The Broadmoor hosts blazin’ 9th NoCo Hemp Expo
The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 31. The hotel’s campus hosted the ninth NoCo Hemp Expo with the help of the We Are For Better Alternatives organization, which promotes the use of hemp for health benefits.
Collegian | Taylor Paumen
Bartolin Hall at The Broadmoor hotel, where booths of vendors wait to be looked at inside March 31.
Collegian | Taylor Paumen
View of booths in Bartolin Hall at The Broadmoor hotel, presenting the ninth annual NoCo Hemp Expo hosted by the We Are For Better Alternatives organization March 31.
Collegian | Taylor Paumen
A vendor and expo attendee fist-bump on day three in the Indigenous Pavilion section of the NoCo Hemp Expo at The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 31.
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A woman at the Indigenous Pavilion weaves hemp-based yarn at the NoCo Hemp Expo in Bartolin Hall at The Broadmoor March 31.
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A showcase of different kinds of mushrooms at the MyCOLove Farm booth in Bartolin Hall March 31. These mushrooms are used for medical needs like cognitive and energy support, enhancing metabolisms and protection from radiation.
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Das Elliz, owner of Hemp I Scream, talks about his experiences with working with hemp through the decades on the Demo Stage and Solution Circle in Bartolin Hall during the NoCo Hemp Expo March 31.
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Members of Healthy Oilseeds, LLC Karen, Robbie and Maree Smith stand at their booth in Bartolin Hall March 31. Healthy Oilseeds, LLC specializes in making products with flaxseed, hemp and borage that can be mixed to make delicious healthy recipes.
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Zach Dorsett of Ecclesias Extracts and Blue Forest Farms stands next to a banner describing the research done around cannabinoids and how to link CBD genetics to have specific reactions in Bartolin Hall March 31.
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Faith Chai, a tea company inspired to bring traditional herbs and spices from India to the U.S., offers over 20 different flavors and purposes at Bartolin Hall March 31. Their booth had samples, including Black Currant, Ayurvedic Relaxing, Passion Fruit and Anti-Flu Chai.
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Scot Wilson, sales account manager of Trojan Horse Cannabis, presents their line called High Spirits of CBD-infused beverages in Bartolin Hall March 31. They offer two flavors with 15 milligrams of CBD labeled Underworld, which has a mix of cherry, lime, ginger and a splash of violet; and Oracle, which has a palette of grapefruit, lemon, ginger and lavender.
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Doug Fine, a regenerative farmer and investigative comedy writer, speaks on the Main Stage in Bartolin Hall March 31. Fine introduced the start of day three with some of his experiences with agriculture within the hemp industry.
Collegian | Taylor Paumen
At The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the ninth NoCo Hemp Expo kicked off this last week, bringing companies from all areas of the cannabis industry together to spread expert knowledge and awareness of many trailblazing botany options.
When entering the Expo, attendees were welcomed with rows of booths spreading from hemp-based shoes to veteran products helping with anxiety and PTSD to hemp-seed oil sex lubricant.
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Aside from the many booths, attendees of the conference had three days to listen to knowledgeable speakers, starting with day one looking through the lens of advocacy and policy within the industry.
Audiences heard from leaders who specialize in areas like sports, business startups and laws around cannabis services across the world.
“While many think of hemp being in products like lotion and tea, things like concrete, guitars and board games made with the plant were not out of place at the Expo.”
Speakers Adam Young, Cannabis and Psychedelics Industries liaison; Janel Ralph, CEO of RE Botanicals and founder of Harmony CBD; and Sean Murphy, founder of Kompassion, all spoke about children’s medical advocacy and pushing to have access to cannabinoids for medical benefits.
Day two turned to the business and investment side of the conference, where people could learn about innovative ways to be financially successful while working with cannabis and hemp. There is a ton of research within the industry that could still be done, and finding new areas that haven’t been touched could be beneficial, not only for someone new but for the entirety of cannabis consumers.
Knowing how the supply chain works logistically and working within legal guidelines were things Holly Bell, vice president of Flora Growth regulatory; and Kevin Schultz, co-founder and president of 357 Hemp Logistics, talked about along with what issues to prepare for.
Things like how Indigenous cultures have made impacts and recognizing international hemp trends were other topics people could hear about. These subjects made a good transition for the third and final day of the NoCo event, where agriculture and academia shaped the presentations to close out the last day.
Specialists in plant health, genetics, sustainability and every other corner of plant growth helped show what they were doing to be successful, as it’s only the fifth year hemp has been legal to harvest.
While many think of hemp being in products like lotion and tea, things like concrete, guitars and board games made with the plant were not out of place at the Expo. The hemp industry has also lit a flame in the food world as the Expo had booths offering ice cream, nonalcoholic alternatives, flaxseed and dog treats for your four-legged friends.
The clothing community has also ground with hemp in producing apparel, sunglasses, jewelry and a full line provided by Patagonia campaigned as Workwear Hemp Tough. Once your goodie bags were full, you could pop by multiple stages to hear more about the attending companies.
Das Ellis, owner and creator of Hemp I Scream!, a vegan hemp ice cream company, reminisced to his audience about his exposure to hemp throughout his lifetime. Now he sells yummy ice cream sandwiches that come in five different flavors: Mango Love, Mocha Mint, Jasmine Flowers, Double Dutch Chocolate and Unbleached Vanilla.
You can find more about all the inspirational speakers and each vendor at nocohempexpo.com.
Reach Taylor Paumen at cannabis@collegian.com or on Twitter @TayTayPau.
Taylor Paumen is the 2022-23 content managing editor for The Collegian and has been with the newspaper since February 2021. She started out as a volleyball...
