Paul Benhaim of Elixinol

Paul Benhaim of Elixinol described the growth and great potential of the global market for Hemp and Ireland´s ability to diversify farmers income from the growing and processing of Hemp and the building up of new industries around Hemp research and innovation creating many ancillary services in the bioeconomy. Paul has 25 years in the industry where he started after discovering the benefits of Hemp as a natural sustainable source of amino fatty acids. He developed the first commercial Hemp food bar which sold millions being distributed by Tesco and Waitrosse in UK. Elixinol was founded just four years ago with his partner Gabriel Ettenson and focuses on CBD supplements, Hemp Food and medical cannabis. It has experienced 500% growth in market capital and is listed on the Australian Public Stock exchange raising A$300 million to support its growth. “CBD is becoming as mainstream as alcohol in consumer society today” says Paul and will have a major effect on pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, tobacco and alcohol industries all of which are looking closely at the Hemp industry. He highlighted that the Farm Bill in the United States brought a significant influence on the Hemp industry where the US market doubled in size from 2017-2018 to 627 million dollars with a foreseeable. CACR of 143% for 2018-2022.

Paul predicted that the future of CBD products will be in novel delivery devices of bioavailable product and his company will supply ingredients for co-branding projects they plan to do here in Europe where there will be a demand to find high quality and stable mainstream products. In May 2019 Elixinol also secured its first major US retail agreement with the second largest retail distributor with revenue of over 60 billion dollars and is also in talks with similar sized multinationals. They have invested in a development laboratory for hemp products to research the full potential of the Hemp plant. He disagreed with the statement recently issued by the Irish cannabis risk alliance of doctors opposed to decriminalisation of cannabis and presented information that experience around the world has shown that criminalisation has no effect on usage. Rather it costs governments billions in enforcement and lost tax revenue. He noted that Ireland has one of the highest alcohol and drug related deaths in the European Union none of which are contributed by cannabis. Finally he highlighted Asia´s significant influence on global trends with a growing elderly population interested in wellness effects of Hemp CBD.