I posted here four days ago about Japan having almost no decortication capacity. People in this sub and in r/homestead corrected parts of it, so here's what I had wrong and what I learned. Posting the correction here because I made the original claim here.

Small decortication equipment exists, and it isn't a million dollars. I'd been repeating an industrial figure. Someone pointed me at machines with an entry price around 15k handling roughly 50-100kg an hour. Someone else gave me the search term I was missing: "lab sized". I'd been searching around industrial and small-scale and finding nothing in between, because the middle is described with a word I didn't have.

The hurd is already moving, in the wrong aisle. Builders in Switzerland and the UK told me they buy hemp bedding from equestrian suppliers rather than building material merchants, because it's the same material at a lower price. And someone with US processing contacts said something that inverts the usual assumption: bedding specs are often cleaner than what passes as building grade, because that buyer notices dust and mould immediately when an animal gets sick in it.

"Build decortication capacity" turns out to be too coarse an ask. A UK builder said their domestic supply is unusable for wet casting because the fibre content is too high. So the requirement isn't decortication as such - it's decortication tuned to produce hurd at a spec. That's a narrower and much less romantic thing to ask a country to build, and it explains why "we have growers" doesn't automatically become "we have material".

None of this changes the Japanese picture much. We still have very few licensed growers and no processing at any scale. But it changes what I'd ask for. I'd been arguing for a plant. What's needed first is a spec, and a machine small enough that a co-op could own it.

Recently i bought flower from the big three flowers, Holy city Farms, Lost Oak Farms, and Secret Nature Farms.

First and foremost all three have great flower.

Holy city farms has the best overall smell, taste, and looks. Especially when mixed with dry sift. The price is a bit higher than Lost Oaks but i believe its worth the extra price. Great customer service, i purchased express delivery and they refunded me the money without me asking, most companies wouldve pocketed the extra money unless asked. CAnt say enough good about these guys.

Lost Oaks Farms is next, Best price to performance and smell. If youre on a budget these are the people to buy from. for under 200$ i was able to get 5 ounces of great flower, plus a quarter of Forbidden V. Great customer service. I forgot to add a 5th ounce and reached out and they gave me Blue nitro (which wasnt even an option on it!!!) absolutely amazing

Now then.....Secret Nature...for 200$ I bought a ounce of Dough Boy flower. I received them in numerous eighths which were all crushed and compacted. Was very unfortunate since i was hoping for display nugs to admire for such a high price. The smell and taste are ok and not much to write home about. Was very disappointing paying such a high price.

Holy City Farms 10/10 cant recommend these guys enough!!

Lost Oak Farms 8/10 Best price to quality out there highly recommend!

Secret Nature 6/10 for the price point I just cant recommend them to the average user, i wish i could change that fact but for what i got its just not worth it

Thanks for reading! open to doing other reviews!

I help organise JIHE, a hemp expo in Tokyo, and the mods approved this post under Rule 2 before I put it up. I told them I'd keep it to the industrial side, so that's what this is.

Japan has very little decortication capacity. Cultivation is licensed on top of that, and the licensed grower base is very small. The sector collapsed after the war and never rebuilt, and the processing step in the middle is the piece that didn't come back with it, so most of the fibre used here is imported.

The legal frame changed on 12 December 2024. The revised Cannabis Control Act moved Japan from regulating parts of the plant to regulating ingredients. Before that, only mature stalks and seeds could be used. Now the limits sit on residual delta-9 THC in the finished product, measured in parts per million, rather than on which part of the plant the material came from. The same revision created an offence for use itself, one month to seven years, on top of possession and cultivation.

The 0.3 percent figure people cite for Japan sits on the plant and cultivar side, not on finished products. The US Farm Bill 0.3 percent is a plant threshold too. Both are plant measures, and neither one is the product limit.

I'll keep my own opinion on the policy out of it. My job is the expo, not campaigning.

Since the mods cleared it, the event part. JIHE 2026 is 13-14 November 2026 at House of OMOTESANDO, 5-34-8 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, walkable from Omotesando station. Friday the 13th is the business day, 11:00 to 18:00, with a networking party afterwards you opt into when you register. Saturday the 14th is open to general visitors. Textiles and building materials are on the floor alongside food, cosmetics and CBD. Free entry, advance registration required. Conference sessions run with AI interpretation. We take CBD and CBG only, no THC, no HHC, nothing semi-synthetic. Asabis organises it, GREEN ZONE JAPAN co-organises.

