God’s Plant

In Raywick, Kentucky, there is a farm where Father God and Mother Nature work in harmony, and where farmers have a part to play as well. Though until very recently, growing hemp could get a person serious jail time, Scott Essex of Bluegrass Organic Hemp considers cannabis “God’s plant.” He believes that cannabis can help humankind, heal the planet, and still make a profit. He believes in cannabis research, education, and innovation. And as a true, God-fearing American, he also believes in freedom: freedom to use cannabis.

 
 

This is Kentucky hemp farmer Scott Essex. Before the taking of this picture, we did an interview with him where he talked about how farmers lose their marriages because they work long hours trying to make a little bit of money, and many days they actually don’t. Traditional agricultural practices destroyed farmers’ lives, land, and everything they value. We ended up buying lunch for him and his family in order to have a gathering to film. But it’s easy to tell that this proud, hard-working farmer is not used to leaving the fields so early in the day. Not used to revealing himself as someone who needs to sit and eat a meal. To him, it’s a form of weakness somehow. He’s used to being alone in his field. Family gatherings are a rare event. The demands placed by big corporations have changed what it means to be a farmer today.

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