Morris Beegle was born and raised on a farm in Loveland, Colorado. His parents encouraged his creativity, allowing him to choose whatever path his passions directed.
No stranger to cannabis culture, he partook of the herb at a young age, but didn’t really realize it as remedy until he needed it for chronic pain as an adult, after back surgery via shaving a herniated disk in 2001.
“They gave me opiates for pain control,” he shared. “Vicodin, Percocet – all washed down with alcohol. I was self-medicating with pills and alcohol for the pain, when I transitioned off the pharma for cannabis. The last time I took a Percocet was in 2010. Cannabis has given me more relief than chasing Vicodin with a bottle of wine.”
Morris Beegle manages his pain now with CBD products daily, including full-spectrum tincture and capsules, topping off with smoking, as needed. This entourage effect is most desirable for many patients, as smoking raises the efficacy of any other remedy you are dosing with, be it ingesting plant-based remedies or taking pharmaceuticals.
His business partner, Elizabeth Knight, hails from a 20-year career in sales and management. With her three acre parcel and a warehouse now hosting 360 plants, research and development is in progress to create products for industry and health and wellness.
Music & Weed: It’s All Part of The Culture
Music became the place where Beegle’s entrepreneurial skills were honed, with a 30-plus-year career, founding Hapi Skratch Records in 1995; a one-stop distribution, manufacturing, and marketing hub.
After reading Jack Herer’s book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Beegle began to have a better understanding of what the plant was about – that hemp was cannabis, with myriad uses for manufacturing, as well as nutritional and health benefits.
“I began making hemp shirts and hats for some bands we were representing,” he explained. “In 2012 I had an opportunity to launch a hemp products and services business, and started the Colorado Hemp Company.”
He’s come full-circle with his entertainment finesse, establishing We Are For Better Alternatives (WAFBA), through which he oversees a collection of brands within the hemp industry, including one of the largest hemp networking events in the world, the NoCo Hemp Expo.
NoCo 2020 takes place in Denver, March 26 through the 28th. It’s said to be the most diverse and comprehensive trade show and conference on the planet, bringing together the health faction of the industry, as well as manufacturing. Hemp and cannabis cover just about every niche out there – many people involved don’t even touch the plant.
Ever the progressive event, this year the NoCo welcomes a Mushroom Pavilion, as the psychotropic fungus joins the ranks as a beneficial plant in Denver; the city voted to decriminalize the fungus in May of 2019 for remedy, as a treatment for mental disorders, including depression.
Another intriguing company under WAFBA umbrella, bringing the synergy of his music and entertainment career together, is Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars, with a manufacturing base in the U.S. and Canada. Coming soon to the brand are hemp cone speakers from Tone Tubby, a 20-year leader in the product, used by the likes of Carlos Santana, and many other notable musicians for years.
Ukuleles, guitar straps, guitar picks, and volume knobs will all be made from hemp in an effort to promote the plant and educate the masses on the many clean and sustainable applications for industry.
Morris Beegle Offers Better Alternatives
Beegle’s passion for hemp, and the sense of urgency he feels in providing the planet with a better and more sustainable way to build, drives his project-oriented, entrepreneurial spirit forward.
So far, he has 12 brands under the WAFBA umbrella, all geared to educating and providing hemp products for the masses. Its Let’s Talk Hemp podcast, along with an informative newsletter, is where all the progress comes together to inform and enlighten on hemp and cannabis.
“We are into the industrial applications of hemp, but we are also into the nutritional side of both hemp and cannabis,” he surmised. “The industry can be as multifaceted as the plant itself, and we are more than happy to expound on all it brings to the table for the greater good.”
Morris Beegle said it was natural for him to traverse from music to education on hemp and cannabis.
“We’ve been synergistically fine-tuning every platform, allowing them to work together,” he summed up. “There’s a powerful force out there putting up roadblocks. The pharmaceutical industry lobbies for its corporate interests. They know this is coming. They know the people are becoming educated and this is a beneficial plant, not a drug – and they obstruct every chance they get. Education on hemp and cannabis is sorely needed for the health of the planet and the people.”
