I live near Boulder Colorado which is known to be the "Silicon Valley" of food. dietary supplement, and hemp innovation. I was surprised to see there was no hemp regulatory networking groups in the area so I started one. In any emerging market it's best for community to come together in best practice development and support. This started with signing up on Meetup and making the group announcement. I then found the space, recruited some great speakers, coerced my wonderful wife into skipping yoga to serve beverages, and picked the event title Ethical CBD Marketing: How to avoid FDA, FTC, and class action trouble.
This was timely because three days after this event was announced in November the FDA sent the "Big 15" Warning Letters to CBD companies making outrageous claims. This was also during the very important IFR public comment period.
The initial #BoulderHempCBDGroup meeting brought together brands looking for guidance, farmers unsure what the regulatory environment was going to look like, journalists passionate about the hemp/supplement world, laboratories unsure is they could continue testing, toxicologists doing safety studies, and many more. It was a huge success. My previously skeptical but loving wife said to me after the event "You have to host more of these events".
This is where the Boulder Hemp-CBD Group & Regulatory Education Series
was born.
I am thankful for the several successful events we've had since then and am especially grateful to see the hemp community continue to come together to support each other in best practice development and support!
This event included excellent presentations from industry leaders Frank Robison and Patrick C. McCarthy. These events have moved online but look forward to when we can all learn and network together!
