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I used to be in relatively good shape, became borderline obsessive at one point. When I decided there was more to life than grilled chicken salad, protein shakes, and pressing more than my body weight. But the idea of dieting, and having this tea, and sitting down to write, and seeing the word “weed”, led me to think of the first time I came across a hemp-based product and how clueless I was about hemp. First time I ever tried hemp-based protein was when I was on my health kick back in 2011 and made a trip to the Bulk Barn as a friend of mine told me there was cheap Whey Protein there. Well my curiosity got the better of me as I scurried up and down the aisles, tempted by the chocolate covered pretzels, the sour gummies, and what seemed like 50 different varieties of a traditional Chex mix. Well today, I’d probably be leaving three bags full of that stuff, but back then, it was Hemp Protein that I walked out of there with. And not Whey Protein. I was curious and mildly confused. I have to be honest, I didn’t know much about hemp, and still don’t claim to be much of an expert. My first thought was “how in the heck are they even selling this stuff?”, not realizing there are nopsychoactive compounds in industrial hemp. Embarrassing yes.
But hey, Health Canada STILL regulates hemp! No not by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, it is classified as a Controlled Substance under Schedule 2 of the Government of Canada’s Controlled Substance Act, and consequently, under the reigns of Health Canada. Hemp was one of the first crops to be cultivated dating back to between 4000 and 6000 years, even well before cotton fibres. But upon criminalization of marijuana back in the 1920s and subsequently hemp in 1938, production of hemp was essentially eliminated. Someone made a judgement. Many made a judgement. A judgment that has changed the market for hemp exponentially. Thankfully, with more and more knowledge of the differences that have allowed us to distinguish marijuana from hemp, and the rapid changes throughout the world on the legalization of marijuana (with Canada coming Summer 2018), hemp is seemingly about to reap the benefits of this as well.