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HEMP moving into hemp FIBER.
“Two years ago today” we grew CBD hemp in this 50 acre field next to our processing faculty in North Carolina. Today this field looks just like it did then, plowed, disked and ready to plant, however, this year we are planting traditional long stock industrial hemp - not for CBD (we have plenty of that growing around America) but for other industrial applications hemp can be used for:
Factless
Allegedly
Digipath also close to developing a field test kit, which could further open the FLOODGATES for states like North Carolina, with local law enforcement holding a strong stance against hemp due to its similar resemblance to MJ. Police officers can't tell it apart.
Should make officers jobs a lot easier and help transportation of the product over state lines.
It will all come together, in time.
https://mogreenway.com/2019/07/30/digipath-makes-significant-strides-grosciences-tru-hemp-id-kit/
Digipath to Provide Three On-Site Potency Testing Laboratories for Hemp, Inc.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digipath-to-provide-three-on-site-potency-testing-laboratories-for-hemp-inc-300781702.html
A reminder that HEMP not the only ones growing in dry terrain
20 acres in dry elevation Colorado. Soil not as nutrient rich as Oregon, NC, or the Prairie States.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CBD/comments/cj37og/thunderstorm_developing_over_our_hemp_farm/?ref=share&ref_source=link
It can be done.
NORTH CAROLINA INDUSTRIAL HEMP REGISTERED PROCESSORS (JULY 2019)
https://www.ncagr.gov/hemp/documents/ProcessorlistJuly2019_000.pdf
They are growing in Oregon and NC, too.
Those locations are fine.
Not everyone can grow in the desert. Surely no one from Vermont with the skill level to pull it off.
Hemp Inc in 3 states, and not done yet. More states on the horizon.
Lots of customers to choose from.
Building out an industrial infrastructure takes time and money.
This company is not the first to run in the red while scaling up, and most definitely not the last. Isn't USA running trillions in debt? Keeps on ticking.
New industry, and most are still not profitable.
Booking revenues, and that was before hemp was rescheduled.
More on the way! Get used to it.
Googling and farming are two completely different things.
Some of the plants are from a strain specifically bred for the environment they are being cultivated. If the plants can endure a few weeks, they may very well have some success. It only takes one or two good plants for decent clones, and they can do it all over again next year, then harvest multiple cycles in only one year. That is the advantage, along with cheap land. I don't think anyone is claiming that growing in the desert is easy, but it isn't impossible either. They have to adapt and be creative. It was nice that gov't officials bumped up the start date from August to June, but permit issuance were met with delays, something that we've seen before in past inaugural grows.
Like I said, let's see the results before jumping to conclusions.
Meanwhile Oregon and NC going ahead as planed. I think we will continue to see much success in those locations. Already booking millions in revenues.
Fair observation. I noticed that too.
Let's see the results before we jump to conclusions.
Crop damage occurs in almost 100% of cases. Too much water can be just as damaging as too little. There are many forms of hazards to crops like pests and animals, high winds, and temperature.
Crop loss has to be factored in, but, obviously, the goal is to try to mitigate as much as possible.
They might lose a few plants, but let's see what the turnout is in a couple of months. The strongest and highest yielding plants are cloned at the end of the year.
If it's not the turnout they had expected, maybe it's best to scratch dust-states and stick to regions similar to Oregon and NC, which they already have. They might want to consider a Midwest state at some point, being the agricultural powerhouse.
Again, if they can pull it off in the desert, kudos to them. Some are trying. It's a completely different grow-tech than most are familiar with, alhough, stuff does grow out there.
You remember HEMP produces and processes in more than one state?
HEMP not the only one growing in Arizona (aka "the desert").
Seedlings were sprouted off site, and then planted in some stage of maturity due to the fact that Arizona just went legal June 1 and permits werent issued for weeks after.
Funny, cause if one ACTUALLY understood how the growing and political process works in AZ, they would have informed us already. Bruce has been doing that. I haven't seen anyone else provide such insight to the process.
Bruce has multiple, reputable teams working on their own grow tech and methods in Kingsman. If Bruce pulls off growing in the desert (not easy) I think that will shut a lot of mouths up, wouldn't you agree?
Looks like progress to me. Not a failure. And remember, HEMP in other states, teaching, growing AND processing.
Legal CBD could be a big boost for Florida hemp farmers
Posted By Dara Kam, News Service of Florida on Fri, Jul 26, 2019
TALLAHASSEE — Hemp has been hyped as a lifesaver for Florida farmers, touted as a versatile crop that can be used to build houses, feed livestock and create clothing.
But it’s the plant’s healing qualities that have sparked a second cannabis “green rush,” as the state’s hemp program gets off the ground.
The nationwide craze for products containing CBD is evident at supermarkets, gas stations and big-box stores, where lotions, tinctures and bath “bombs” are among the items flying off the shelves as consumers seek to quell anxiety, aches and pains and a host of other ailments.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of the cannabinoids found in the plant cannabis sativa. What differentiates hemp from its cannabis cohort marijuana is the amount of euphoria-inducing THC.
State and federal law defines “industrial hemp” as cannabis that has 0.3 percent or less tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC; cannabis plants that have more than that amount of euphoria-inducing THC are marijuana.
While marijuana remains illegal under federal law, Congress last year decriminalized industrial hemp as an agricultural product, allowing states like Florida to begin regulating the plant that’s been around for 10,000 years.
Following up on the federal action, Florida lawmakers this authorized a statewide hemp program and gave oversight of the crop to Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
Fried, a Broward County Democrat elected in November, had already branded herself as the Sunshine State’s cannabis queen, making expanded patient access to medical marijuana a cornerstone of her campaign last year and continuing that crusade since taking office in January.
