PUERTO RICO – During times of uncertainty, it’s reassuring to know we still walk amongst giants. Not the literal kind, but the ones who step up to the role when no one else will. These welcomed deities come from places you’d least expect and, in days like these, I am grateful I get to call some of them my friends.
Our country’s fight for cannabis and hemp stems much further than I’ve been around and I’m thankful for the green warriors who’ve come before me. They’re a resilient bunch. They overcome the toughest obstacles thrown their way from government injustice, natural disasters, legal battles, and big business takeovers. They never back down.
Today we’re all facing a different struggle. An organic nemesis has swept our planet and the fight has begun. We’ve faced similar struggles in human history, but nothing of this magnitude. We’ve learned it shows no prejudice to the rich, poor, weak, hungry, or old – proving everyday that we’re in this struggle together.
Much like disasters before, we’ll rise through the ashes as a society and rebuild. The questions that still resides – what will we rebuild into?
Today, life as we know it is changing. Social distancing is opening the door to a new way of life. The show must go on, but where will our stage lie?
Will it reside in our living rooms and spare bedrooms, rather than office buildings? Will students be taught online, rather than the classroom? Collecting various paying gigs instead of settling on a career has already become the norm for many. Things are already not what they were, and the Covid-19 virus is only propelling us further into that direction.
Farmer Tom Lauerman, who’s personal style embodies a clean, outdoor living and organic lifestyle, and who is one of our countries most recognizable organic cannabis and hemp farmers – fears no evil. During times like these, Farmer Tom doesn’t want our Green Community to forget get about our ‘motto.’
“We’re cannabis people and that says a lot,” said Tom, over the phone from his temporary residence in Manati a city located on Puerto Rico’s northern shoreline.
“We’re gumby like, and we can get through anything thrown our way. It’s not the time to forget about who we are. It’s the time to utilize the skills we know best and move forward,” he added. “We’ve been through all this before. We figure out the law and we work around it; mother nature throws us curve balls and we overcome. We’re the most resilient people out there and need to lead the way during this difficult time.”
Utah’s cannabis and hemp community had the luxury of meeting with Farmer Tom during The Beehive Hemp Symposium held in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 7, 2020. During the day long seminar, local growers and members of the green community were able to learn growing techniques and practices from Farmer Tom – helping them prepare for the upcoming grow season.
The morning after the symposium, Tom and his wife Paula boarded a plane for Puerto Rico rather than heading home to southern Oregon. Their mission to educate hemp growers continues and if you know Tom – this has become his daily mission for farmers around the globe.
Since being introduced to Puerto Rico, Tom has been visiting local farmers of all types on the island, sharing his deep appreciation for cannabis and educating them on how to grow organically themselves.
“I met some Puerto Rican farmers back home in southern Oregon last year and they’ve been trying to get me down here to help with their new cannabis and hemp scene for a while now,” Farmer Tom said.
They have a lot of unique growing challenges down here (in Puerto Rico) because of their humid climate and proximity to the equator. I felt it was my duty to come and help this country rebuild
The past few months, Tom has been working with the local chamber of commerce, shipping heavy grow and formulation equipment from the states, and coordinating with local farmers to get them engaged in the hemp industry. His goal is to help rebuild the country that was ravaged by hurricane Maria in 2017 and create products specialized to Puerto Rico to spur the local economy. He believes hemp is going to be the fuel in this fight.
“We’re really onto something down here and have come up with an idea of using hemp that can be completely unique for Puerto Rico,” Tom said. “We can’t talk a lot about it right now, but I’m confident we found a way to help farmers rebuild this country using this new method with hemp.”
The past few years, Puerto Ricans have become used to curfews and chaotic living conditions, causing them to remain calmer than the rest of the global community currently. According to Tom, residents have been down this road before and been living without necessary supplies for a long time. They’re all adapting social isolation practices, but life is still going on.
According to Tom, the island embraced a medical cannabis program in 2016 and now has nearly 50 dispensaries covering the 110-mile long island serving local patients.
“The medical (cannabis) scene is booming down here,” Tom said. “Most dispensaries are seeing over 300 patients a day and things are really starting to evolve. The cough weed was abundant when I first visited because of farmers using salt-based nutrients, but now that organic methods have been adopted, quality is really going up. I love the local’s attitude down here and we have a lot to learn from them; especially in our current situation.”
Often referred to as the ‘Bert’s Bees of Weed’ and the ‘Paul Newman of Cannabis,’ Farmer Tom has traveled to Puerto Rico multiple times this past year and dedicated countless hours educating local cannabis, hemp, coffee, sugar, and fruit farmers on how to grow organically with their seven different types of soil – while also battling harsh humidity and lighting conditions that are heavily affected by equator.
“We have a really short vegetative cycle because we’re so close to the equator down here,” Tom said. “Adapting organic growing practices has been easy because they have every soil type on the island, excluding arctic soil. I’ve been thinking of unique ideas to make things work and it’s been a great challenge. I’ve never been a ‘walk in a straight line’ kind of guy and I’m really thankful and happy I’m here to help.” Once our current situation with Covid-19 has calmed, Tom believes those opposing cannabis and hemp in our country won’t be so hard-edged and will allow required changes to be made to our current cannabis and hemp laws in the United States.
“I’m encouraging people to call their state representatives about local hemp and cannabis laws,” Tom said. “It’s time to slip in and raise the THC level to 1% (in CBD products) so we can compete with the rest of the world. We need to raise the standards so quality medical products can follow suit. Now that our government is making emergency deals, we need to make our voices heard so things can move in the right direction.”
During this difficult time, we both acknowledge that we’re going to lose a lot of people and that all of us are scared, but we can rise out of this travesty with a new, stronger society that is fueled by nature. Hemp can save the world!
“We’re seeing a lot of humanity out of this crisis,” Tom said. “We need to look at Puerto Rico as an example. We need to start with cannabis and hemp, and utilize these skills to move forward as a society.”