English registration: https://luma.com/hpztknzq

Questions on the Japanese side are welcome. I'm not a lawyer and I won't guess at customs outcomes.

Hey, I live in NC and I have a family friend that works at the post office and they recently informed us that my packages have been getting flagged I’ve been ordering thca online for over 2 years but I’m just now getting told this my family friend said there not gonna Flagg it just destroy it. Are they allowed to flag and destroy my package if everything is federally legal and is the family Friend allowed to tell my father that I ordered this. I am underage I am currently 20 years old I turn 21 next month (how would the post office know my age) even if that’s the problem for me ordering THCA that would be on the website not me right?

Anybody here worn the undrdog hemp tees in 2XL for a while?

I’m mostly wondering how they look after a few wash cycles.. do they keep their shape, or do the collar and length start getting weird? Looking for actual wear experience before I order a few.

They’re holding up well so far, but three months is too early for me to call them BIFL.

I’m posting now because daily wear is where I usually start noticing whether a tee is actually worth rebuying. I’ll update again if the fabric, collar, or seams change over a longer stretch.

For anyone who owns them longer term: what failed first, if anything?

Hi, we’re Pixie’s Pantry 🌿 Meet our current flower lineup — all 11 strains.

Hey y’all! We’re Pixie’s Pantry, and instead of just dropping a bunch of flower photos with strain names and expecting everyone to know what they’re looking at, I wanted to actually introduce this week’s lineup.

We currently have 11 different THCA flower strains, ranging from old-school piney and citrus-forward profiles to creamy fruit, candy, berry, gas, and dessert strains.

If you’re curious about any of them, ask us questions. We’re happy to talk about aroma, flavor, genetics, COAs, appearance, or help you compare strains.

Here’s the full lineup:

🌲 CHEM LIGHTS — SATIVA

Chem Lights is for the people who still appreciate that unmistakable old-school cannabis profile.

This one leans earthy, piney, citrusy, and funky, rather than sugary-sweet. Crack into the flower and you’re met with that sharper Chem-style aroma layered over fresh greenery and pine.

If most of the modern candy strains sound too sweet for you, start here.

Profile: Earth • Pine • Citrus • Chem Funk
Best description: Sharp, green, classic, and aromatic.

🍹 FRUIT PUNCH — SATIVA

Fruit Punch is basically the name brought to life.

This is one of the brighter, fruitier selections in the drop, with tropical fruit, sweet berry, citrus, and a little earthiness underneath.

It’s colorful, sweet-smelling, and much more fruit-forward than something like Chem Lights or Jack Herer.

If you open the menu looking for something that sounds like summer, this is it.

Profile: Tropical Fruit • Berries • Citrus • Sweetness
Best description: Bright, juicy, fruity, and tropical.

🌿 JACK HERER — SATIVA

A classic deserves a spot next to all these modern dessert strains.

Jack Herer has a completely different personality from the candy-heavy flower that dominates menus today. Expect a more traditional combination of pine, herbs, earth, wood, and spice.

It’s aromatic without needing to smell like a bag of candy.

If you’re an old-school flower person, this is one of the first strains I’d point out.

Profile: Pine • Herbs • Wood • Spice
Best description: Classic, herbal, crisp, and unmistakably Jack.

🍊 ORANGE PUSH POP — INDICA-DOMINANT

This might be the easiest strain in the whole lineup to describe:

Orange creamsicle.

Orange Push Pop combines bright orange and citrus notes with a softer creamy, vanilla-like sweetness underneath.

It’s one of those strains where the name actually gives you a pretty good idea of what you’re getting.

If citrus strains and dessert strains had a baby, it would look something like this.

Profile: Orange • Citrus • Cream • Vanilla Sweetness
Best description: Creamy orange sherbet in flower form.

🍊🍬 ORANGE RUNTZ

Orange Runtz takes the candy-style profile people associate with Runtz and pushes it in a much more citrus-heavy direction.

Expect sweet orange, fruit, cream, and candy-like notes, with just enough earthiness underneath to keep it from smelling one-dimensional.

If you want fruit but Fruit Punch sounds too tropical, this is the sweeter citrus option.

Profile: Orange • Sweet Fruit • Cream • Candy
Best description: Orange candy with a creamy finish.

🥜🍑 PEANUT BUTTER APRICOT — HYBRID

This is probably one of the weirdest-sounding strains on the menu — and I mean that as a compliment.

Peanut Butter Apricot combines sweet stone-fruit character with nutty, creamy, cookie-like and slightly funky/gassy notes.

It isn’t straight fruit.

It isn’t straight dessert.