Fried in February appointed Holly Bell as the state’s first “director of cannabis,” three months before the Legislature handed hemp over to the agriculture agency.
While hemp can be grown for myriad purposes, Bell said she expects most Florida growers to cultivate flowering plants that will be used for CBD extraction, at least at the outset.
“The demand for the hemp crop is in the CBD crop right now, so that’s what the farmers will grow,” Bell said in a telephone interview this week.
Bell, a former banker who took over as Florida’s cannabis czar after playing a role in Tennessee’s hemp industry, said market research shows countrywide demand for hemp is anticipated to be “in the high double digits over the next few years.”
She estimates that as many as 3,000 growers will line up when agriculture department begins accepting applications for the program.
Widespread interest in hemp was evident this summer, when 900 people flocked to three rule-making workshops as Fried’s department crafts regulations to govern the industry.
Bell and other enthusiasts extol medicinal qualities of CBD.
“I tell people it’s the new ibuprofen. It comes from a plant, and doesn’t affect your liver the way ibuprofen does,” said Bell, adding that she’s used it to reduce her blood pressure and relieve arthritis-related pain.
Despite its cult-like popularity and skyrocketing use, CBD hasn’t received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for medicinal use. And the federal agency is cracking down on purveyors of CBD products.
The agency on Monday sent a warning to Curaleaf, one of the nation’s largest medical marijuana companies, for selling “unapproved new and misbranded human drug products,” such as vape pens, and claiming that the products relieve maladies such as chronic pain. Curaleaf is one of 23 licensed medical marijuana operators in Florida.
Under Florida’s new system, hemp extract produced in the state will have to undergo third-party testing to make sure it is safe for human consumption.
To participate in the hemp program, farmers have to be licensed by Fried’s department. Under state and federal law, hemp growers can only use seeds and cultivars that are “certified by a certifying agency” or a university participating in an industrial hemp pilot project.
Bell said she expects the state’s initial hemp farmers to start off small, with five- to 25-acre fields, so they can get acclimated to a plant that hasn’t been grown legally in Florida for almost a century.
That’s where Sunshine Hemp’s Mike Kelley comes in. Kelly was one of the founders of Kentucky-based GenCanna Global, one of the country’s largest hemp producers.
Sunshine Hemp has teamed with Florida A&M University in a research pilot project, authorized by Fried’s department, focused on engineering hemp that’s designed to thrive in Florida.
“These plants do not like wet feet, so people are going to have to be very mindful of where they plant them, as far as Florida rains,” Kelley said. “And then we have an insect issue that surpasses any other state.”
Kelley is hoping to have millions of seeds that can withstand Florida’s bugs, rain and humidity available for hemp growers by the time the state’s program is fully operational. That could be as early as the end of the year, according to Bell.
Because of the “explosive growth in interest” in CBD products, “there’s a huge shortage” of hemp seeds, according to Kelley, whose Sunshine Hemp partners include Tallahassee lobbyist Jeff Sharkey.
“That’s where Florida growers are going to need to find the right seeds for Florida, at a price point that works. The prices on these seeds are going up exponentially,” Kelley said during a telephone interview while he was overseeing work in the field of a Kentucky farm.
The hemp program is the second wave of a “green rush” that’s engulfed Florida, where medical marijuana operators are routinely selling licenses for upwards of $50 million, less than three years after voters legalized medical pot.
But cultivators like Kelly have done their best to separate hemp from its sister plant in a variety of ways, including the nomenclature to describe the plants.
For example, types of hemp are referred to by their “genetics,” rather than “strains,” as in the marijuana arena. Instead of the term “mother plant” used in the pot industry, they’re called “stock plants” in the world of hemp.
Once the plants are harvested, they’ll have to be processed by facilities that will also be overseen by Fried’s agency. Processors are starting to set up shop in the state.
Like Bell, Kelley said he’s seen a shift in attitudes toward hemp and CBD since he first got into the industry five years ago, when “the stigma was really high.”
“That’s when everybody was still standoffish about hemp” and didn’t understand the difference between hemp and marijuana, Kelley said.
But the perception about CBD, and hemp, has changed.
“It works. For people with pain and mental stress and stuff like that, it really works,” he said.
Source: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/07/26/legal-cbd-could-be-a-big-boost-for-florida-hemp-farmers
South Carolina law enforcement cracks down on smokable hemp
Hemp Industry Daily
7/26/2019
In the latest blow dealt to the burgeoning smokable hemp flower market in the Southeast United States, South Carolina law enforcement officials are requiring retailers across the state to pull raw, unprocessed hemp products from their store shelves.
The action comes after an opinion handed down from the State Attorney General’s office on July 10 interpreted language in the South Carolina Farming Act of 2019 as saying that smokable hemp falls under the definition of raw, unprocessed hemp.
The opinion, according to Greenville TV station WYFF, states that “the statute makes it clear that the mere possession of raw, unprocessed hemp or hemp not in a finished product without a license is unlawful.”
The move is causing uncertainty for hemp businesses across South Carolina as smokable hemp has become one of the most popular and lucrative hemp products.
Law enforcement officials in other states, including neighboring North Carolina, have pushed for bans on smokable hemp flower, claiming the product is too hard to distinguish from marijuana and hinders drug arrests where recreational MJ remains illegal.
Source: https://hempindustrydaily.com/south-carolina-law-enforcement-cracks-down-on-smokable-hemp/
North Carolina lawmakers vote to delay smokable hemp ban
Hemp Industry Daily
7/26/2019
Another set of policymakers in North Carolina has signed off on banning smokable hemp until December 2020 in hopes that tests will be developed by then to distinguish the plant from marijuana.
The state House Judiciary Committee voted to approve the original measure passed by the Senate, which would make smokable hemp legal until December 2020, allowing time for the differentiation of hemp from marijuana and for the hemp industry to work with law enforcement to develop a compromise.
