Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
There are many uses for industrial hemp: Horse bedding, particle board, even the fabric on car-door interiors.
The list runs long.
So says Patrique Veille, a co-owner of American Hemp LLC in Winston-Salem. In the industrial-hemp business for years, Veille has long relied on imports. But by the end of the year, he may be able to buy industrial hemp products from North Carolina farmers rather than growers in other countries.
Congress eased regulations in 2014 to allow for the limited cultivation of industrial hemp.
State legislators followed by setting up the N.C. Industrial Hemp Commission. On Thursday, the commission will hold a public hearing in Raleigh on its proposed rules governing a pilot program for the cultivation of industrial hemp in North Carolina.
"Farmers would have another crop and this would be a very good fit. North Carolina can help lead the way," Veille said this week.
With the proposed rules, the commission set the framework for industrial hemp cultivation. The rules define how a grower may cultivate the crop, how to apply for a license and under what law-enforcement conditions the crop may be grown, among other things.
Farmers had been prohibited by federal law from cultivating industrial hemp for nearly 80 years, in part because it comes from the same plant species as marijuana.
But there is a big difference between industrial hemp and marijuana, according to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, who is one of two law enforcement officers appointed to the hemp commission. The other is Cary Police Chief Tony Godwin.
The psychoactive agent in marijuana – known as THC – comes in concentrations that can range from 3 percent to as much as 15 percent.
In industrial hemp, THC concentrations may not exceed 0.3 percent, under state law.
Still, there are concerns that dubious growers may try to cultivate illegal marijuana plants by hiding them among legal industrial hemp plants.
As it turns out, the proposed rules deal with such a scenario.
In fact, Page helped make recommendations that would allow for the sampling of crops for THC levels as well as tracking industrial hemp fields with GPS.
"I think that's why they (state legislators) made sure they had law enforcement on the commission, to make sure we follow federal and state laws," Page said. "Education is important. We need to tell people what this is and what it isn't. This is not illegal marijuana."
"I hate to see our farms go away. This may be provide a good crop alternative," he said.
All growers would be working in partnership with N.C. A&T State University or N.C. State University.
Abiding by the 2014 federal law, the cultivation of industrial hemp will be done with research as its main purpose. The commission will gather information on such things as best farming practices as well as how markets may respond.
If all goes well, there could be a crop this year, according to Sandy Stewart, the director of the Research Stations Division at the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
"We don't know the perfect planting date. We're thinking May or early June. It's all part of the research," Stewart said.
That's if all goes well.
Comments from the public hearing will be reviewed when the commission meets again Feb. 13, Stewart said. The N.C. Rules Commission will "hopefully approve" the proposed rules Feb. 16.
After that, growers would be able to apply for a license.
But getting a license from state agricultural officials is just part of the process.
Growers would still have to get the green light from officials at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: North Carolina Takes Another Step Toward Growing Industrial Hemp
Author: Bertrand M. Gutierrez
Contact: 336-727-7211
Photo Credit: David Rolfe
Website: Winston-Salem Journal
The list runs long.
So says Patrique Veille, a co-owner of American Hemp LLC in Winston-Salem. In the industrial-hemp business for years, Veille has long relied on imports. But by the end of the year, he may be able to buy industrial hemp products from North Carolina farmers rather than growers in other countries.
Congress eased regulations in 2014 to allow for the limited cultivation of industrial hemp.
State legislators followed by setting up the N.C. Industrial Hemp Commission. On Thursday, the commission will hold a public hearing in Raleigh on its proposed rules governing a pilot program for the cultivation of industrial hemp in North Carolina.
"Farmers would have another crop and this would be a very good fit. North Carolina can help lead the way," Veille said this week.
With the proposed rules, the commission set the framework for industrial hemp cultivation. The rules define how a grower may cultivate the crop, how to apply for a license and under what law-enforcement conditions the crop may be grown, among other things.
Farmers had been prohibited by federal law from cultivating industrial hemp for nearly 80 years, in part because it comes from the same plant species as marijuana.
But there is a big difference between industrial hemp and marijuana, according to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, who is one of two law enforcement officers appointed to the hemp commission. The other is Cary Police Chief Tony Godwin.
The psychoactive agent in marijuana – known as THC – comes in concentrations that can range from 3 percent to as much as 15 percent.
In industrial hemp, THC concentrations may not exceed 0.3 percent, under state law.
Still, there are concerns that dubious growers may try to cultivate illegal marijuana plants by hiding them among legal industrial hemp plants.
As it turns out, the proposed rules deal with such a scenario.
In fact, Page helped make recommendations that would allow for the sampling of crops for THC levels as well as tracking industrial hemp fields with GPS.
"I think that's why they (state legislators) made sure they had law enforcement on the commission, to make sure we follow federal and state laws," Page said. "Education is important. We need to tell people what this is and what it isn't. This is not illegal marijuana."
"I hate to see our farms go away. This may be provide a good crop alternative," he said.
All growers would be working in partnership with N.C. A&T State University or N.C. State University.
Abiding by the 2014 federal law, the cultivation of industrial hemp will be done with research as its main purpose. The commission will gather information on such things as best farming practices as well as how markets may respond.
If all goes well, there could be a crop this year, according to Sandy Stewart, the director of the Research Stations Division at the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
"We don't know the perfect planting date. We're thinking May or early June. It's all part of the research," Stewart said.
That's if all goes well.
Comments from the public hearing will be reviewed when the commission meets again Feb. 13, Stewart said. The N.C. Rules Commission will "hopefully approve" the proposed rules Feb. 16.
After that, growers would be able to apply for a license.
But getting a license from state agricultural officials is just part of the process.
Growers would still have to get the green light from officials at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: North Carolina Takes Another Step Toward Growing Industrial Hemp
Author: Bertrand M. Gutierrez
Contact: 336-727-7211
Photo Credit: David Rolfe
Website: Winston-Salem Journal