And it isn’t straight gas.

It sits somewhere in the middle of all three, which makes it one of the more interesting profiles in the current lineup.

Profile: Apricot • Nutty Cookie • Cream • Sweet Gas
Best description: Fruity, nutty, creamy, and weird in the best possible way.

🍬🪐 PLUTO CANDY — HYBRID

Pluto Candy is one of our straight-up dessert selections.

This flower has a sweet, berry-forward, candy-like profile with a smoother finish rather than the sharp pine or herbal notes you’ll find in some of the classics.

It’s also one of the strains where we’d rather describe the flower we actually have than make up a dramatic genetic backstory we can’t verify.

What we can tell you is what’s in front of us:

Pretty flower. Sweet aroma. Berry candy personality.

Profile: Berry • Candy • Sweet Fruit • Smooth Finish
Best description: Dessert flower for the candy-strain crowd.

🍭 ROCK CANDY — INDICA-LEANING

Rock Candy sounds like it should be nothing but sugar, but there’s more going on here.

The sweetness is definitely present, but underneath it you’ll find citrus, herbs, earth, and a little gas/funk.

That gives Rock Candy more depth than some of the straight fruit strains.

This is a good one for somebody who wants sweetness without losing that unmistakable cannabis character.

Profile: Candy • Citrus • Herbs • Gas
Best description: Sweet up front, funky underneath.

🍬 RUNTZ — HYBRID

You probably already know this name.

Runtz earned its reputation because its profile genuinely does lean toward fruit candy, creamy sweetness, and dessert-like flavor.

Our current flower also carries some floral and pine character underneath the sweetness, which keeps the profile from being completely one-note.

If somebody tells us, “I like sweet strains but I don’t know what I want,” Runtz is an easy place to start the conversation.

Profile: Fruit Candy • Cream • Floral • Pine
Best description: The modern candy classic.

🍓🍌 STRAWNANA — HYBRID

Strawnana — aka Strawberry Banana — is exactly the soft, fruity profile you’d expect from the name.

This one brings together strawberry and berry sweetness with creamy banana-like fruit notes, plus a little citrus and floral character.

Compared with the sharper citrus strains, Strawnana feels much softer and creamier aromatically.

If you could turn a strawberry-banana smoothie into a flower profile, you’d be pretty close.

Profile: Strawberry • Banana • Cream • Berry
Best description: Strawberry-banana smoothie vibes.

🍋🌲 XJ-13 — HYBRID

Last but absolutely not least: XJ-13.

This is another one for people who like brighter, more traditional profiles.

XJ-13 brings lemony citrus and pine to the front, with sweet herbs, floral notes, and spice underneath.

Put it beside Strawnana or Pluto Candy and the difference is obvious — this isn't trying to smell like dessert.

It’s crisp, citrusy, piney, and complex.

Profile: Lemon Citrus • Pine • Sweet Herbs • Spice
Best description: Bright citrus and pine with an old-school Haze personality.

🌿 So, which one would you pick?

If you like:

🍭 Candy/Sweet: Runtz, Pluto Candy, Rock Candy
🍓 Fruit: Fruit Punch, Strawnana
🍊 Citrus: Orange Push Pop, Orange Runtz, XJ-13
🌲 Pine/Earthy: Chem Lights, Jack Herer
🥜 Something completely different: Peanut Butter Apricot

And if you genuinely have no idea what any of those descriptions mean, ask.

You can tell us something as simple as:

“I like fruity flower.”

“I hate anything that smells like gas.”

“I want something citrusy.”

“I usually like old-school strains.”

“What’s the difference between these two?”

We’d much rather have an actual conversation about the flower than throw strain names at people and expect everyone to already speak cannabis.

We can also share batch information and COAs when you want to dig into the details.

🌿 Pixie’s Pantry

If you are in hemp, smoke-shop, glass, accessories, distribution, or another cannabis-adjacent/high-risk industryand you're being affected by the Square shutdown next month:

CALL TASKER PAYMENT GATEWAY.

Tasker Payment Gateway
207-772-8737
https://taskerpaymentgateways.com

Ask for John Stevenson.

You can tell him Dusty sent you.

And before anybody says anything:

I DO NOT GET PAID FOR THIS.

This is not an advertisement.

This is not an affiliate link.

I don't get a commission.

I don't get points.

I don't get credits.

I get ZERO DOLLARS if you call him.

Telling him Dusty sent you literally just lets John know that you came through my recommendation and that you're serious about trying to get your business taken care of.

So why am I telling you to call this specific man?

