Chris Boucher is recognized across the global hemp industry for his broad expertise in hemp, including farming, product development, consulting, education, advocacy, and legislation.  Chris began growing hemp in the early 1990s in China, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. In 1991, he founded The Hempstead Company, one of the first hemp clothing and seed businesses to open in the US since the 1930s. The company sold products to more than 4,000 stores in 10 countries. Clients included The Beatles (for their Anthology Release), the Disney Stores, Converse Shoes, The Dave Mathews Band, Phish, Ziggy Marley, the Bob Marley Foundation, the Save the Earth Foundation, the Turner Foundation, and the Rainforest Action Network.  In 1992, Chris co-founded The True Hemp Industry Association, now known as the Hemp Industries Association (HIA). In 1994, he became the first person in modern times permitted to legally grow a hemp crop in the US, at the USDA Research Center in Brawley, California.  In 1997, Chris worked with the Navajo Nation in Arizona to help pass progressive hemp legislation for  Native American US reservations. From 1994-2017, he helped draft and promote legislation resulting in the first relaxation of agricultural hemp laws in America, implemented in California and Colorado. In 2012, he co-wrote Hemp CBD is Legal in All 50 States, a groundbreaking legal opinion challenging the legal status of Hemp-derived CBD, which vaulted the US CBD business into the billion-dollar industry it is today. In 2018, Chris established a large, sustainable hemp farm at the Imperial Valley Research Center in California to support his educational, commercial, and advocacy activities.  Today, Chris is CEO and co-founder, along with his wife Jen Hutchinson, of Juicetiva Hemp CBDA Powder, which produces a breakthrough innovation for hemp foods, raw 100% hemp juice CBDA powder. He also serves as CEO of Farmtiva, inc. which breeds and sells CBD, CBG, fiber and grain seeds across USA. He also serves as a Director of the California Hemp Farmers Guild a non-profit dedicated to helping hemp farmers.  Chris lives with his wife in Laguna Beach, California, and he donates his time to mentoring underserved youth in South Central Los Angeles. He travels the country speaking and consulting on behalf of the new American agricultural hemp industry. -- Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com. Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews... YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m #orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning