Founder. Chairman. Advisor. Speaker.
Thirty years inside the global hemp and cannabis industries — building, advising and shaping the systems that move plants from idea to scale.
Profile
Paul Benhaim has worked inside the global hemp and cannabis industries for more than thirty years, across every layer from raw material to retail to regulation.
He founded Hemp Foods Australia and led the eighteen-year campaign that legalised hemp food in Australia. He co-founded Elixinol Global, which he helped scale from a startup to an ASX-listed public company with operations across the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia.
Today he is Chairman of The Hemp Plastic Company and founder of Cannabis Psychedelics and BioSmart Group. He founded, built and sold The Happy Clinic, a medicinal cannabis telehealth service. He has advised governments across four continents and gave evidence to the Australian Senate in 2026. He is the author of 19 books, has released two albums of hemp music, made a film and a television episode, created The Hemp Deck playing cards and the Sacred Seed Oracle deck, and has written numerous white papers and reports for governments and industry.
30+
Years
19
Books
4
Continents
4
Ventures
Focus Areas
Each domain is a piece of the same long-running argument: that plant systems can underwrite serious industrial and clinical infrastructure — at scale, under regulation, and with measurable outcomes.
01 — Materials & Textiles
Advisor to the largest high-end hemp textile business, which aims to pass US$1 billion in revenue over the next few years. Hemp fibre for fashion, apparel and technical textiles, from field and processing through to finished fabric.
02 — Composites & Bioplastics
Driving the transition from petrochemical plastics to plant-based alternatives through hemp bioplastics, composites, circular material systems and at-scale industrial supply.
03 — Food & Nutrition
Pioneering hemp foods across the UK, Europe, Japan and Australia — establishing hemp as a recognised nutritional category and leading the eighteen-year campaign that legalised hemp food in Australia.
04 — Medicine & Clinical Systems
Building compliant, doctor-led platforms that connect patients to personalised, plant-based medicine — and training practitioners in evidence-led care.
05 — Regenerative Systems
Advising on hemp as carbon-negative infrastructure — from regenerative agriculture and hempcrete construction to policy frameworks for whole-system industrial design.
Selected Projects
A current operating portfolio spanning materials, medicine, training and advisory — alongside the foundational ventures that established the global hemp food and cannabinoid industries.
Chairman
A leading supplier of hemp-based bioplastics, replacing fossil materials across packaging, automotive and consumer goods.
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Founder
A global advisory group supporting governments and commercial operators in developing hemp and cannabis industries from policy to product.
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Founder
A practical platform promoting hemp construction through hands-on workshops, enabling individuals and communities to build with carbon-negative materials.
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Founder / Former CEO
Built from early-stage startup into an ASX-listed public company with international operations in hemp and cannabinoid products.
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Founder
One of Australia's first hemp food companies — central to the legalisation of hemp food in Australia and its emergence as a mainstream nutritional category.
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Founder
Supporting improved mental health outcomes through structured clinical cannabis programs. Working alongside doctors and allied health professionals to deliver evidence-based, individually tailored prescribing — where patient safety, therapeutic intent and measurable outcomes are the standard.
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Founder (exited 2026)
A doctor-led medicinal cannabis telehealth service. Paul founded it and built it to exit, selling it in 2026. Along the way he gave numerous talks on the clinic and medicinal cannabis, nationally and internationally.
Visit site→Corporate Support
Alongside building his own ventures, Paul provides direct strategic and regulatory support to companies operating in, or entering, the hemp and cannabis sectors — from policy navigation to supply chain and market positioning.
Consulting Client
An Australian company working in the industrial hemp sector, supported by Paul across strategy, regulatory positioning and industry navigation.
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Many clients prefer to keep their advisory relationships private. The companies Paul has worked with across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia are not listed here — by design. If you are exploring whether Paul's experience is relevant to your situation, the right starting point is a direct conversation.
Start a conversation→Speaking & Advisory
Paul speaks and advises in formats that reward depth: small senior rooms, working sessions with policymakers, and main-stage keynotes for industries thinking ten years ahead.
Global speaking
Thirty years on stage across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia
Since the early 1990s Paul has spoken at conferences, trade shows, government hearings and universities throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, on hemp food, medicine, materials and policy.
Topics
Upcoming
MC, keynote speaker and moderator — Asia International Hemp Expo & Forum (AIHEF), Bangkok, 18–20 November 2026
Speaker — Japan International Hemp Expo (JIHE), Tokyo, 13–14 November 2026
Recent
MC and keynote speaker — NIHC Global Summit, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, September 2026
Paul opened and hosted the 2026 NIHC Global Summit at FIT in New York, and gave the keynote 'The Opportunity Landscape' – a plain look at where industrial hemp actually stands in fibre, grain, textiles, automotive composites, battery anodes, water treatment and packaging. He also joined the 'Hemp Materials at Work' panel. The room included the USDA, academics and professors, and hemp experts from around the world. Later that month he gave a talk at Climate Week NYC.
NIHC Global Summit, FIT New York, September 2026
Formats
Selected venues & engagements
Global Impact
Operating, advising or speaking — across the jurisdictions that shape the modern hemp and cannabis industries.
AustralAsia
Middle East
Europe
United States
Thailand
Japan
United Kingdom
Africa
Recognition
Formal recognition from governments, exchanges and international bodies — and the consistent body of work behind them.
AIHEF, Bangkok
MC, keynote speaker and moderator at the Asia International Hemp Expo & Forum, Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, 18–20 November 2026, his return to the event.
JIHE, Tokyo
Speaker at the Japan International Hemp Expo (JIHE 2026), House of Omotesando, Tokyo, 13–14 November 2026.
NIHC Global Summit, New York
MC and keynote speaker at the National Industrial Hemp Council's Global Summit, hosted at the Fashion Institute of Technology, with the USDA, academics and global industry experts in the room.
Climate Week NYC
Gave a talk at Climate Week NYC, held each September in New York alongside the UN General Assembly.
The Happy Clinic
Founded, built and sold The Happy Clinic, a doctor-led medicinal cannabis telehealth service.
Senate Witness
Gave formal evidence to the Australian Senate on the future of industrial hemp.
COP29 Attendee
Represented the regenerative materials industry at the UN Climate Conference.
Industry Representative
Industry Representation at a National, Global and Corporate level on hemp and regenerative agri-business.
ASX Listing
Co-founded and listed Elixinol Global on the Australian Securities Exchange.
19 Books Published
Author of nineteen books on hemp, regenerative business and plant-based industry, most recently The Amazing World of Hemp, a colouring book for all ages. Alongside the books: two albums of hemp music, a film, a television episode, two card decks and numerous white papers and reports.
Work with Paul