Because I have already been through this.

I'm a Technologist, Notary, and Researcher — essentially one big fat nerdy scientist 😂 — and I am the kind of person who researches EVERYTHING before I trust somebody with something as important as my business.

John Stevenson at Tasker Payment Gateway was professional, patient, knowledgeable, and actually understood that businesses like ours aren't automatically doing something illegal just because mainstream payment processors don't know how to categorize us.

He walked me through underwriting.

He told me exactly what paperwork they needed.

He reviewed my website.

He pointed out things that needed to be corrected.

He helped me understand what the underwriters were looking for.

And he helped me get from “How the hell am I supposed to accept cards?” to having an actual payment-processing setup.

You do not have to blindly trust me, either.

Google John Stevenson.

Google Tasker Payment Gateway.

Read their reviews.

Research them yourself.

This is one of those rare “you can trust me, bro” recommendations where I'm comfortable putting my own name behind it because I personally dealt with the man.

Now:

NUMBER ONE — SECURE YOUR MONEY.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE DEADLINE SQUARE GAVE YOU.

Yes, I know it's roughly a month away.

I don't care.

I would not leave my operating money sitting there until the last possible minute.

Policies change.

Risk decisions change.

Accounts get restricted.

Funds get held.

Timelines move.

Get your money somewhere YOU control.

Then start working on your replacement processor immediately.

NUMBER TWO — START GATHERING YOUR PAPERWORK.

Do not wait for John or an underwriter to ask you for every single piece one at a time.

My best advice is:

SHOW UP PREPARED.

The more organized you are, the easier it is for somebody to look at your business and understand that you're legitimate.

When I went through Tasker's process, this is what I was asked to gather:

DRIVER'S LICENSE

Take a clear picture or scan of your government-issued driver's license.

Make sure it's readable.

ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION OR INCORPORATION

Your official state paperwork showing that your company exists.

If you're structured differently, they'll tell you what applies to you.

IRS EIN LETTER

Not just the EIN number typed into an email.

Have your actual IRS EIN documentation ready.

BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT VERIFICATION

You need an external, normal business bank account.

If you do not already have one, start working on that NOW.

When I went through underwriting, they accepted either a voided check or a formal bank letter.

If you get the bank letter, tell your bank you need it for merchant/payment-processing underwriting.

The letter needs to be:

• On the bank's official letterhead
• Dated
• Signed by a bank representative
• State that the account is a business account
• Include the name on the account
• Include the routing number
• Include the account number

Do not walk out of the bank with some generic “Dusty banks here” letter.

Make sure it contains what underwriting actually needs.

YOUR MOST RECENT THREE MONTHS OF BUSINESS BANK STATEMENTS

If your company is newer or the account has very little activity, don't panic.

My account didn't have some magical Fortune 500 transaction history either.

Give them what you legitimately have.

INVENTORY PHOTOS

Take 3–4 clear pictures of your inventory.

Show that you're a real business selling real products.

If you have shelves, boxes, wholesale inventory, packaged products, glass, accessories, flower, whatever applies to your operation:

Document it.

SUPPLIER / DROPSHIP / FULFILLMENT DOCUMENTATION

If another company fulfills orders for you or supplies your inventory, have something documenting that relationship.

That can include things like:

• Fulfillment agreements
• Dropshipping agreements
• Supplier agreements
• Wholesale invoices
• Purchase records
• Distributor documentation

They need to understand how you get the products that you're selling.

BUSINESS AND TAX LICENSES

Gather any applicable:

• City business licenses
• County licenses
• State licenses
• Sales-tax documentation
• Business permits
• Industry-specific licenses

Whatever applies to YOUR business.

PROOF THAT YOU OWN YOUR DOMAIN

You need to prove that your website is actually yours.

John told me this could be:

• A paid domain invoice
• An emailed payment receipt
• A screenshot from your registrar

The important part is that it shows your name and your domain name.

YOUR WEBSITE

Go through your website before underwriting does.

Make sure you have clearly visible:

• Contact information
• Refund/return policy
• Privacy policy
• Terms and conditions
• Shipping/fulfillment information
• Accurate product descriptions

And most importantly:

BE HONEST ABOUT WHAT YOU SELL.

If you sell hemp, say you sell hemp.

If you're a farmer, say you're a farmer.

If you're a distributor, explain your distribution model.

If you sell glass, accessories, or consumption hardware, explain that.

If you dropship, explain who fulfills your products.

If you have COAs, licenses, supplier relationships, inventory, or other compliance documentation:

HAVE IT READY.

