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Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words Posts

Police Raid Two North Texas CBD Stores, Take CBD Oil & MoneyA police officer seen from behind, with a radio and handcuffs on their belt. Police raided a Nebraska CBD shop and arrested the owners. Co-owners Heather Beguin and her son Dreyson Beguin faced felony charges.
Despite federal changes in hemp's legal status, local police continue to target CBD stores. (Pixabay / cocoparisienne, public domain)
April 4, 2019
Kit
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Police Raid Two North Texas CBD Stores, Take CBD Oil & Money

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

Police raided a pair of north Texas CBD stores recently, even as policymakers in the Lonestar State began reevaluating the legal status of hemp and CBD.

On March 15, police raided GM Tobacco stores in Duncanville and Lancaster, Texas. These two suburbs are located just south of Dallas, in the larger Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area of northern Texas. Amy Wazwaz, who co-owns the stores with her husband Houd, told NBC DFW that police seized about $50,000 in hemp-derived CBD, including hundreds of CBD oil products and about 30 pounds of loose, smokable hemp. Police also took cash from the register and the safe.

Dan Sullivan, attorney for the Wazwaz family, told Ministry of Hemp that the stores only sold legal, high-quality CBD products. “They won’t sell anything that doesn’t have third party lab testing” proving its purity and legality, he explained.

Read morePolice Raid Two North Texas CBD Stores, Take CBD Oil & Money
Why Aren’t More People Using Hempcrete? (Hemp Magazine)A man works on a conveyor belt spreading hempcrete into a home.
A Hempitecture worker build the Highland Hemp House, one of the largest residential hemp projects in the United States. (Photo: Hempitecture)
April 1, 2019
Kit
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Why Aren’t More People Using Hempcrete? (Hemp Magazine)

Posted in Hemp Magazine, and Journalism

Though hempcrete is healthier for both a building’s occupants and the planet, high costs and lack of research stand in the way of widespread acceptance.
Hempcrete, a building material made from the woody core of the hemp plant, could revolutionize sustainable architecture and engineering. If, that is, we can overcome a number of frustrating barriers that stand in the way of widespread implementation.

Made from just a few simple ingredients (often just hemp hurds, water, and lime), hempcrete is resistant to numerous hazards, including pests and fire. Hempcrete buildings even become carbon-negative over time as the walls absorb the carbon dioxide that’s exhaled by occupants.

Read moreWhy Aren’t More People Using Hempcrete? (Hemp Magazine)
March 6, 2019
Kit
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VIDEO: A Bright Future For Hemp (Kit on Act Out!)

Posted in Act Out!, Journalism, Ministry of Hemp, and Video

I appeared on the newest episode of Act Out!

I spoke with host Eleanor about the recent legalization of hemp via the 2018 Farm Bill. We talk about what hemp can do for people and planet, discuss what the FDA plans to do about CBD, and then look at what this means for overall cannabis legalization.

Read moreVIDEO: A Bright Future For Hemp (Kit on Act Out!)
March 5, 2019
Kit
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VIDEO: Kit Visits Joy Organics Austin CBD Store

Posted in Austin, Journalism, Ministry of Hemp, and Video

In our new spotlight series we are going to visit places and people within the hemp industry!

Our first stop is the Joy Organics Austin store. We got to talk with owner Danielle Cearbaugh and get some insight into what Joy Organics is about and what she wants you to know about buying quality CBD. We also got to try Joy Organics’ CBD Energy Drink, which comes in a delicious “Happy Berry” flavor.

Read moreVIDEO: Kit Visits Joy Organics Austin CBD Store
Using A Cane With An Invisible DisabilityA fashionably-dressed person seated in a chair holds an antique cane in one hand while a men's hat rests on their other knee. I use a cane to help me get around and also to help signal that I'm a person with an invisible disability.
I use a cane to help me get around and also to help signal that I'm a person with an invisible disability. (Photo: Pixabay / Life-of-Pix, public domain)
February 15, 2019
Kit
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Using A Cane With An Invisible Disability

Posted in Creative Commons, and Life

I thought I’d write for a moment about what it means to use a cane as a person with an invisible disability (fibromyalgia).

Invisible disabilities are life-altering health conditions which are nonetheless not always visible to a normal observer. Even a trained medical professional might miss them under casual observation. Fibromyalgia is a debilitating, and poorly understood condition. It combines chronic pain with other symptoms like sleep disturbance and severe fatigue.

I don’t use a cane every day, which can contribute to confusion from people who don’t understand how disabilities can work. I might seem “able bodied” one day, but the next (or even later the same day) be hobbling around in pain.

Read moreUsing A Cane With An Invisible Disability