About the Owner - 502 Hemp

AN OWNER WITH PASSION

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 of 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 while not a cure, the CBD has helped immensely. In 2014, when Kentucky started its Hemp Pilot program, John and his business partner were the first to be licensed as processors. Now, John and Dee Dee own their own manufacturing company and concentrate on smaller batches and support smaller businesses including the three retail locations owned and operated by Dee Dee.

A Journey to Success

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 812 Hemp in Clarksville, IN. Dee Dee opened a third location at a booth inside of Logan Street Market in Louisville to help support the growing community of other local business owners and provide another location for her customers to buy from.

So far in 2026, Dee Dee has been awarded the Prospect Chamber Legacy of Excellence award, the Chamber St. Matthew’s Overachiever Award and the Jeffersontown Chamber’s Spirit Award. 502 Hemp won the Best Cannabis Store in Louisville from Business Rate for the third year in a row.

In 2025, Dee Dee was awarded Middletown Chamber’s Diversity Award for a minority owned business, Chamber of St. Matthew’s Community Champion and the Albert Sanders Award. She was also awarded the 2025 Boom Award from the Jeffersontown Chamber and received the Business Women’s First Enterprising Woman Award. She was also nominated for Most Admired Woman by Today’s Woman as well. In 2025, 502 Hemp was awarded the Best Cannabis Store in Louisville by Business Rate, the Best CBD Store in Louisville from the Community Choice awards and the 2025 Leo Reader’s choice award for best CBD Oil.

Dee Dee was 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.

In 2022, Dee Dee was appointed by Governor Beshear to his Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee. 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. She continues her cannabis advocacy as the President of the Kentucky Hemp Association and is very active in legislation both in Kentucky and Indiana as well as federally.

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 nominated in 2024 and 2025 as well.

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.

In 2024, 502 Hemp was named the Best Cannabis Store in Louisville, based on local reviews. 502 Hemp also won the Best CBD oil and Best Blog from the Leo Readers Choice Awards. 502 Hemp was awarded the Best CBD Store by the Courier Journal in 2024 as well.

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 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 Neighborhood Favorite in Nextdoor.

502 Hemp was 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. 812 Hemp has also been a finalist for the Best CBD Store in 2023, 2024 and 2025 in the Community Choice Awards.

Dee Dee will be the first one to tell you that she is honored to win every award and be acknowledged by the business community as an expert in her field. She has been a speaker at numerous events and has found a love for educating the masses on all things hemp. She will be the first person to tell you that while winning awards is amazing, hearing from her customers about how much her products have helped them is the most rewarding gift(s) she has received. She has a keepsake treasure book that is filled with thank you notes from her customers. Dee Dee is honored to be in this industry of helping others with cannabis products. She continues to show up and work with others to help keep these products available and legal for the many customers that rely on them. It isn’t just a business to her, it is a way of life. To help others in some way every single day. Through sponsorships, donations or community events, Dee Dee is out there on the front lines helping to break the stigma one person at a time.

You can help as well by signing up for the stores newsletters and calling your representatives when asked. It takes a village to right the wrongs of our nation’s past on cannabis, aka hemp. Thank you from Dee Dee and the entire team at 502/812 for all the support throughout the years!