Earlier this month, the House Agriculture Committee approved a measure to ban smokable hemp by December.
Last week, the House Finance Committee approved another measure to criminalize smokable hemp and classify it as marijuana.
House Agriculture chair Jimmy Dixon, who had pushed for the earlier ban on smokable hemp and championed the measure to criminalize the product, changed his position, Raleigh TV station WRAL reported.
He instead encouraged the House Judiciary Committee to continue to differentiate smokable hemp from marijuana and vote in favor of the Senate version of the bill, which would delay the ban until next year.
North Carolina’s Bureau of Investigation is pushing for the ban, saying it is difficult for law enforcement to discern smokable hemp from marijuana.
Hemp industry members testified in the Judiciary Committee hearing that the earlier ban would devastate hemp farms producing smokable hemp flower.
Source: https://hempindustrydaily.com/north-carolina-lawmakers-vote-to-delay-smokable-hemp-ban/
If NC knocks it out of the park with smokable hemp, lawmakers will think better on letting producers grow their buds. The tax dollars will to hard to walk away from.
Money talks! And we all know big tobacco is swirling all over the region, from West Virginia to Florida.
North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission Resolution
Regarding the Reclassification of Smokable Hemp
as a Class Six Controlled Substance, Marijuana
Whereas, The North Carolina General Assembly, House Finance and Judiciary Committees voted on or
about July 17, 2019 to classify smokable hemp as a controlled substance, by including smokable
hemp in the definition of marijuana;
Whereas, the United States Congress with the President’s signature, enacted the 2018 Agricultural
Improvement Act (Farm Bill), which included provisions to remove hemp and its products from
being a Schedule 1 Drug under the Controlled Substances Act;
Whereas, The North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission, previous North Carolina General Assemblies,
and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have endeavored to
comply with Federal Law in all respects;
Whereas, The United States Department of Justice has solicited and begun evaluation of field test kits to
determine their utility for identifying commonly found illegal marijuana for assistance in
establishing probable cause, and has indicated in correspondence that one or more appear to be
acceptable for their purposes;
Whereas, The State of North Carolina through its establishment of a Hemp Pilot Program in 2015, and the
formation of an appointed Industrial Hemp Commission, has established a licensing framework
for the cultivation and marketing of hemp and its products;
Whereas, The 2019 hemp crop in North Carolina was planted under a statutory and regulatory framework
in which all products of hemp legally cultivated in the program have never been previously
questioned to be illegal by Federal or State law enforcement;
Whereas, A shift in the law now by criminalizing smokable hemp will create market instability and leave
North Carolina farmers insufficient time to find new markets for their crops;
Whereas, The Industrial Hemp Commission believes that the amendments as made by the House Finance
and Judiciary Committees, if passed, would seriously threaten the ability of farmers obtaining crop
insurance and financial lending for hemp and limit the opportunities for growth of the industry;
Whereas, It is law enforcement’s duty to adapt to changes in the law at both the Federal and State level,
and;
Whereas, A ban on a portion of a crop which has been deemed by the Federal law to be legal in its
entirety would likely result in costly litigation against the State of North Carolina to defend its
actions by the General Assembly and the taxpayers of North Carolina, therefore;
Be it Resolved, The North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission requests that the General Assembly enact
legislation that does not classify hemp or any legally produced hemp product as marijuana; and
further
North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission Resolution Regarding the Reclassification of Smokable Hemp as a
Class Six Controlled Substance, Marijuana, continued (page 2 of 2)
N.C. Industrial Hemp Commission
Dr. Tom Melton, Chair Dr. Sandy Stewart, Vice-Chair
Guy Carpenter Chief Tony Godwin Billy McLawhorn
Sherriff Tim Manning Fen Rascoe Pat Short Dr. Guochen Yang
Be it Resolved, That the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission requests the General Assembly enact
legislation which:
1. Directs the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, in consultation with the United
State Department of Justice, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services, and the industry to develop and implement a field test kit which can reasonably
determine the presence of marijuana;
2. Gives the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commission authority to seize
and test smokable hemp possessed or offered for sale and enforce charges relevant to
marijuana laws if tested above the legal tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limit for hemp;
3. Requires licensure of all retailers selling smokable hemp by the ABC Commission;
4. Allows the ABC Commission to set fees around the licensure requirements and seizures
and authorize the expenditure of revenue generated from such fees to purchase
equipment for testing THC levels in smokable hemp products and for personnel necessary
to implement this program;
5. Establishes an 18-year old minimum age limit to purchase or possess smokable products;
and
6. Provides for enforcement of an open container law for smokable hemp in public places
and vehicles.
Be it Resolved, That the Industrial Hemp Commission will cause this resolution to be brought to the
attention of the North Carolina General Assembly and appropriate committees for consideration.
Resolved by the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission on July 23, 2019, by a vote of 5 to 2.
https://www.ncagr.gov/hemp/documents/2019-July23NCIHCResolutionRegardingtheReclassificationofSmokeableHempasaClassSixControlledSu.pdf
NC House lawmakers change course on smokeable hemp
7/24/2019
By Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief
A key House committee voted Wednesday to differentiate smokeable hemp from on marijuana, just one week after a different committee voted to define them as the same drug.
The abrupt shift in position was led by the same lawmaker who led the charge to criminalize smokeable hemp last week - House Agriculture chairman Rep. Jimmy Dixon.
The debate over hemp has been the main issue dogging this year's Farm Bill, which appeared to be in danger of failing after Dixon, R-Duplin, sought to ban smokeable hemp as of December 2019, and amended a second bill to define the product as marijuana under the state's controlled substances law. Both those changes were approved by House committee votes after Dixon insisted that allowing hemp cigarettes would amount to legalizing marijuana.
