Josh Schneider

Policy nerd, US/African Hemp, DSHEA , tissue culture, breadfruit, regenerative ag. American working in South Africa and Zambia

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

National Tree Day in Benin was a big success for Breadfruit and small farmers in West Africa. #foodsecurity... https://t.co/x3YlDdUlHY

[Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur]

New @NBCNews national poll: Are you MORE or LESS likely to support a candidate who supports…

…Trump’s tax bill (OBBB)
36% more
42% less

…the war in Iran
24% more
57% less

…Trump’s $5,000 checks idea
21% more
46% less

…giving funding & weapons to Israel
25% more
55% less

[AdmindotLaw @admindotlaw]

Very interesting op from the CA6. Holds marijuana supply contract in Michigan, where state law permits such contracts, is unenforceable in federal court bc it is an agreement to commit a federal crime. https://t.co/8k49YC55N7

[David French @DavidAFrench]

This thread is hilarious.

[Marijuana Moment @MarijuanaMoment]

Convenience Store Industry Says Congress Should Regulate Hemp THC Products Instead Of Banning Them: "The convenience retail channel, with its well-established age verification procedures, is suited to selling hemp products to adults legally & responsibly."
https://t.co/eDiyyP3rxw

[Mary Katharine Ham @mkhammer]

The city of Seattle has a municipal tree code that is almost 10K words long. It has a system of 4 tiers outlining what can be cut. If you want to cut trees in Seattle, you must apply to the city to be an approved provider and prove mandated insurance. If you want to cut them on your own property, you have to hire registered removers. All these law-abiding people are subject to civil penalties if not permitted, insured, and in compliance. I’m sure the tree removal here is on the up-and-up, though. And if not, I’m sure the rules will be enforced.

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

It’s an open secret, if it’s a secret at all. CBD is converted into d9 THC and sold widely. State regulated players know how to navigate their systems and paper ingredients that they bring in. Hemp derived d9 is considerably cheaper than anything produced inside the state systems, so more $$ for MSOS when they use hemp. Assuming everyone complies with the rules is naive at best.

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

RIP Dolly. We will miss you.

[Fran Mallon @FranMallon1]

An amazing video of Dolly Parton singing one of her most famous songs in Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Ventry Co. Kerry 🇮🇪 in 1990
How did Páidí pull that coup off
#RIPDolly

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

@RealGanjaQueen2 @Farmer31548981 It’s called Basil ‘Snow White’. From a German breeding company. A great plant.

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

Excellent thread on the harm reduction value of vapes vs cigarettes. The U.S. Cannabis drink market has exploded largely due to cheap hemp-derived THC and broad availability. Alcohol sales are way down, in part bc low-dose THC offers many of the same “vibe shift” benefits of alcohol without the costs in calories, liver damage and social pathologies. Bars selling cannabis drinks see far fewer “security incidents” lowering their liability insurance costs. It’s clear that Hemp drinks offer a similar harm reduction value vs alcohol to individuals and society at large.

[Will Carty @carty]

Two top-notch pods. @wethefifth & @AdvOpinions.
Sarah Isgur (@whignewtons) is a real one. Just dropped her new book, “Last Branch Standing.”

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

My friends at Lazarus continue to fight for plant medicines and wellness products. He and his company have been tireless advocates for the botanicals industry and for the patients who depend on science backed herbal products. Follow Dylan to stay updated on his work in advancing access to the botanicals industry.

[Dylan Summers @dcsHemp]

At Lazarus Naturals, accessibility is our mission. We’re joining @natcarecouncil to ensure natural medicine is available to everyone, regardless of circumstances. It’s time for regulations that prioritize patients and break down barriers to care. 🌿

https://t.co/R7pPToUCKH

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

Supreme Court Argument over whether using Marijuana should prevent a person from owning a gun. Interesting points Justice Gorsuch makes.

[CSPAN @cspan]

Justice Gorsuch asks what it meant to be "Habitual Drunkard" in old days of America: "Eight shots of whiskey a day only made you an occasional drunkard...to be a habitual drunkard you had to do double that...James Madison reportedly drank a pint of whiskey every day..."

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

Medicalization and pharmaceuticalization of Cannabis/Hemp designed to empower a Cannabis Medical Clerisy who can profitably *save* the public from another non-problem. Cannabis isn’t for everyone, but the Dr driven scaremongering is a solution in search of a problem. Perhaps Sirs, consider the motes in your own industry’s eyes before worrying about the Cannabis industry specks.

[Josh Schneider @plantjosh]

The hemp industry is getting in the way of certain FDAs people’s *empire-building*. There is plenty of room for a DSHEA pathway for non-impairing cannabinoids but that doesn’t need bureaucratic heavy lifting, alas…

[Tom Angell 🌳📰ⓥ @tomangell]

FDA has missed a deadline in hemp recriminalization legislation signed by President Donald Trump to publish lists of cannabinoids in the plant and issue guidance on the term ‘container'” with respect to hemp product THC serving sizes.

https://t.co/jL1RORWAgV

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Mushrooms evolved into psilocybin twice.

