A fruitful hemp harvest, but for how long?

Published Oct. 6, 2018 at 11:18PM
BY KAYLEE TORNAY

Southern Oregon’s growing contingent of hemp growers are harvesting their fields and drying their crops. And with demand for hemp booming, the market looks promising.

Some farmers wonder what the future holds.

“This year, everybody got into it,” said Chris Bourne, an entrepreneur and familiar face on the Southern Oregon hemp scene. “Everybody and their mother was like, ‘We’re going to grow hemp this year,’ because there’s a lot of money to be made.”

In years to come, however, that might be less certain.

Farmers anticipate that Congress’ impending passage of the 2018 Farm Bill will include a bipartisan provision pushed by both of Oregon’s senators and the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, declassifying hemp as a Schedule I drug.

Federal legalization of hemp would open up the nationwide market, which has some Southern Oregon hemp farmers bracing for increased competition.

Bourne, the founder of local hemp operation MediSun Farms, sees a few potentially negative forces for small farmers in particular.

This year, he said, the demand for hemp exceeds the supply, and farmers should expect good prices for their crops.

“Once (legalization) happens, then yes, I think next year the value of the crop will commoditize to a lower value,” he said.

MediSun Farms has been one of the most recognizable growers in Medford mostly due to its location: 30 acres on East Nevada Street, clearly visible to Interstate 5 travelers.

Come next season, those hemp plants won’t be associated with his business anymore.

He’s joined forces with three other hemp companies to form hemp wholesale company KlerSun.

It will get its crop exclusively from big grows east of Portland.

Irrigation needs are one reason, he said.

But another is the potential for recurring smoke-heavy summers.

The effect of smoke on hemp plants varies depending on the growth stage when it happens.

Smoke that comes during the vegetative state can inhibit growth.

Smoke during the critical flowering stage can affect how much of the product will be usable — especially for medicinal hemp.

That’s what the majority of local hemp is grown for.

Even as Bourne withdraws from the area, he said Southern Oregon’s climate remains a desirable locale for cannabis farmers.

“I don’t know of anybody that’s not going to grow another hemp crop because of the smoke or irrigation issues,” he said.

In fact, the number of local growers is booming.

With 138 licensed hemp growers, Jackson County leads the state in the number of hemp-growing operations by a significant margin. Josephine County comes in second with 62 hemp farms, according to data from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Hemp differs from its intoxicating cousin marijuana in that it doesn’t get users high, and the hemp industry will likely progress differently than the marijuana industry.

Since Oregon legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, the price has plummeted as the market has become saturated with high-quality bud.

Part of the reason is that recreational cannabis must be grown, processed and sold within Oregon.

Though hemp prices may also drop as more is grown, hemp’s versatility as a crop and an expanded nationwide market shows more promise for growers.

A Congressional Research Service report released in June said the global hemp market consists of more than 25,000 products, including paper, nutritional oil, protein powder, textiles, building materials, biofuel and medicines.

Cedar Grey, founder and CEO of Siskiyou Sungrown in Grants Pass, said he believes family-owned and other small operations can shine by growing craft hemp.

“I think there’s some opportunities there where there’s perhaps smaller business deals,” Grey said, “but those would match up with the smaller farms in this area.”

Bourne believes there could be a reliable living made by drying, curing and processing hemp.

Local Processing Center, Inc., a partnership between Tualatin-based JNV Farms and Hemp, Inc., based in Spring Hope, North Carolina, is in that business.

Its row of greenhouses on Main St. just outside west Medford are being used to dry and cure hemp the company grew this year, as well as hemp from a dozen or so other local farmers.

Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., said even if federal hemp legalization happens soon, Southern Oregon hemp farmers and processors have an advantage over states that don’t have a flourishing industry yet.

“Guys in Oregon are way, way more sophisticated than the rest of the nation,” Perlowin said. “They’ve been doing it for 45 years here. Everyone else around America, they don’t have a clue.”

Funny, cause that's what Brochstein and friends kept saying right around October/November in '13. Remember?

