PORTLAND — Healing Harbors, in partnership with area businesses, is hosting a screening of “The Hemp Road Trip,” a powerful documentary that chronicles Rick Trojan’s multi-year, 48-state campaign to educate and advocate for the end of a federal prohibition of cannabis across the United States. The film screening takes place at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26, at the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall, and will feature a mini expo of Maine-made hemp products, as well as an interactive discussion about the potential boom that hemp can bring to Maine’s economy.

In recent years, experts have predicted that at the rate the cannabis industry is expanding, the American market will reach $20 billion by 2020. But one surprising market is spinning off into a mega-industry of its own. According to a new estimate from the Brightfield Group, cannabis industry analysts, the hemp-CBD market alone could hit $22 billion by 2022.

“Hemp Road Trip” founder Rick Trojan is a global hemp advocate who’s trekked across the country and back six times — and is currently traveling across the world to break the stigma about hemp and promote its many economic, health, manufacturing, and social benefits.

“I first started this project when I learned that less than 3 percent of the country even knows what industrial hemp is, let alone CBD,” says Trojan, who previously owned a health care software company and now owns multiple companies in the hemp industry, which range in function from farming to media. “By investing in American crops, hemp production is creating thousands of companies and tens of thousands of jobs nationwide. Not only can hemp replace items that come from petroleum, corn, cotton, and timber, it’s therapeutic properties have been critical to those looking for alternatives to pharmaceuticals. There’s huge opportunity here for Maine’s farmers, businesses and community — and with this screening we aim to make sure the public has an opportunity to learn more and ask questions.”

This screening is free for students and faculty, $10 for the general public, and is appropriate for all ages. Tickets can be found online on Eventbrite, and you can also watch the trailer on the web.

Healing Harbors is a Maine-Made, veteran-founded and women-owned business that makes hemp-based and CBD infused products in Brunswick. In 2018, Healing Harbors was a finalist in the Top Gun Showcase, hosted by the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs, and was the first CBD brand accepted into the Maine Made program. Visit their website: www.healingharbors.com.