhaps as early as next month - the stigma surrounding hempseed oil will fall away and the product will be more widely available both as a food and as an ingredient in cosmetics.

Hempola co-owners Greg Herriott and Kelly Smith say the new legislation will allow them to acquire 100 percent Canadian-grown hempseed that they can turn into oil and market.'

Mr. Herriott says a cultivated-in -Canada hempseed would mean a higher quality product for consumers.

"It would mean we would have control over it", said Mr. Herriott. "Right now, we don't".

The federal government is expected to give its stamp of approval to cultivation in Canada next month.

"In terms of timing, it's expected the commercial cultivation of industrial hemp will become (legal) in early-to mid-March, in place for the 1998 growing seasons," said Derek Kent, spokesman for federal Health Minister Allan Rock.

The idea for the project came largely from rural members of the federal Liberal caucus, said Mr. Kent. Legalization of hemp is being sought by farmers in southwestern Ontario as an alternative crop to tobacco.

Susan Whelan, Liberal MP for Essex, said she has quite a few tobacco farmers in her riding who are interested in growing and processing hemp.

Hemp and marijuana are varieties of the same cannabis sativa plant. The main difference between the two is that most hemp contains only minute amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the substance that gets people high. Derivatives of cannabis, like hempseed oil, are therefore controlled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Until a new law is passed, the commercial cultivation of hemp remains illegal. Currently, some cultivation is permitted for scientific purposes, under licenses issued by Health Canada.

Once the new law comes into effect, there will be strict controls to prevent people from growing cannabis to supply the illegal drug market. Last fall, more than 100 hectares of hemp were being cultivated, mostly in Ontario.

There's a strict manufacturing practice for hempseed, said Mr. Herriott, so that by the time the hempseed oil is bottled, there are almost no traces of THC left in it.

The days of hemp derivatives being classified as illegal are now numbered because the government is moving quickly on the new law that will put Canada several years ahead of the Americans in establishing a hemp industry, said Ms. Smith.

"It will create jobs and has lots of export potential," said Ms. Smith.

The new regulations should also go a long way in educating people about the health benefits. "This is the perfect oil", said Ms. Smith.

"The oil contains two essential fatty oils which can help prevent blood clotting, cholesterol, and (it) has anti-inflammatory properties for people who suffer from arthritis."

As a culinary product, there's nothing like adding a little hempseed oil to a slice of pizza, said Mr. Herriott. Pouring the oil over pasta or steamed vegetables or using it as a dip for bread is another way to enjoy the oil."

"There is a nutty flavour to it, similar to walnut or sunflower seed oil."

The oil is not to be used for frying food: "What happens when you fry the oil is that the oil loses its natural elements and actually creates a bad fat", Ms. Smith said.

Massage oils, soaps and lip balm are also sold at Hempola. When the new regulations are in place, Mr. Herriott expects his company to bring in $1 million in sales for 1999, and $2 million for 2000.

Hempseed oil and the new surge in its popularity are not news to the owners of the Arbour Environmental Shop in the Glebe, which has been carrying a variety of hemp oil and hemp fashions, including jeans, socks, shirts and knapsacks, for three years.

"It may take time to become suited to our climate and soil, but I can see it at local supermarkets. I'm not sure when, but it will be there," said co-owner Sean Twomey.