"All my other stocks exploding... why not Hemp?"

.... well, did Hemp explode Feb '14, coincidentally right after '14 farm bill, or am I hallucinating gnomes moon rocks again?

Hey, happy your other investments are paying off, bro. You should not be upset when hemp gets legalized.

I know, it can be scary for some. Patience is not for everyone.

You dont like 3000% up or hemp legalization tho?

The last peak - the v1.0 dot.bong beta test - happened in 2014.

Good observation.

Sector not going to peak again?

Industry over?

Hemp clearly not in demand?

No legalization?

How do you feel about this company heading into once in lifetime hemp legalization? No interest at all, ay?

What happened Feb '13 to Dec '13?

What happened Dec '13 to Feb '14.

You saying stock always goes down, cause I remember going up , like 2000, 3000% up?

You dont like 3000% up?

Who is Spruce? Nobody knows who Spruce is. Imaginary friend?

What about the sector correction?

Ask yourself, "was management better or worse in 2014"

This company has gone leaps and bounds further than where it was before the beta test "pot stock" boom v.2014.

Look at the assets, and tell me if the company is in a better or worse position than 2014, prior to full national legalization.

The supply chain is almost done, folks...

Company expenses now CEO profits?

Lol, if anyone is gullible enough to believe that, god help them.

MM's with free shares profit taking.

Making hemp great again.

Will say anything to help facilitate.

You rather not have video evidence of operations in progress? Maybe a CEO that only sends postcards with PO BOX return address better?

CEO's personal account frozen throughout SEC investigation, so zero "profit taking". Same is true for each defendant. Keep in mind, CEO stock tied to same price as all other shareholders. Value drops and rises for all.

Facts: US "leadership" not allowing crop insurance on hemp due to antiquated legislation, then drag feet toward reform, against the will of the people.

Congress Leaves Farmers Hanging Right Before The Election

Negotiators wanted to keep the pressure on by not doing a short-term extension. But it’s rural lawmakers who are feeling the pressure most.

By Matt Fuller and Arthur Delaney

10/03/2018 12:51 pm ET

WASHINGTON ? With farmers reeling from a trade war and shriveling profits, lawmakers from rural areas were already feeling the pressure to deliver for the agricultural community ahead of next month’s midterm elections.

But exacerbating that tension is another congressional failure ? a lapsed farm bill ? and some lawmakers are getting sick of waiting for a reauthorization.

The Republican chairmen and ranking Democrats on the House and Senate agriculture committees are all committed to getting a new farm bill through both chambers after the election. October marked the beginning of a new fiscal year and the expiration of the previous farm measure. But instead of passing stopgap legislation before the House left to campaign until Election Day, lawmakers left the fate of farmers up in the air ? and that was no accident.

Negotiators have avoided a short-term extension because they want to keep the pressure on for a full, five-year bill. Plus, Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) told HuffPost Tuesday, a short-term extension would provoke too much of a lobbying frenzy.

“Once you start talking about an extension, that sort of opens the door for everybody to come in and say, ‘Well, wait a minute, we understand that in either bill, this particular concern hasn’t been met,’” Roberts said.

“You just invite a lot of airdrops and parachuting in,” he said, once again affirming the commitment of the so-called Big Four to doing a five-year bill.

But that commitment has left some rural members without any bill at all, as the current farm bill expired on Oct. 1. The most important provisions, like crop insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (more commonly known as food stamps), have continued because they are funded and authorized in different laws. But other programs in the farm bill ? like the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to stop growing on environmentally sensitive land ? can’t issue new grants until there is new legislation.

For rural members, the farm bill is a key measure for their constituents, and a key reason to keep re-electing them to Congress.

“There are a number of people who want there to be an extension of the farm bill,” one GOP member told HuffPost. “We believe it will hurt us if we don’t have an extension.”

The member said the “the biggest holdup” for a farm bill extension is the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas). Conaway, this member claimed, has wanted to keep the fate of the farm bill “ambiguous so that he can use it for leverage to get a new farm bill.”

