| UNFAIR PARK | Hunter Robinson (far left) and Skyler Purcell (far right) stand with customers at Sky & Hobbs Organics. courtesy of Sky & Hobbs Organics The Hemp Trap A state-licensed cannabis grower says he followed all the rules to begin growing. That wasn’t good enough for Navarro County lawmen. By Jacob Vaughn H 44 unter Robinson’s October 2021 visit with the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office could have ended in one of two ways: with an apol- ogy or with a pair of handcuffs. It was the latter, and Robinson spent the next 30 hours in jail, charged with a felony for possession of marijuana. But Robinson said he didn’t possess any marijuana. What he had was hemp, lawfully grown under a license from the Texas De- partment of Agriculture. He started to cry as he described the situ- ation to the Observer. “It’s so fucked up, man,” the 27-year-old Navy vet said. “Horri- ble time. I have arthritis. I have PTSD. I have a lot of problems, so it was very uncomfort- able to say the very least.” Before the raid by the sheriff’s office, which refused to discuss the case, Robinson and his long-time friend and business part- ner, 28-year-old Skyler Purcell, were run- ning a successful hemp business. Robinson’s nickname is Hobbs. Purcell often goes by Sky, so they named their busi- ness Sky & Hobbs Organics. Their plan was to grow and sell a version of the cannabis plant that’s low in delta-9 THC, the chemi- cal found in cannabis that gets users high. In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed a law leading to the creation of the Texas In- dustrial Hemp Program, a licensing scheme that would allow growers to plant a cash crop that supporters saw as a boon for the Texas farmers. Hemp fibers are used to make textiles and rope. The plant’s seeds are pressed to make oil used in industry and in food supplements. “This also includes products for consum- able hemp products which contain cannabi- diol (CBD), as well as other edible parts of the hemp plant,” the TDA’s website for the program states. The market for CBD products is boom- ing, thanks to its reported health benefits, so Robinson and Purcell rented a facility and turned it into an indoor farm. They shared photos on social media as they got the oper- ation running. Rows of green, fully matured and maturing hemp plants filled several rooms. When it was ready to harvest, they’d stuff pounds of hemp into vacuum-sealed bags for bulk orders. Smaller quantities were packaged for individual sale. They ended up putting between $75,000- $100,000 into the business and received a state license in 2020. They said everyone in the community knew what they were doing. None of that mattered. When the Na- varro County Sheriff’s Office was done with them, their plants were cut to the stem and their bags of bud were gone, along with their business. R obinson and Purcell grew up together. “We’re basically best friends,” Robinson said. They planned on going to the same col- lege after graduating from high school, but Robinson decided instead to join the Navy. “I did five years,” Robinson said. “We kept in contact throughout that time period because we’re friends and that’s what friends do.” He left the Navy with PTSD, anxiety, de- generative disk arthritis from the top of his neck to the bottom of his spine and chronic migraines that he’s been dealing with for about six years. “It’s been terrible. Lots of pain,” he said. Robinson mentioned his ailments to his friend, and Purcell suggested he try CBD. “I tried some CBD, and within an instant my neck pains, which associates to my mi- graines, were completely gone. My >> p6 MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 APRIL 14–20, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.comdallasobserver.com