A fascinating new study has revealed that psilocybin—the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms—arose not once, but twice, through entirely independent evolutionary events in distant corners of the fungal kingdom.

In the familiar Psilocybe species, psilocybin is assembled via a well-characterized four-enzyme pathway. Yet when scientists examined certain small, drab fiber cap mushrooms (from genera like Inocybe and allies), they discovered a completely unrelated biochemical assembly line: different genes, different enzymes, different intermediate steps—yet the end product is chemically identical.

This is a remarkable case of convergent evolution: two lineages, with no shared ancestry for this trait, each invented their own molecular machinery to manufacture the same powerful molecule.

Why fungi bother making psilocybin at all is still unclear. Some hypothesize it serves as a defense chemical (the blue bruising reaction in damaged Psilocybe tissue hints at this), while others propose roles in inter-species signaling or entirely unknown ecological functions. Whatever the benefit, it was evidently strong enough for natural selection to favor it twice, in very different habitats.

The finding also carries immediate practical value. With psilocybin advancing in clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression and other conditions, having two distinct biosynthetic pathways gives researchers multiple genetic toolkits for engineering microbes or yeast to produce the compound in bioreactors—potentially making therapeutic-grade psilocybin far cheaper and more scalable.

In the end, nature quietly solved the same chemical puzzle twice, deep in the soil, millions of years apart—and only now are we stumbling across its elegant, redundant handiwork.

[“Dissimilar Reactions and Enzymes for Psilocybin Biosynthesis in Inocybe and Psilocybe Mushrooms.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2025]

[Mike and Jeff show @AgrisAcademy @AgrisAcademy]

My Venezuela experience as head of trading in the region for Cargill.

Cargill was/is the leading producer of critical staple ingredients such as flour, pasta, vegetable oil, and rice in VZ. I am not saying I agree with grabbing the dictator, but I did have a front row seat to the damage a kleptocracy did to innocent people.
1. The government took over our "minute rice" facility at gunpoint because we were "gouging" the nation's poor. The government was never able to run the plant. It never ran again. It was returned years later with no equipment inside
2. There are 1000's of generals in the army. They are each given a slice of the economy to loot. The large number of generals made it difficult to organize a coup against the regime.
3. The government opened grocery stores and sold staples below the cost we sold them to the government. In theory they used petro oil money to lower grocery prices. Our regular grocery outlets were forced out of business. When the government demanded we sell them products below cost we simply had to shut down. The populous became ever more dependent on the government handouts. (PS this is the mayor of New York City's proposal.
4. Dollars- We needed dollars to go buy raw materials like wheat from places like the US and Canada. The government would periodically allocate us some dollars that could only be spent for raw materials and freight. Eventually only the local companies that can and would pay bribes got dollar allocations. We had several facilities closed for lack of raw material
5. My employees liked working for Cargill. The office was an armed compound with access to a gym, high speed internet, global communications, and a weekly box of basic staples. Cargill provided a safe and secure environment if only for the working hours.
6. Employees became very close to others inside the apartment building. Going out on the street with a desperate population was not advisable.
7. I needed wood pallets for feed. We tried to export wood pallets to swap for grain. We refused to pay the bribes it would take to export the pallets
8. I once tried to set up a closed loop wheat planting to flour mill supply chain. A. They came and stole all the seed wheat for food. When we tried to ship in seed wheat in containers via US donors there was no way to get it out of the port without it being stolen
9. Livestock- Our feed business completely collapsed. Even if you could raise a pig, you couldn't defend it from being stolen. People with guns were hungry.
10. Employees- In the end my highly skilled team alone with other highly educated people chose to leave. Cargill often found jobs for them in other Latin countries. The regime was more than happy to see the well-educated leave the country. Setting these employees up with high quality stable jobs after fleeing remains one of the best things I ever did in my career. No one remembers millions in trading earnings.

This is a short list. In my opinion the first money spent needs to happen now and it needs to be food. The US is already on the clock. The current regime does not care if it starves the population. The orgy of theft will actually accelerate if they believe their days are numbered. VZ should be an outstanding customer of US grown ag products. Rice, bread wheat, veg oil ect. Feed the people first.

Jeff Kazin
Former head trading Cargill

[Avital Balwit @AvitalBalwit]

https://t.co/kRcSoXUXVT

[Hemp Industry & Farmers of America @hifa_health]

The Trump Administration gives hemp a fighting chance with today's EO on research & access. Now Congress must act: Strike the ban, pass a 24-month extension, & work toward viable solutions ⬇️

https://t.co/NvcFObMFuO

#SaveHemp #TrumpRescheduling

[Alex Xenos @AMXenos]

We at Cato filed an amicus brief in Canna Provisions v. Bondi calling on SCOTUS to grant cert, restore the Commerce Clause to its original meaning, and overrule Gonzales v. Raich. https://t.co/sXYLgjbmgM