The idea is that Conaway is forcefully advocating for a number of provisions in the House bill, and doesn’t want to signal that he could accept less by taking an extension. In the words of this Republican member, who has been discussing the issue with other GOP colleagues, “a short-term extension reduces his leverage to get his bill across.”

Conaway spokeswoman Rachel Millard said it’s not unprecedented for Congress to avoid doing a short-term extension when the farm bill lapses. She noted that only two farm bills have required extensions since 1970, and that the 2008 farm bill didn’t get an extension until several months after it expired.

Earlier this year, conservative House Republicans led by Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said they favored a short-term extension of the 2014 farm bill if Republican leaders wouldn’t stage an all-out political battle over food stamps. Found in the House hallways Wednesday afternoon, Meadows declined to comment on the farm bill standoff, and Jordan would only say that he thought Conaway had been “fighting hard” for the House bill, though he noted he didn’t know why leadership had decided against doing an extension.

Instead of working out their differences in the original bills, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opted for an easier path, passing a conservative bill in the House but not insisting on the same bill in the Senate. To get through the Senate without Democratic support would have required the same fast-track process Republicans used for their tax bill.

Negotiations have been difficult because of the distance between the House and Senate bills, particularly when it comes to SNAP provisions. Roberts specifically named the SNAP policy differences as an obstacle on Tuesday, saying that if you took away what the House had introduced, the Senate’s SNAP provisions were still “pretty aggressive.”

The Senate bill would make only modest changes to SNAP, while the House bill contains new “work requirements” that would shrink enrollment by denying benefits to more people who can’t or don’t want to document 20 hours of work activities per week. Current law already has such requirements, with exemptions for parents and areas with high unemployment. The House bill would weaken those exemptions.

The standoff between the House and Senate on those provisions hasn’t moved much since lawmakers began working out their differences on the farm bill during the summer. While House conservatives keep pushing for stricter SNAP restrictions, senators have made it clear they wouldn’t have the required 60 votes for the House’s policies, meaning that if either side won’t budge, lawmakers could end up with an extension anyway.

In the words of Roberts, “We already have work requirements.”

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/farm-bill-elections_us_5bb4e42ee4b028e1fe39daac

Florence destroys hemp farm in Kelly

By Kailey Tracy | October 3, 2018 at 4:10 PM EST - Updated October 3 at 7:13 PM

KELLY, NC (WECT) - Hurricane Florence devastated hemp farms across the area, costing farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Hemp creates CBD oil, which is a compound found in medical marijuana. Wind stripped the hemp plants and floodwaters then drowned them, leaving mold on Brad Adams' farm in Bladen County.

Executives with the company the farmer sold his hemp to surveyed the crop Wednesday. The company, Folium Biosciences, took samples to see if any could be salvaged.

One of the executives said the loss has trickle down effects that hurt the industry and potentially those who rely on CBD oil.

“We’re now 16 (to) 20,000 pounds light of what you need to make that oil, which makes tinctures and turns into supplements that many people have found to help them with a variety of ailments,” Bill Brill, executive vice president of grow operations, said.

Adams sold a lot of his belongings, including his car, to invest in his farm in June.

“Then, something like this happens and so it was supposed to be a lifechanging event, and it was but it didn’t go the way I thought it would but that’s mother nature,” he said.

Adams is repairing roofs and doing construction work to make money for now.

“I have to stay busy. If not, I’ll concentrate on what could’ve been, and that’s not really reality. You have to stay in the moment and just keep on," he said.

Adding even more insult to injury, September and October is when the hemp crop is supposed to be harvested.

Even further, because hemp is classified as an illegal drug by the federal government, hemp farmers can’t insure their crops.

Adams said he plans to try his luck again next year harvesting hemp.

Folium Biosciences representatives are touring 26 farms across the Carolinas that were affected by Florence. They’ll take samples from each and see if anything can be salvaged.

