--- title: Unbelievable! Cannabis Meets Construction Magic description: Cannabis meets construction as UW-Madison's EarthFest spotlights Hempcrete, a sustainable material transforming building health and eco standards. image: https://420intel.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/The%20image%20captures%20a%20vibrant%20outdoor%20gathering%20at%20the%20UWMadison%20EarthFest%20event%20A%20diverse%20group%20of%20attendees%20including%20students%20and%20researchers%20engage%20in%20animated%20discussions%20under%20colorful%20tents%20adorned%20with%20banners%20promoting%20cannabis%20research%20In%20th.jpeg --- [![420intel.com](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Asset%2016-1.png?width=300&height=162&name=Asset%2016-1.png "420intel.com")](https://420intel.com) - [Home](https://420intel.com) - [Advertise](https://420intel.com/advertise) - [Directory](https://420intel.com/directory) - [Topics](https://420intel.com/blog) - [Recreational News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/recreational-cannabis-news) - [Business News](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-business-news) - [Politics](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-politics) - [Technology](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-technology-news) - [Research](https://420intel.com/tag/medical-cannabis-news) - [Contact](https://420intel.com/contact-us) - [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/420intel) - [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/420-intel/) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://x.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/420intel) ### Press ESC to close [![420intel.com](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Asset%2016-1.png?width=300&height=162&name=Asset%2016-1.png "420intel.com")](https://420intel.com) - [Home](https://420intel.com) - [Advertise](https://420intel.com/advertise) - [Directory](https://420intel.com/directory) - [Topics](https://420intel.com/blog) - [Recreational News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/recreational-cannabis-news) - [Business News](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-business-news) - [Politics](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-politics) - [Technology](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-technology-news) - [Research](https://420intel.com/tag/medical-cannabis-news) - [Contact](https://420intel.com/contact-us) - [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/420intel) - [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/420-intel/) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://x.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/420intel) # Unbelievable! Cannabis Meets Construction Magic - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - [Cannabis Business News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-business-news) - 24 April 2025 MADISON, Wis. \[WMTV\] - As a part of UW- Madison’s EarthFest event, graduate students, researchers and panelists discussed cannabis research at the Cannabis Research Conference on Tuesday. Addressing the use and science of cannabis, the panels included discussions about agriculture, business, health and policy. Panelist Zach Popp is founder and president of Sativa Building Systems, but his business idea came from his role as a father. “My daughter at the time was very sick, she was very sick the whole winter because of mold toxicity in our house,” Popp explained. “It really set me on this journey to try to find a building material that could’ve prevented that, because like I said she was sick for a whole winter and we really didn’t know why.” Popp, concerned about his daughter’s health, combined his discovery of hemp with his background in construction. That’s when he found Hempcrete, an ecofriendly building material made from part of the hemp plant. “And I thought, that’s a material that could potentially solve this problem, because hempcrete is mold resistant, fire resistant, pest resistant and rot resistant,” Popp explained. Hempcrete is a building material made from the herd of industrial hemp plants, a lime-based solution and water. “The herd is the inner woody part of the hemp stalk, for the longest time people kind of considered it the waste product of the hemp plant,” Popp said. Assistant professor of plant and agroecosystem sciences at UW Madison, Shelby Ellison, explained the difference between industrial hemp and the type of cannabis that causes a high. “The further defined categories of cannabis sativa are the drug type cannabis that has a high THC amount that is that psychoactive component of cannabis sativa, and then there is hemp, or industrial hemp,” she said. She said use of industrial hemp in long-term projects like building materials, is a massive benefit to the environment on a molecular level. “Those are products where you are actually sequestering carbon dioxide that is getting fixed into the plant, and then that plant is holding onto that carbon for a long period of time, so it’s not being released as carbon dioxide back into the environment,” Ellison said. The 2018 Farm Bill allowed Wisconsinites to grow hemp, which Popp said opened up doors for local business. “The difference now is that I can source hemp locally, which is huge so partly why I’m here today to network and make relationships with people that are growing here locally,” he said. He said his daughter, his business and the environment are being positively affected by the use of cannabis. “It is more than just a product that will get you high,” Ellison added. In the state of Wisconsin, the legality of cannabis is determined by the amount of THC it contains. Hemp is classified as containing 0.3% or less THC. This was the first Cannabis Research Conference, and panelists shared that they hope to conduct more research on the plant and its uses through the University.     [by WMTV](https://www.wmtv15news.com/2025/04/23/its-more-than-plant-that-will-get-you-high-crossroad-cannabis-construction/)   [Cannabis Business News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-business-news) ![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=200&height=200&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) #### [Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) At 420 Intel, we cover cannabis legalization news throughout the world, offer reliable information for cannabis business owners, detail technological advances that impact the marijuana industry, cover marijuana rallies from across the globe, and everything in between. - - - [Cannabis Business News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-business-news) [![Italy plans to restrict nascent 'cannabis light' industry](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/An%20image%20of%20Italian%20entrepreneurs%20growing%20and%20selling%20cannabis%20products%2c%20facing%20potential%20economic%20impacts%20due%20to%20looming%20legislation%20to%20ban%20products.jpeg?width=550&height=395&name=An%20image%20of%20Italian%20entrepreneurs%20growing%20and%20selling%20cannabis%20products%2c%20facing%20potential%20economic%20impacts%20due%20to%20looming%20legislation%20to%20ban%20products.jpeg)](https://420intel.com/blog/italy-plans-to-restrict-nascent-cannabis-light-industry) - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - 12 November 2024 #### [Italy plans to restrict nascent 'cannabis light' industry](https://420intel.com/blog/italy-plans-to-restrict-nascent-cannabis-light-industry) ROME, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Italy's flourishing "cannabis light" industry risks being uprooted this... [Cannabis Technology News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-technology-news) [![The Great Hemp Hoax: White Paper Reveals How Synthetic Cannabis Masquerades as Legal Hemp](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/The%20image%20depicts%20a%20chaotic%20scene%20inside%20a%20brightly%20lit%20cannabis%20dispensary%20bustling%20with%20customers.jpeg?width=550&height=395&name=The%20image%20depicts%20a%20chaotic%20scene%20inside%20a%20brightly%20lit%20cannabis%20dispensary%20bustling%20with%20customers.jpeg)](https://420intel.com/blog/the-great-hemp-hoax-white-paper-reveals-how-synthetic-cannabis-masquerades-as-legal-hemp) - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - 20 February 2025 #### [The Great Hemp Hoax: White Paper Reveals How Synthetic Cannabis Masquerades as Legal Hemp](https://420intel.com/blog/the-great-hemp-hoax-white-paper-reveals-how-synthetic-cannabis-masquerades-as-legal-hemp) California consumers who believe they are purchasing legal, natural hemp products may be getting... [Cannabis Politics](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-politics) [![Marijuana Laws Face New Challenges Nationwide](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/In%20a%20dimly%20lit%20legislative%20chamber%20state%20Rep%20Bruce%20Skaug%20stands%20at%20a%20podium%20passionately%20addressing%20a%20diverse%20audience%20of%20lawmakers%20and%20concerned%20citizens%20The%20walls%20are%20adorned%20with%20state%20flags%20and%20banners%20depicting%20promarijuana%20and%20antimarijuana%20mes-2.jpeg?width=550&height=395&name=In%20a%20dimly%20lit%20legislative%20chamber%20state%20Rep%20Bruce%20Skaug%20stands%20at%20a%20podium%20passionately%20addressing%20a%20diverse%20audience%20of%20lawmakers%20and%20concerned%20citizens%20The%20walls%20are%20adorned%20with%20state%20flags%20and%20banners%20depicting%20promarijuana%20and%20antimarijuana%20mes-2.jpeg)](https://420intel.com/blog/marijuana-laws-face-new-challenges-nationwide) - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - 17 April 2025 #### [Marijuana Laws Face New Challenges Nationwide](https://420intel.com/blog/marijuana-laws-face-new-challenges-nationwide) As every state surrounding Idaho legalized marijuana, state Rep. Bruce Skaug started to view it as... - [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/420intel) - [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/420intel) Back to Top ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Buzz", "url" : "https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz" }, "dateModified" : "2025-04-24T12:00:02.453Z", "datePublished" : "2025-04-24T12:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Unbelievable! 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