AUBURN GRESHAM — Gloria Davis, a 78-year-old brain cancer survivor, uses CBD daily.
Davis began using CBD products after her son, Dwayne Hirsch, co-founder of Green Toad Hemp Farm, returned to Chicago with several of his Georgia-grown products.
The ointments, drops and gummies help her sleep when she’s feeling anxious and soothe her joints before she goes out dancing, Davis said. She’s an avid stepper — a Chicago dance style that requires smooth, languid movement of the feet.
“As you all can see, no canes, no walkers,” Davis said.
As local alderpeople and Gov. JB Pritzker debate how to manage a discombobulated hemp industry, members of the Illinois Black Hemp Association gathered Thursday to advocate for the growth and preservation of Black-owned hemp businesses.
Davis and other hemp supporters attended the gathering to share the health benefits they’ve experienced since using hemp-derived products.
A state bill championed by Gov. JB Pritzker to ban hemp products outside of dispensaries failed to pass this month after some Democrats criticized the proposal for being an outright ban instead of implementing some regulations, especially given how many businesses throughout the state are now relying on hemp sales.
If the bill would have passed, Black-owned businesses “that have been disproportionately affected by systemic barriers and government policies” would have felt the brunt of its impact, said Hemp Association member Samuel Wilson. Wilson is the co-owner of the South Loop’s Prohibition THCafe.
Moor’s Brewing Company, a Black-owned company that recently announced plans to open a brewery in Logan Square, is one of many businesses that would have been impacted by the governor’s bill, said co-owner Damon Patton. The company is currently in the research and development stage of selling a hemp-derived beverage this year.
The association is demanding a “seat at the table” to create legislation that keeps kids safe while not harming the Black businesses that have benefited from the hemp industry, Wilson said. The group is in favor of requiring that shoppers be 21 or older, third-party testing and proper labeling and packaging, they said.
“What we’re proposing is that we have a seat at the table and we are part of a conversation on how to properly regulate this product,” Wilson said. “Right now, their goal is to destroy and monopolize. Our goal is to have a seat at the table to speak about safety and the concerns of the public.”
Dr. Marva Cooksey, a retired pharmacist, uses hemp-derived products to treat inflammation and pain management at her Bronzeville business, Next Man Up Spa, she said.
She once witnessed how addictive pain medications, like opioids, impacted the Black community as people used pills to treat their pain, Cooksey said.
“In our community, we have a lot of pain from different diseases, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia,” Cooksey said. “These are the products I have chosen to use with my patients, and I get great results for them. It is better for them to be on a hemp product than to take a medication by mouth that affects every system in your body.”
Diere Hodges, a Marine veteran, also uses hemp to treat his pain.
He’s taken hemp-derived products for over 20 years, he said Thursday. He adds it to his smoothies.
Hodges has witnessed how opioid addiction has afflicted the veteran community, he said. After an ankle replacement surgery, his doctors prescribed him pills that caused him to “totally lose his mind,” Hodges said.
Now, he uses a topical product “to conquer pain management,” he said. He takes Tylenol “every now and then.”
Alds. Marty Quinn (13th) and Silvana Tabares (23rd) received unanimous support from City Council Wednesday to ban hemp products in their wards. The ban does not apply to stores outside their wards.
Wilson called the decision “just Illinois politics.”
“That’s political power using their force to get their way and not listen to the American people or the people of Illinois,” Wilson said. “This is political might trying to stomp out the small guy.”
Businesses like Wilson’s Prohibition THCafe, Cooksey’s Next Man Up Spa have allowed Black entrepreneurs to spur generational wealth in their communities, association members said Thursday.
New legislation created with owners in mind will support the hemp industry, small businesses, local farmers and innovation, Wilson said.
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