HempWood:
Building the Future, One Board at a Time

You cannot smoke it. But you can build a house with it.

Over at HempWood in Murray, Kentucky, founder Gregory Wilson is flipping the lumber industry on its grain. After 14 years of engineering bamboo flooring overseas and dealing with the health fallout from formaldehyde-heavy production, Wilson came home with a better idea: hemp bonded with a soy-based adhesive. No VOCs. No waste. Carbon negative. And 20 percent stronger than hickory.

Since hemp’s federal legalization in 2018, HempWood has grown to hundreds of acres of cultivated hemp, turning stalks into flooring, panels, and custom millwork. The company even snagged “Coolest Thing Made in Kentucky” from the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers in 2024.

Yes, the word cannabis still spooks some buyers. Others love it. About 200 dispensaries nationwide already feature the product. Politics and funding freezes have slowed large public projects, but hemp’s six-month seed-to-lumber timeline makes it hard to ignore.

Trees take decades. Hemp takes a season.