However, the version of Senate Bill 315 presented to the House Judiciary committee Wednesday was the original measure approved by the Senate, which allows the sale of smokeable hemp until December 2020, while growers, law enforcement and industry experts work on finding compromise language to allow its sale indefinitely.
Dixon, appearing at the podium beside Senate sponsor Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, urged the committee to support the Senate version.
Smokeable hemp and marijuana look and smell the same, but hemp contains only trace amounts of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana. Only a test can tell them apart.
The law enforcement community says both should be banned because if they can't tell the difference, they can't claim to have probable cause to believe a law has been broken.
Adovcates made the same arguments Wednesday. albeit with an air of resignation.
Fred Baggett, speaking for the state police chiefs' group, warned that their ability to enforce laws against marijuana "will be severely impeded unless and until smokeable hemp is banned in North Carolina."
However, Baggett added, "We will live and do our best with whatever laws you give us."
Speaking for the NC Conference of District Attorneys, Wake Co DA Lorrin Freeman said traffic stops for the odor of marijuana often lead to evidence of additional, even violent crimes. "I ask you to embrace public safety over the money that can be made on this one product."
Rep. Fred Brewer, D-Richmond, said the bill would likely result in an avalanche of marijuana test requests that could overwhelm the state crime lab.
"There’s not yet been a bill proposed in this committee or any other committee that would solve law enforcements concerns with the bill," Dixon told a committee member. "The General Assembly does not have the ability to do that. This is obviously going to be solved in the courts."
Meantime, hemp growers spoke in favor of the Senate version.
NC Industrial Hemp Commission member Fen Rascoe said the earlier push to define hemp as marijuana would have devastated the industry.
"We’re not going to be able to get crop insurance and we’re not going to be able to get financial lending," he warned.
"We are not growing an illegal crop," agreed Hempstar Farms owner Randy Gray. "We don’t need our state to step in and knock the blocks out from under us."
"We will continue to work with law enforcement," Sen. Jackson assured the committee. "We want to do the right thing. but we do not want to cut a budding industry off at knees before it gets started."
Several members of the committee quizzed Dixon on the changes to the bill and his support of it.
"I may have just missed the memo," said Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, "but at some point, I'd love some explanation on why the Ag committee chair is now taking a different position than the position he took."
"It’s also not the bill that we passed out of Finance," added Rep. Brandon Lofton, D-Mecklenburg. "This completely undoes all the work that’s been done by the previous two committees."
"The House, yes, made adjustments to the Senate bill when we had it in Ag. But as frequently happens, those positions change over time," Dixon replied. "The process that we go through up here is what it is."
Source: https://www.wral.com/nc-house-lawmakers-change-course-on-smokeable-hemp/18529805/
That's a WONDERFUL rumor.
Par for the course!
If Hemp Inc is "dying", why would they be expanding into more states, increasing acreage, and accelerating revenues?
Or was that just your opinion?
You don't like revenues and expansion?
AZDA issues more hemp licenses
https://agriculture.az.gov/sites/default/files/HempLicenses7-22-19.pdf
U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE SCHEDULES HEARING ON HEMP
July 22, 2019
"The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will hold its first hearing regarding the production of hemp and hemp-derived products on July 25. Committee chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced the hearing on July 17.
The hearing, titled “Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill,” will feature testimony from a variety of department heads and agricultural leaders. One of the many panel members scheduled to go before the committee is Dr. Amy Abernethy, Principal Deputy Commissioner of Food and Drugs for the U.S Food & Drugs Administration (FDA).
“I am honored to be called by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry to testify next week (7/25) on “Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill,” Abernethy stated in a tweet. “As FDA, we recognize how important the topics of hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) are to Americans.”
No agenda was declared for the hearing, but the hearing announcement did include a list of witnesses in two discussion panels. In addition to Abernathy, the following are scheduled to be witnesses during the hearing: Greg Ibach, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Stephen Alexander Vaden, General Counsel for the USDA, and Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, Assistant Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
Other witnesses include Kentucky farmer Brian Furnish, Executive Director of National Hemp Association Erica Stark, and Darrell G. Seki, Sr., Tribal Chairman, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. The hearing is scheduled to be live webcast at ag.senate.gov.
The congressional hearing on hemp comes two days after the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will meet to discuss marijuana banking issues on July 23. Last week, a House Judiciary subcommittee held the first-ever hearing on ending federal marijuana prohibition."
https://news.medicalmarijuanainc.com/u-s-senate-committee-schedules-hearing-on-hemp/?utm_source=Medical+Marijuana%2C+Inc.+-+News&utm_campaign=066e93858a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d5e53c6363-066e93858a-164090073&mc_cid=066e93858a&mc_eid=7118a936d5&fbclid=IwAR3K-VM8sMQlcA9c8gxxxJQLpI4Zx8oWmQlRamo2mY5Qah4kpKsXRE9mq6c
NC Judiciary Committee to meet July 24th over reclassification of smokable hemp.
10AM EST - S315: North Carolina Farm Act of 2019.
https://www.ncleg.gov/LegislativeCalendar/
CHECK - Hemp market not project "small" market
Total economic impact of the cannabis industry will be range from $39.2 billion to $48 billion in 2019 – about a 35% increase over 2018.
You saying Budweiser wasn't big in 1886?
Total beer production increased from 3.6 million barrels in 1865 to over 66 million barrels in 1914. By 1910, brewing had grown into one of the leading manufacturing industries in America.
While the number of beer drinkers certainly did rise during these years, perhaps just as importantly, per capita consumption also rose dramatically, from under four gallons in 1865 to 21 gallons in the early 1910s.
