BOERNE, Texas — The first cannabis hemp farm in Texas just went up a few months ago just outside of Boerne.
Marijuana is probably the first thing most people think of when they hear about cannabis, but growing marijuana is still against the law in Texas, unless it’s for medical purposes, and even then the laws are strict.
But the owners of Pur IsoLabs, said their farm is growing cannabis hemp, and it’s the first of it’s kind in Texas.
“It’s about growing a healthy plant that God gave us and incorporating its extracts into products so we can serve Texans well,” said Austin Ruple, who owns the farm with his wife Jennifer.
Austin said they planted the crop a few months ago, and are just starting to see the fruits of their labors.
"The Texas Department of Agriculture issued our license in April so we started with our seeds about the end of April," said Austin. "We started going into the greenhouse about the end of May and then out into the field here in the last two weeks."
Last year, Texas lawmakers passed House Bill 1325, or the Hemp Farming Act, opening the doors for farmers to grow hemp in the state.
The plants closely resemble cannabis marijuana, but have a lower THC.
Anything with over .3 percent THC is considered marijuana, if it’s less than .3 percent it’s considered hemp.
“The THC is what would get someone high, but you can actually take these buds and smoke them, we do sell flowers that could be smoked,” said Austin.
This is different from the law where cannabis can be grown and produced in the state for medical purposes.
"In the Texas compassionate Care Act, they are able to grow cannabis in a warehouse that can go up to .5% THC, this is something completely different," said Austin.
The Ruples have been working in the hemp business for a few years, using hemp grown in other states like Colorado.
At Pur IsoLabs, the Ruples said they will harvest the hemp and extract the essential ingredients to produce a variety of products from oils to juices.
"Once we harvest the buds, we will actually harvest the whole plant, we will dry the plant will then send it to our extraction lab, and have it extracted," said Austin.
“So basically it gets into your system, and you’ve got to really understand the inner workings of the human body we all have an endocannabinoid system and it goes in CBD and some of the other cannabinoids, and works to basically balance your body,” said Jennifer. “And, that’s really why it works differently for different people because it seeks out these imbalances in the body so it gets you back in a homogenous state let’s say.”
Austin said their products are different than what you’d find at a typical CBD store.
“We are very careful about how we select or extract and how we grow our plants, how we make our end products,” said Austin. “We have the highest ingredients, the lowest ingredient count in our product and it just creates a very high efficacy product for our customers.”
The Ruples said one of their main goals of opening the farm is to educate the public about the importance of hemp.
“There are a lot of misconceptions out there there,” said Jennifer. “This has been a passion of ours forever to just really come alongside and help Texans. It really goes hand-in-hand with education, we really wanted this to be an opportunity where people can come out and enjoy themselves, enjoy the great outdoors and just learn about the plant.”
Pur IsoLabs in Bergheim is offering tours of their farm through September.
If you’d like to take a tour, you’re asked to call ahead and schedule a tour.
For more information about tours or products, call 830-755-8000.
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