Trish Choate

For the Times Record News

Brian Farris wants to launch the hemp industry in Wichita Falls.

The local businessman has arranged the inaugural Wichita Falls CBD Industrial Hemp Summit for Thursday, Jan. 10, from 5 to 8 p.m. at The Warehouse, 1401 Lamar St.

He aims to educate the public about Cannabidiol oil and marijuana’s non-psychoactive cousin – hemp.

“The part of it coming into Wichita Falls has nothing to do with marijuana,” said Farris, of Petrolia.

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized commercial hemp farming and removed the plant from classification as an illegal drug.

As defined under the bill, hemp contains only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol – not enough to get people high.

The keynote speaker at the summit will be Joshua Spooner of AMFAHH Corp., Farris said.

He will discuss what the Farm Bill means legally, what it means for existing CBD companies in Texas and Oklahoma, and what requirements are for new companies.

The discussion will also cover innovative products and materials made from hemp that Farris plans to be manufactured in Wichita Falls.

The recent passage of the Farm Bill’s hemp provision was widely welcomed in Texas where recreational use of marijuana is still illegal.

Medicinal use is allowed only within very strict guidelines under the Texas Compassionate Use Act.

State and federal regulators are to produce rules to govern the growth and industry of hemp.

Consumers have been looking to CBD oil to boost general wellness, aid in pain relief and possibly relieve a host of other health issues. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a CBD drug for some rare forms of epilepsy.

But Spooner and Farris aim to clear up confusion about hemp, CBD oil and what constitutes a legal concoction of it.

Farris is owner of Day Off Productions, an entertainment production company, but his interests include Theramu – a CBD oil made from emu oil – and developing the hemp industry, he said.

Theramu contains no THC oil, Farris said.

Spooner is the principal of AMFAHH Corp. The research and development firm applies technologies to overcome challenges in pharmacology formulation and to transform medicines, according to corporation’s website.