Source: http://www.wect.com/2018/10/03/florence-destroys-hemp-farm/

HEMP CROPS NOT INSURED, FARMERS LOSE EVERYTHING

By Kylie Jones - October 3, 2018 7:20 PM

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Hurricane Florence devastated farms to the tune of nearly $2 billion in agricultural losses just in North Carolina. While many of those farmers will get help from insurance, one type of crop in particular cannot be insured.

“As of right now, it might be a wash,” said Brad Adams, a hemp farmer in Bladen County. “I sold everything I had as soon as I found out about the opportunity. I went all in. Everything I had.”

In his first year of growing, Adams says he has put around $50,000 into this farm. But now, he will walk away with nothing.

Hemp production is legal in North Carolina, but without a new federal farm bill in place, the crop is not yet eligible for crop insurance. Bill Brill is with Folium Biosciences, a Colorado company that makes hemp products.

“Congress is trying to get a completed 2018 farm bill. If they would’ve completed it in August, for example, one of the pieces of language in that farm bill is to provide crop insurance for hemp farmers. So had they passed it in 2018 in August, this farmer would be able to file for crop insurance,” said Brill.

Related Article: FEMA disaster survivor assistance teams reaching out in North Carolina
Brill says that out of the 26 East Coast hemp farms he outsources from, this one is one of the worst, at 100% crop loss. Because there is no crop insurance on hemp farms, farmers like this one could risk losing their business forever.

Brill’s company came out to assess the damage and see how much it will lose as a result.

“If insurance was available, I would be on top of it. That would probably be one of the first things I would check into,” said Adams.

Adams says he would consider trying hemp farming again, but he says he has a long year of recovery ahead. He says crop insurance is definitely worth the investment if it’s available.

Source: https://www.wwaytv3.com/2018/10/03/hemp-crops-not-insured-farmers-lose-everything/

Beliefs aren't facts.

If you can confirm what you claim is in fact "fake kenaf", people would not argue against your point.

However...

No facts, no points.

FACTS:

Election 2018: Statewide Marijuana Reform Initiatives

https://thecannabisindustry.org/election-2018-statewide-marijuana-reform-initiatives/

Wilk’s Industrial Hemp Bill Signed Into Law

PRESS RELEASE | MONDAY, OCT 1, 2018

Sacramento – California Governor Jerry Brown has signed Senate Bill 1409 into law, updating current law to allow the state’s farmers to grow and produce non-intoxicating hemp for commercial and industrial uses.

“This is a big win for our local farmers!” said Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, author of the bill.

“Industrial hemp uses less water than other crops and needs little to no pesticides,” Wilk said. “It is used in over 25,000 different products, and manufacturers that use hemp in their products have discussed locating to the Antelope Valley. The passage of SB 1409 will bring mortgage-paying jobs to our district.”

Industrial hemp is a natural fit for California’s arid climate. In the Antelope Valley, where alfalfa currently represents the No. 1 agricultural crop, farmers could save five acre-feet of water per acre when switching from alfalfa to hemp.

With water conservation policies here to stay, that savings is important to the farming community as well as the 40 million thirsty people living in California.

Industrial hemp is an agricultural crop that is grown and processed throughout the world for thousands of consumer and food products, including alternatives to fossil fuel and wood products.

California was well positioned for an industrial hemp industry in 2013 when it enacted Senate Bill 566, which conditionally approved an industrial hemp pilot program. But Proposition 64, which passed in 2016 and legalized recreational marijuana, by and large failed to differentiate the industrial commodity from its psychoactive counterpart, cannabis. So when Prop. 64 passed much of the progress made under SB 566 and other efforts were undone.

Senate Bill 1409 brings California’s hemp laws up to date by allowing the pilot program to proceed as intended and by updating the definition of industrial hemp to reflect the difference between it and cannabis.

The federal government also has initiated similar efforts to update industrial hemp laws by removing the product from the federal controlled substances list. The legislation in Congress, if successful, will complement Wilk’s legislation.

“California can now compete with thirty other nations and nineteen states in the growth of industrial hemp,” Wilk said. “This will be a boon for California’s economy and local farmers.”

