In Colorado, local farms allow you to pick your own apples, peaches, and pumpkins. And one on the Western Slope even permits you to pick your own hemp plant.
From September 15 to 17, Typhoon Farma will open the gates at its 186-acre hemp farm in Montrose to the general public for its third annual pick-your-own weekend. The event, which serves as a kickoff to the fall harvest season, enables visitors to stroll through the rows of mature plants and choose one to take home, much like they would a Christmas tree.
Ryan Eakes, chief operating officer, began hosting these open house-style events in 2021 as a way to educate locals about hemp and demystify the plant, which he said struggles from a perception problem.
Hemp looks identical to cannabis; its not-so-distant-cousin, and often people believe it produces the same high. But the plant actually contains very little THC, the psychoactive compound that produces the high. Instead, it is rich in other cannabinoids that are said to have therapeutic effects, such as cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG).
“We just want people to understand there’s nothing to be scared of this plant, and it’s got a lot of benefits beyond medicinal,” like creating building materials and making bioplastics, Eakes said.
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