Some movement on a 2M buy order? Anyone else see?
All great companies started small. Look at Anheuser-Busch, probably a better model for what's ahead, more so than Apple. When once producing only a few thousands barrels of beer per year to be shipped on horse carriage, Budweiser now produces hundreds of millions of barrels per year, shipped in containers via semi, train, and ship.
The only difference, beer has been out of prohibition for one hundred years.
Cannabis just getting started.
USA is the worlds largest consumer. Soon to be largest producer.
FLOODGATES
Less than? There are hundreds, if not thousands of acres growing within a 30 mile radius of HEMP's processing locations.
They did hundred of thousands of pounds last year. You think they'll do less this year?
LMAO!
Revenues are only going up from here.
PROGRESS REPORT
The top video is our beautiful 42 acre hemp grow in Oregon (Pre 1999 OG Bubba Kush). The bottom left video is our first 1 acre hemp grow on our first “Kins Domain” on our first “Veteran Village Kins Community” in Arizona (Desert Cherry Wine). Lastly, the bottom right video is our first 2 acre grow in North Carolina (T-1).
Proposed Ban on 'Smokable Hemp' Earns Support from NC Law Enforcement, Outcry From Sellers
"It creates problems for us for identification in the field. We don't have the ability to know what it is, to tell it apart from marijuana," said Sheriff Page.
Author: Ben Smart
Published: 11:13 PM EDT July 20, 2019
Updated: 2:02 AM EDT July 21, 2019
GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers are considering bills that would make smokable hemp illegal under state law, earning support from some law enforcement and outcry from some hemp growers, sellers, and consumers.
This week, the bills continued to move through the state legislature. On Wednesday House committees considered Senate Bill 315, the 2019 North Carolina Farm Act, and Senate Bill 352, which would amend the NC Controlled Substances Act.
Both bills would classify smoked hemp as marijuana under the law.
"The term 'marijuana' also includes smokable hemp," the bills state.
Pushes for banning smokable hemp come from the organizations including the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.
They argue that it is virtually impossible for law enforcement to tell the difference between marijuana, which is illegal under current state law, and hemp.
"Hemp and marijuana look the same and have the same odor, both unburned and burned. This makes it impossible for law enforcement to use the appearance of marijuana or the odor of marijuana to develop probable cause for arrest, seizure of the item, or probable cause for a search warrant," according to the SBI memo.
Under North Carolina state law, hemp is defined as containing no more than 0.3% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive substance in marijuana.
It is illegal to grow, buy, sell, or possess marijuana in North Carolina.
'It creates confusion'
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page told WFMY News 2 on Saturday that he remains strongly supportive of the ban on smokable hemp as well as marijuana.
"I said this a few weeks ago when I was down at the legislature," said Sheriff Page. "If we allow smokable hemp in North Carolina, it creates all these legal issues for us in law enforcement, it creates problems for us with identification in the field. We don't have the ability to know what it is, to tell it apart from marijuana."
Page said that in addition to not having a field test, drug detection dogs do not have the ability to distinguish between hemp and marijuana.
"It creates confusion, because the officers out in the field, the dogs can't alert on this," said Page. "They are both a related plant, but you can't tell them apart except though (state laboratory) testing."
Page said he cannot recall a case locally where confusion between hemp and marijuana caused problems for officers in the field, but he said the situation is entirely possible.
"It creates problems for us, not only with the enforcement, but for the prosecutors and prosecution," said Page. "The smell of a substance, smoking or not, our dogs alerting, that creates probable cause for the purpose of searching and obtaining search warrants."
'A middle ground remedy' is needed, one hemp seller says
Adam Combs, CEO and Founder of Camel City Hemp in Winston-Salem, said he is strongly against the ban on smokable hemp under the bills.
"I was definitely disturbed," said Combs.
Combs said a ban on smokable hemp would negatively impact North Carolina farmers, businesses such as his, and consumers who rely on the product for health purposes.
"There are a lot of farmers, small farmers, medium-sized farmers, large production farmers, that have invested quite a bit of income, and taken out loans to produce greenhouse facilities," said Combs.
"I think it's going to decrease revenue from sales taxes, it's going to impact business that have employees. There are a lot of hemp stores around the area that have been able to hire people," said Combs.
The business owner said he would like to see law enforcement, politicians, and experts find common ground.
"I'd like to see a scientist brought it, I'd like to see laboratories brought in, and packaging companies brought in, all under the same roof, for discussion on how to label it differently, with QR codes. It should be a very simple process, but the politicians have not shown interest in finding a middle ground remedy for the farmers, the retailer, the consumers to be able to offer the product and make it easier for law enforcement to determine the difference."
Source: https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/proposed-ban-on-smokable-hemp-earns-support-from-nc-law-enforcement-outcry-from-sellers/83-6c056822-ad04-4fde-b5cd-de3f14142372
Should North Carolina ban smokable hemp?
By Dustin George
Staff Writer, The Shelby Star
Posted at 9:51 AM
Updated at 9:51 AM
As other states are discussing the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, North Carolina legislators are arguing over whether or not to ban smoking the plant’s cousin.
The Farm Act, a piece of legislation which provides legal frameworks for everything from skeet shooting and machine repair to hog farms has been bogged down over a disagreement over the state’s budding industrial hemp industry.
Some legislators, at the request of law enforcement agencies from around the state, are pushing to reclassify smokable hemp in the legal definitions for marijuana, effectively outlawing the product.
Hemp flowers contain cannabidiol, or CBD, which many claim has medicinal uses for a variety of ailments. The compound can be ingested a number of ways, from oils and tinctures to creams and aromatics, but the most popular form tends to be by smoking it.
Hemp flowers also contain small amounts of THC, but not enough to produce the high associated with marijuana.
