Meet The Owner
About The Owner,
Dee Dee Taylor
Dee Dee Taylor was born in Middletown, Ohio. She graduated from Lebanon High School and attended The College of Mount St. Joseph. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Paralegal Studies and had an exemplary career in Ohio and Kentucky as a paralegal/office manager. She became a permanent resident to Middletown, Kentucky in 2010 to be with her now husband, John Taylor and his daughter (now her daughter as well). Her family jokes about how she left Middletown only to still live in Middletown.
Her husband, John, suffers from Grand Mal seizures. The pharmaceutical drugs he was taking to control the debilitating episodes were not working and their negative side effects were taking a toll on his health. Dee Dee urged John to find a natural alternative, which led to a discovery that would be life-changing for both of their careers. John traveled west to learn about CBD oils and learned how to make them. Once he began using the products, his seizures stopped for 5 years and he has only had 8 seizures in the last 13 years. In 2014, when Kentucky started their Hemp Pilot program, John and his business partner were the first to be licensed as processors. They’ve since been in business making quality, safe products with Kentucky Hemp.
After experiencing debilitating anxiety with panic attacks, Dee Dee started using John’s CBD oil and noticed a remarkable difference. So in 2016, Dee Dee switched career paths to focus full time on the hemp business. She started setting up a booth at fairs and festivals around town as KY Beauty and Wellness. She didn’t set out to be in the alternative medicine field, but has found her calling and passion. She loves to learn about new advances in the hemp industry and has made it her personal mission to eliminate the stigma that is associated with hemp.
Dee Dee owns 502 Hemp Wellness Center, Louisville’s premier hemp boutique and recently opened 812 Hemp in Clarksville, IN. Dee Dee is excited to grow into Southern Indiana and offer her expertise to the local community with safe, quality, reliable products.
In 2022, Dee Dee was appointed by Governor Beshear to his Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee and continues her cannabis advocacy as an honorary board member to KY Moms for Medical Cannabis and an active board member with the Kentucky Hemp Association.
Dee Dee was recently awarded the 2024 Public Policy Catalyst by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) for her role in the cannabis industry legislation and legislative advocacy work. Plus for her professional dedication to excellence and her personal commitment to providing the best service to the community.
On September 21, 2022, Dee Dee was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel for her advocacy work in the cannabis industry and advocating for legal hemp products and restrictions on Delta 8 products instead of an all out ban.
Dee Dee was honored to be awarded the 2023 Entrepreneur Boom Award from the Jeffersontown Chamber. She was also nominated in 2023 as a Most Admired Woman with Today’s Woman and was recently nominated again in 2024.
In 2019, Dee Dee was awarded the Strong Woman Leader Award by the Prospect Chamber and was recognized as the Top 20 People to Know in the Health Care industry in Louisville’s Business First, January 2019 edition.
502 Hemp won the Small Business of the Year Award from the St. Matthew’s Chamber at the annual dinner in 2024 for 2023. In 2023, 502 Hemp was recognized as a finalist for the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Ethics in 2023. 502 Hemp also won the 2023 Leo’ Reader’s Choice award for Best CBD Oil and the 2023 Best of the Best CBD Store from the Courier Journal.
In 2022, 502 Hemp won Business of the Year and the 2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award by the Prospect Chamber. 502 Hemp also won the 2022 Leo’ Reader’s Choice award for Best CBD Oil and the Best of the Best CBD Store from the Courier Journal.
In 2021 Leo Reader’s Choice award for Best Place to Buy CBD and Best of the Best from the Courier Journal. 502 Hemp also won the 2020 Leo Reader’s Choice Award for Best CBD Oil and Best CBD oil and 2019 Leo Reader’s Choice award for Best Place to Buy CBD oil, Best CBD Oil and Best New Store/Business in Louisville. 502 Hemp was chosen as the 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 Neighborhood Favorite in Nextdoor.
502 Hemp is also the Official Hemp/CBD Product Partner for the Kentucky Derby Festival for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
812 Hemp won Best New Store in the Leo Reader’s Choice Awards for 2023. 812 Hemp was also a finalist for the Rising Star Award for the 1SI Chamber for 2023.
Dee Dee is honored to be in this industry of helping others with cannabis products. She proudly claims, whether you are in Louisville or Clarksville, we have you covered in both the Ville’s and everywhere else in between!
