By Steve Edmonds, Founder
I often get asked how Hemp4Water® came to be?
It all started in 2013 while working closely with two other activists to understand the impacts of the discharges coming out of Lake Okeechobee. It was dubbed the Lost Summer. As we learned about the dangers associated with the discharge we were inspired to educate more people. One Florida Foundation was created with a singular mission: to educate people about the discharges and why they happen.
One night after a particularly annoying public meeting, Captain Don Voss and I were winding down and discussing the nutrients that saturated the
discharges. As we were listing them off it occurred to us that it sounded very familiar. It sounded like the cocktail many people create to grow hydroponically. It was an “A-hah” moment.
Once we had our “epiphany,” I quickly discovered many ancient civilizations mitigated their waste by utilizing aquaponics. The ancients designed systems that
would direct dirty water through canals filled with floating mats growing plants. My next discovery was that companies already existed that manufactured floating mats for the purpose of growing plants on water. Phytoremediation is not new in any age. They were, however, intrigued by the idea of utilizing hemp for the plants.
The real challenge was the law. The primary reason One Florida Foundation did not take up the hemp remediation project was legality. Until 2019 it was 100% illegal to grow hemp in Florida. To begin the test research I was forced out of state. Hemp4Water® had to partner with folks in Tennessee where hemp was already legal. Ian Campbell and Joe Kirkpatrick were those partners. We grew our first rounds on a private pond in Tennessee.
When I started floating the idea of hemp as a water remediation on social media I was immediately told hemp could not handle continued root saturation. “It hates wet feet!” “It’ll never work!” were the most common responses. What the neighsayers did not know was Ian, Joe, and I were already adapting plants to grow on the water.
Until the passage of the Florida Hemp Research Act our project was relegated to unofficial and out-of-state grows. The focus was education and promoting the idea of hemp as a solution for Florida’s nitrogen and phosphate troubled. We took every opportunity to tell the story of Hemp4Water®. Our most consistent collaborator has been Florida Cannabis Action Network. Florida CAN always includs Hemp4Water® in opportunities to educate the public. To get our message out, we worked with any group or organization that shared our ideas. The Florida NORML affiliates and vet groups associated with plant were always supportive of this non-recreational – non-medical use for our shared plant.
Wherever possible we sought out groups that were not part of the cannabis community. Making Hemp4Water® mainstream was a challenge. Hemp4Water® was an official plank for two political campaigns for State offices. Wohlsifer for Attorney General in 2014 and Edmonds for State House in 2016 both utilized Hemp4Water® as key platforms in their campaigns.
Repetition Bears Results
In the fall of 2018 Kendall Carson found me at the Florida Industrial Hemp Conference. Kendall was attending on behalf of South Florida State College. She is the reason why they became our research partners.
The college continues to work with us collecting data in support of the project, developing cultivars, and methods to improve the already amazing capabilities of hemp. Dr. Kate Calvin is the Biochemist that continues to provide the hard evidence legitimizing hemp as one of the best phytoremediators in a water setting, as well as developing methodologies that can be used in other applications of science.
So, when you ask how Hemp4Water® came to be, the question is…it was an idea that took many incredible people to develop to this point and will take many more to get to where it truly makes a difference.