Hemp was made legal in North Carolina in 2015 for industrial purposes and has quickly grown into a major player in the state’s agriculture industry. Smokable hemp became legal last year after federal laws were changed to encourage farmers to start growing the plant.
Legal worries
The effort to ban smokable hemp stems from a claim from the State Bureau of Investigation that because hemp and marijuana look and smell alike, there is no way to enforce existing drug laws.
“This is a de-facto legalization of marijuana,” said Mike Miller, district attorney for Cleveland and Lincoln counties. “I’ve spoken to our senator and I’ve told him, respectfully, if you want to legalize marijuana then have the political courage to have a bill that says we are legalizing marijuana. But don’t say we don’t want to legalize marijuana and put it in the Farm Act, because that’s what it’s doing. We can’t enforce the law if we have legal, smokable hemp.”
Miller, who sits on an executive committee for district attorneys across the state, said he’s been opposed to the legalization of hemp since 2015.
“If we stop a car and an officer says he smells marijuana and the guy says ‘oh no, it’s hemp,’ how do I know the difference,” he said. “If smokable hemp remains legal, we lose that probable cause to search that car.”
That loss brings with it some extra baggage, Miller said. Many times during searches, police often find stolen or illegal firearms. If they lose the ability to conduct those searches, those weapons will remain on the streets, he said.
It would also force departments around the state to retire their drug dogs, which are trained to signal when they smell THC, but can’t determine the difference between hemp and marijuana.
“To me, this is absolutely a public safety issue. There’s a lot of money (in hemp), but are we going to put money ahead of public safety,” he said.
Cash crop
Since its legalization, hemp has taken off in North Carolina. The state is heralded as one of the best places to grow the plant as, like tobacco before it, cannabis plants seem to do well in the state’s soil and environmental blend of heat and humidity.
It’s also grown as a place to buy and sell hemp products. Shops have been cropping up all over the state in recent years, including two shops in Cleveland County and a farm in the Casar area. Since smokable hemp became legal, it’s turned into a top seller for many of those shops.
Josh Biddix, owner of Broad River Hemp in Shelby, said smokable hemp has sold better than any other product. The store sells pre-rolled cigarettes and the flowers, which can be rolled into cigarettes.
“Just looking at the last two months, smokables count for roughly 26% of our sales. It’s really big for us,” said Biddix.
In addition to his store, Biddix also operates a small farm, where he is growing flowers to harvest and sell.
“The margins on the smokable flower are very good. Wholesale it can go for $1,800 -$2,000 per pound,” he said.
By comparison, hemp biomass, which is often used in textiles, sells for less than $100 per pound.
A veteran and former police officer, Biddix said he sympathizes with the concerns law enforcement officials have about smokable hemp and its proximity to marijuana, but he doesn’t agree with the idea that legal hemp means legal marijuana.
“They may lose some of that probable cause, but in my experience, it’s not the job of the people to conform to the laws, it’s the government’s responsibility to conform to what the people want,” he said.
Biddix added that some tests have been developed that can determine the difference between hemp and marijuana but have not been brought to North Carolina.
A report this week by an NBC affiliate in the Washington D.C. area backs up that claim, focusing specifically on a Swiss-made test that can supposedly distinguish between high and low amounts of THC.
Consequences for farmers
Advocates for smokable hemp claim that banning the product now would hurt farmers around the state and could discourage some from getting into the business at all.
“We work with farmers in a lot of states, and we encourage them to diversify their crops... It gives them a way to play an emerging market out,” said Brad Todd, owner of Grower’s Hemp in Stanley County, and a business partner of Biddix.
Todd has been one of the most active voices in the fight over smokable hemp this summer.
“A lot of our farmers are family farms and commodity farmers. Banning smokable hemp is just cutting them off at the knees,” he said. “I just don’t see any way that this ban could have a silver lining for either side.”
For his part, Biddix said he would still grow smokable flowers, but he would start selling it out of state. But the mere threat of the ban has already sent some packing.
“I already know two farmers who have put their farms up for sale. They want to go somewhere that is friendlier to smokable flower,” Biddix said.
Middle ground
Compromise is, in theory, one of the principles of good governance, and some involved in the discussion over smokable hemp are looking for just that.
In order to limit concerns over probable cause or possible impaired driving, Biddix said he would be in favor of a law for smokable hemp similar to the state’s open container laws on alcohol.
While he’s opposed to the general idea of legal smokable hemp, Miller said that if the plant is found to have proven medical benefits, he would be OK with a medical exemption for smokable hemp, so long as the person smoking can provide a doctor’s prescription or some sort of ID card similar to what states with legal medical marijuana require.
Legal road
The farm act passed the state Senate back in June with a provision that would reclassify marijuana to include forms of smokable hemp starting December 2020. That date would give law enforcement officials time to develop a test to determine if a product is hemp or marijuana.
Over the last week, the bill has been passed around the House finance and judiciary committees where legislators have argued over whether or not to move that date up to December of this year. The bill did eventually pass through one of those committees with language that would make smokable hemp illegal by the end of the year.
According to a spokesman for House of Representatives Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, the bill is expected to go to the House floor sometime in the next two weeks for a vote.
If approved, it would head back to the Senate for more revisions before it could be sent to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk.
“Discussions about the bill are ongoing, and the Speaker is working to build consensus for state laws that allow the hemp industry to grow and address the concerns of public safety officials about smokable hemp and its impact on their duties to enforce existing drug laws,” Joseph Kyzer, a spokesperson for Moore’s office said.
Kyzer added that Moore supports the bill as it passed in the House committees.
Source: https://www.shelbystar.com/news/20190721/should-north-carolina-ban-smokable-hemp
US Senate calls for hemp answers from White House
Published July 18, 2019
Several Trump administration officials are headed to the U.S. Senate next week to answer questions about looming hemp and CBD rules.