Do not try to sneak through underwriting by pretending you sell something else.

The entire reason you're doing this is to find a processor that actually understands your business so you don't end up right back here again.

ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT

You need a regular external business banking relationship.

Do not let your entire company's financial life exist inside Square, PayPal, Cash App, Stripe, or any other payment platform.

Payment processor ≠ bank.

If you need help finding a business bank in your area that may work for your situation, contact me.

I'll help you research your options.

MONEY IN THE ACCOUNT

When I went through this, I was working around the idea of having approximately $1,200 available in the business account.

I'm NOT saying:

“Tasker requires exactly $1,200.”

I'm NOT saying:

“$1,200 guarantees approval.”

That's simply the approximate amount I remember discussing around my own underwriting process.

Every business is different.

But if you have the ability to show that your business has legitimate operating funds available, that's better than presenting an account that's completely empty.

CREDIT

From what I remember, the credit range discussed was somewhere around 675+.

Again:

I am not telling you that 675 is a guaranteed approval threshold.

I'm telling you what I remember from my own process so you have some idea what kind of underwriting environment you're walking into.

John can tell you what's actually required for your specific situation.

AND THEN CALL HIM.

Seriously.

Get your paperwork together.

Get your bank situation handled.

Secure your Square money.

Then:

Tasker Payment Gateway
207-772-8737
https://taskerpaymentgateways.com

Ask for John Stevenson.

Tell him Dusty sent you.

Again:

I MAKE NOTHING FROM THIS.

This is a business owner recommending another professional during a shitty situation.

If you already have processing handled:

Awesome.

If you don't want my recommendation:

Keep scrolling.

No hard feelings whatsoever.

This post is for the farmers, distributors, wholesalers, hemp businesses, smoke shops, glass companies, and small business owners who currently do not have the luxury of spending three weeks researching every high-risk processor on Google.

Some of y'all are harvesting.

Some of you are packing orders.

Some of you are managing farms.

Some of you are trying to pay employees.

Some of you are trying to keep a retail store alive.

You don't have unlimited time to think, find, research, compare, negotiate, and hope you picked the right company.

Right now you're being forced to react.

I'm trying to take one thing off your plate.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST WEEK BEFORE SQUARE SHUTS YOU DOWN.

Secure your money.

Get your paperwork.

Get your business banking handled.

Call somebody who actually understands the industry.

And get ahead of it.

Tasker Payment Gateway
207-772-8737
https://taskerpaymentgateways.com

Tell John that Dusty sent you.

I don't get paid.

I just want y'all to still be able to take a damn debit card next month. 😂

I clicked on today's New York TImes article thinking the hemp debate had finally reached a major national audience.

It had, but the article framed almost the entire issue around White House connections and hemp-industry lobbying.

The photo reinforced the same message. Right in the center is a brightly colored product labeled 16,000 mg, surrounded by candy, vapes and drinks.

What the article never tells readers is the actual number at the center of the law:

0.4 mg of total THC per container. Not per serving. Per container.

That one omission changes the whole story.

Here is an example we sent the Times after the article was published. A current cbdMD full-spectrum CBD oil lists:

• 2 mg THC per serving
• 30 servings per bottle
• approximately 60 mg THC in the bottle

One serving is five times the entire federal threshold. The full bottle is approximately 150 times the threshold.

That is not a 16,000 mg candy or a synthesized cannabinoid vape. It is a full-spectrum CBD oil.

This also is not a small issue affecting only a few hemp companies. More than 50 million American adults reported using CBD in the past year. That includes older adults, veterans, caregivers, parents and workers who use hemp-derived products for pain, sleep and stress.

Another point that really stood out to me was how the article criticized senators for putting a temporary delay into a stopgap spending bill, while barely examining the fact that the underlying restriction was passed the same way—through must-pass legislation used to reopen the federal government in November 2025.

How is this investigative journalism if it does not cover both sides of the debate? Both the valid concerns about protecting kids, but also explaining to readers details of the law - does the law make sense? What products are involved? Who will be affected when it takes effect?.

This feels like a good example of what consumers, farms and responsible hemp businesses are up against. National coverage keeps defining the entire market by its most extreme products, while ordinary full-spectrum CBD products and the people who use them remain invisible.

Protecting children matters. Regulating unsafe or mislabeled products matters.

But people should at least be told what the law actually does before Congress allows it to take effect.

How do we get reporters to examine the 0.4 mg threshold itself instead of treating the whole hemp market like the product shown in that photograph?