Author

Kelly Rippel has been interested in hemp and cannabis since the age of 13, when his father told him about the hemp research he volunteered for at Kansas State University during the 1970s. Rippel’s passion for evidence-based policy, public health and environmentalism has driven him to seek out a better understanding of humanity’s relationship with the cannabis plant. Rippel received a degree in public relations and sociology from Emporia State University, attended the National Cannabis Summit in 2015, CannaGrow Expo in 2016, and after co-founding Kansans for Hemp attended NoCoHemp Expo in 2017. Rippel worked with decision makers in the enactment of hemp legislation and served as an appointed member of the Industrial Hemp Research Advisory Board under the Kansas Department of Agriculture where he helped develop rules and regulations for the state’s hemp program and assisted in selecting candidates for licensure. Rippel has spoken at multiple state and regional conferences, in addition to the World Hemp Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He serves as volunteer advisor to the Kansas Cannabis Business Association and Hemp Economic Development Group, as well as president of Planted Association of Kansas.