Senators have called for regulators who oversee agriculture, public health and pesticides to appear July 25 before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
The hearing, announced Wednesday, will be led by the senators who negotiated last year’s Farm Bill compromise to legalize hemp.
Scheduled to talk about where hemp rules stand are:
Greg Ibach, undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Dr. Amy Abernethy, who is leading a CBD review for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Alexandra Dapolito Dunn of the office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that regulates pesticides.
Stephen Alexander Vaden, USDA lawyer.
U.S. senators are also going to hear from hemp producers and activists:
Brian Furnish, head of global production for Ananda Hemp of Cynthiana, Kentucky.
Erica Stark of the National Hemp Association.
Darrell G. Seki Sr. of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians of Red Lake, Minnesota.
The hemp hearing will come two days after a separate Senate committee considers legislation to ease banking access for marijuana and hemp producers.
Trump administration officials have been slower to embrace the new hemp industry than some members of Congress.
Ibach, for example, said last year that “opening the door wide open” to nationwide hemp production “may not be in the best interests of the hemp industry.”
And USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue warned in March that hemp farmers “could crash this market before it gets off the ground.”
Senators are not scheduled to consider any new hemp legislation at the July 25 hearing; they are expected only to ask questions about where plans stand for regulating hemp and CBD.
The USDA has told the hemp industry to expect draft rules next month.
Source: https://hempindustrydaily.com/us-senate-calls-for-hemp-answers-from-white-house/
Groups urge FDA to regulate plant-derived CBD, not synthetic, as dietary supplements and food, to issue final rule, and to exercise enforcement
By Jennifer Grebow
July 18, 2019
Advocacy groups are urging FDA to issue an interim final rule that would permit the lawful use of the hemp-derived cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) in dietary supplement and food products. Many submitted public comments to FDA this week following FDA’s May 31 open hearing on the issue of CBD regulation and call for public comment.
Hemp advocacy group Vote Hemp (Washington, DC) shared comments it submitted to FDA. Notably, Vote Hemp says that its arguments for legalizing CBD in food and dietary supplements pertain to plant-derived CBD only, such as full-spectrum hemp extracts that contain a full range of phytocannabinoids found in the hemp plant, as opposed to a singular cannabinoid isolate. Synthetically produced CBD ingredients are different from whole-plant extracts and should not be considered dietary ingredients, it says. It wrote: “If FDA eventually approves synthesized cannabinoids for human consumption and these synthetic products are deemed safe, the public needs full transparency in labeling to distinguish whole-plant, naturally derived CBD from synthetic CBD.”
Vote Hemp also urged that natural, plant-derived hemp extracts be eligible for organic status under USDA’s National Organic Program.
If plant-derived CBD products are to be regulated like food and dietary supplements, they should be subject to all of the regulations pertaining to these categories, Vote Hemp wrote, including food facility registration, compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), reporting of serious adverse events, submission of new dietary ingredient notifications, and compliant labeling. “Hemp-derived herbal extracts are no different than other herbal supplements and should be treated by FDA the same as any other herb. Thus, existing federal regulations for food and dietary supplements must apply to hemp-derived extract products, including those containing CBD, to assure consumers of the same production safety and integrity of ingredients met by other FDA-regulated supplements,” it said.
The Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, DC) also submitted comments to FDA and noted that, based on a Freedom of Information Act request NPA submitted, the association found that only four CBD firms have so far been inspected by FDA, with three of those firms receiving a 483 letter from FDA indicating GMP infractions.
“Four inspections when there are an estimated 1,500 CBD products on the market is in no way adequate,” the association wrote, adding, “These numbers do not send a message of a willingness to engage on enforcement regarding CBD products and especially those that could possibly contain levels of THC [tetrahydrocannabidiol], which is still a Schedule I substance. More testing and inspection of firms making CBD should be top priority for the agency with a proliferation of products on the market.”
Vote Hemp said FDA should require CBD products to be labeled transparently to disclose extraction and manufacturing methods, use of additives, ingredients, cannabinoid concentration, and serving size.
It wrote: “To this end, Vote Hemp urges FDA to quickly issue an Interim Final Rule with an accelerated effective date authorizing the sale of hemp-derived dietary supplements and foods containing CBD, which: 1) have a CBD concentration of no more than 50 mg/ml, and 2) meet existing FDA requirements for the manufacturing and marketing of dietary supplements and foods.” Vote Hemp pointed out that the 50 mg/ml concentration is still half of the concentration found in the CBD pharmaceutical drug Epidiolex, meaning that there is still a lot of room to play in for higher-concentration CBD products in the pharmaceutical space.
FDA should not only limit the allowable amount of CBD in food and dietary supplement products, but it also should require listing recommended serving sizes to avoid any concerns such as the potential for liver injury at CBD doses of 20 mg/kg body weight per day, Vote Hemp wrote. Luckily, the group says, the serving size of most “if not all” CBD products on the market is much below this.
Like the association the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA; Silver Spring, MD), Vote Hemp is urging FDA to move quickly to authorize the lawful use of hemp-derived CBD in food and beverages, either by issuing an interim final rule or, at the least, issuing guidance indicating that the agency will exercise enforcement discretion for these products. At FDA’s May 31 meeting on the topic, AHPA president Michael McGuffin urged FDA to take action on either of these two pathways.
The need for an interim final rule is urgent, as more CBD products come to market. According a recent report from Vote Hemp and Hemp Business Journal, hemp-derived CBD product sales are expected to exceed $646 million by 2022.
