East of Toronto lies a Canadian hemp company called The Hemp Spot which offers over fifty plus products.
CEO and founder, Jacob Moore started the company in 2018. Moore’s interest in hemp began when he was looking for a healthier protein product that would help with recovery and pain remedy. Moore has an autoimmune disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis, which can cause some of the small bones in someone’s spine (vertebrae) to fuse. This can cause less flexibility and can result in someone having a hunched posture.
His discovery of hemp protein helped with the pain however, he realized there were not a lot of Canadian hemp products readily available. Knowing there might be others who were also suffering from joint pains or who were looking for safer, healthier options to help with recovery, Moore created The Hemp Spot.
“We are your local one-stop-shop for all things Canadian hemp. We have a variety of Canadian hemp products supplied by various Canadian hemp farmers and small Canadian hemp businesses,” said Moore.
Even though Moore found a natural product that would help many Canadians, he faced
numerous obstacles to get his business started. Banks gave Moore a hard time because of the misconceptions and stigmas surrounding hemp. Banks deemed hemp as marijuana. Although growing industrial hemp has been legal since 1998.
“When hemp was grouped in with marijuana it was declared an illegal substance. Slowly people began to ignore the benefits for the environment and for themselves. Till this day many people believe hemp is marijuana and has a high amount of THC,” said Moore.
To clarify, hemp comes from the same species of plant as cannabis however, it has lower levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) compared to cannabis. The first license to grow industrial hemp for commercial purposes in Canada was issued in May 1998. Unlike its sister plant (cannabis) hemp takes around 90-120 days to grow, compared to four to eight months growth time for cannabis.
Moore continues to have problems advertising his company online because social media platforms such as Facebook bundle hemp with marijuana under their advertising regulations. As of 2019, Facebook has made some adjustments to their advertisement laws, which allows hemp companies in the U.S. to promote their businesses, as long as they’re promoting non-ingestible hemp.
“It may say hemp companies can advertise on Facebook/social media but hemp companies (in Canada) like myself are not allowed to promote, even when we try to promote our Hemp Face cloths. I’ve been flagged for selling illegal substances. I wish we were allowed to advertise however, we’re not able to,” said Moore.
Similar to advertising companies, Moore had to prove to banks that hemp was not a marijuana product. Nonetheless, Moore’s resilient spirit has allowed him to mount a thriving business and also to educate the public.
His company has helped many Canadian hemp farmers. Hemp expels four times more carbon dioxide than trees, and helps reduce greenhouse gases in the air. “We want everyone to experience hemp for all that it is; to utilize it as a food supplement, to clothe ourselves, to help transportation grow, and to help shelter families,” said Moore.