Vote Hemp wrote: “FDA issuance of an Interim Final Rule would help to ensure uniform federal standards are applied to hemp-derived foods and dietary supplements, including those with CBD. The need for prompt action by FDA is magnified because the USDA is currently promulgating regulations for hemp cultivation and is expected to complete those within the next few months. These USDA regulations will inevitably result in the increased cultivation of hemp for CBD production.” USDA is expected to issue an interim final rule this August to implement the hemp-related provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Source: http://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/regulatory/groups-urge-fda-regulate-plant-derived-cbd-not-synthetic-dietary-supplements-and-food-issue-final
Lawmaker unwittingly sums up the insanity of NC marijuana/hemp laws in a single quote
By Rob Schofield
In case you missed it this morning, be sure to check out the WRAL news story about yesterday’s state House committee action on the issue of smokable hemp. As you’ve probably heard, the issue of hemp cultivation and sale has sparked controversy because the plant is essentially indistinguishable from marijuana, which unlike hemp, contains THC — the chemical that produces the marijuana “high.”
On Wednesday, a state House committee voted to continue to allow the cultivation and development of hemp products, except for smokable hemp. As WRAL reported in its Wednesday roundup:
Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, is adamant that smokable hemp, which looks and smells like marijuana but lacks the THC potency to get anyone high, needs to be banned in North Carolina, or else marijuana prosecutions will be next to impossible to pursue. So, he has inserted the ban into the annual Farm Act, and he also rewrote a Senate bill on controlled substances to define smokable hemp as marijuana. Both bills cleared committees Wednesday.
Here’s the truly amazing part of the first story though:
Law enforcement isn’t just worried about it being harder to enforce marijuana laws but about losing probable cause for searches based on the smell of marijuana smoke, or when a drug dog keys in on a vehicle.
“If this bill passes without the ban, we will put 800 of our law enforcement dogs and their handlers out of business,” Dixon said.
Did you get that? The reason Dixon and company want to keep smokable hemp and marijuana illegal is to protect law enforcement jobs and to continue to provide an excuse for police searches!
To which, all a body can say in response is: Hello! Those are not legitimate reasons for something to be illegal and for government to be imprisoning people. Marijuana is already effectively legal for the majority of Americans — a reality supported by nearly two-thirds of the population.
The bottom line: It’s absurd that North Carolina continues to criminalize this substance, doubly absurd that we would extend the prohibition to smokable hemp and triply absurd that the rationale behind the policy would be based on something as irrelevant as its impact on law enforcement or the ability of law enforcement officers to investigate other offenses. As one observer noted yesterday, if they’re really so concerned about law enforcement jobs, Dixon and his allies would do well to redirect their time and energy toward retraining the dogs and their trainers to sniff out white collar crime.
Source: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2019/07/18/lawmakers-unwittingly-sums-up-the-insanity-of-nc-marijuana-hemp-laws-in-a-single-quote/
Thanks Boss. Truer words never been spoken.
The interest in this company and industry is apparent. Everyone is either taking a position, or diligenlty waiting in preparation for the right time. Some hurdles still left to bound over, but the sales are already underway.
First year of hemp as a commoditized industry and HEMP booked the revs PRIOR to signing.
Its all happening, and HEMP leading the way, building the path.
Apparently investors already confident, with or without OTC.
Why bother? HEMP doesnt need them, not a requirement, and moving along MAKING REVENUES with or without.
Bruce has already stated he would be happy to be a paid member, but its not his decision to authorize. Once the SEC fizzles out - which clearly is - OTC might as well throw out the red carpet, with parade and show ponies.
As you say, Hemp already transparent - "transparent as glass" - but in time audited fins and detailed footnotes will come, along with uptiers and even MORE industry awards
Coast to coast, three states, MILLIONS in revenue, TENS of MILLIONS in pounds processed, HUNDREDS of farmers, THOUSANDS of acres, and no signs of slowing down.
FLOODGATES
OTC services nor auditors increase revenues.
OTC is a SERVICE AS A SUBCRIPTION service provider. They, in no form or fashion, work to generate sales whatsoever, nor to they help steer strategic expansions or market efforts. It pay to play.
Moreso, OTC firsthandedly made the decision not to renew services, which, if it was in mid-term, COULD BE A BREACH OF CONTRACT, so there - YES - they can be taken to court for damages.
In any event, OTC "Services" is an EXPENSE. As are AUDITORS. Why spend that kind of money if 1) it isnt a requirement, and 2) IT DOES NOTHING TO GENERATE SALES.
OTC will gladly invite HEMP back as a member, but they are standing firm on their POLICY over not renewing a subscription to their service under on open investigation.
I agree, probably not worth the time or money to bring a case against OTC for breach and damages; there are better ways for HEMP to use its time and resources. They have enough going on.
But the manipulators - the ILLEGAL SHORTS - they will have their dat, oh yes. Class action and junior sized cots. Already been some to head to the slammer... if not careful, others will follow.
MEANWHILE, HEMP INC STILL GROWING AND BOOKING REVENUES.
FACTS
SEC - PLAINTIFF - Amy Oliver - motioned to extend case more than 3 or 4 times. Hemp just recently used their 2nd extension.
Ms Oliver actually used one of the extensions FOR A VACTION!!!
SEC using extensions in desperation to gather more evidence, but still none exists. IT'S A KNOWN TACTIC.
Even trying to milk some sanctions in the process, which is ENTIRELY outside of the scope of the case. Even the Judge admitted. SEC trying to salvage anything out of its waste of time and resources CIVIL COMPLAINT. It looks ridiculous. They should have vetted the disgruntled whistleblowers, but threw a HAIL MARY, before statues of limitations went into effect.
This is a real face palm for the SEC. Kinda feel sorry for everyone involved. But hey, SEC has secured themselves employment.
The COUNTER CLASS-ACTION should go much quicker. Names and numbers. Serving awaits.