Source: https://scvnews.com/2018/10/01/wilks-industrial-hemp-bill-signed-into-law/

KENTUCKY HEMP PROGRAM MORE THAN DOUBLES ACRES PLANTED

https://www.lanereport.com/106156/2018/10/hemp-program-now-taking-applications-for-2019/

NON ISSUES

Ok, I'll file it back in the NON ISSUE folder.

Award winning, largest multi purpose hemp processor, with CBS News coverage still on the table.

Oh, lookie here...

Does this count?

https://www.houstonpress.com/news/adorable-drug-kingpin-daughter-of-dea-agent-finally-faces-charges-8846394

Who else remembers the Boston Tea Party? Was I the only one there?

lolz...

But seriously.

No, the DEA Did Not Reschedule The CBD Compound

Mike Adams, Sep 28, 2018

There is a certain level of confusion reverberating throughout the cannabis community right now over the DEA’s recent decision to make Epidiolex, the cannabis-based epilepsy drug created by GW Pharmaceuticals, a Schedule V controlled substance. Some folks are convinced that since this FDA-approved medication is pure cannabidiol (CBD) that all CBD products fall into the same category.

Sadly, this is not true. The federal government still considers all other cannabis-derived CBD products to be a violation of federal law.

The DEA’s official statement in the Federal Register, which published Friday, indicates “this order places FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD derived from cannabis and no more than 0.1 percent tetrahydrocannabinols in schedule V.”

What this means is the only CBD medicine considered to have, well, actual medicinal function as far as Uncle Sam is concerned is Epidiolex. The rest of it is still wrapped up in the federal marijuana ban.


However, it is perfectly understandable how the Epidiolex deal led to a state of disarray. In fact, it was the DEA’s fault that most folks got the wrong impression in the first place.

Over the summer, right after the U.S Food and Drug Administration cleared Epidiolex for distribution in the United States -- making it the first drug comprised entirely from the cannabis plant to receive this honor -- Barbara Carreno, a spokesperson for the DEA’s public affairs office, told Business Insider that the agency had 90 days to put CBD in a lower classification.

"We don't have a choice on that," she said. "It absolutely has to become Schedule 2 or 3."

Of course, word quickly spread that this popular cannabis component was about to be released from the confines of its Schedule I categorization. I even penned an article on the subject called “Is DEA Being Forced To Reschedule The CBD Compound?” which questioned whether the arena of science and medicine wasn't about to witness some additional research opportunities on the heels of this development.

Attorney Shawn Hauser, a senior associate with Denver-based Vicente Sederberg LLC and director of law firm’s Hemp and Cannabinoid Group, later clarified that the media had misconstrued what was happening with Epidiolex – and big time.

“There is misunderstanding that cannabis or CBD will be immediately rescheduled, but that is not the case; it will be Epidiolex itself,” she told New Frontier Data.

“What is getting scheduled is the Epidiolex itself, pursuant to the new drug application, relating to its medical efficacy and low potential for abuse," she added. "That will inform the federal law for the future. Marijuana is still a Schedule I substance; CBD is not scheduled itself, but as a substance derived from marijuana.”

So what’s the best cannabis hopefuls can expect now that there is an FDA-approved cannabis medicine about to be distributed across the United States?

Well, as Leafly editor Ben Adlin wrote in his analysis of the situation, probably not much more than additional CBD medicines ushered in by the deep-pocked powers of Big Pharma.

“The rescheduling move does open the door for additional high-CBD medicines to enter the US market, however, and it will likely attract other CBD drugmakers to jump in,” he wrote. “But many popular products in existing medical cannabis markets, such as Canada or certain US states, will be ineligible due to the amount of THC they contain.”

CBD derived from hemp is a non-issue -- has been for sometime. But for the DEA to reschedule cannabis-based CBD, it must apply the change to the entire cannabis plant. And that doesn't appear likely to happen anytime soon.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mitsubishiheavyindustries/2018/08/24/how-new-technology-is-democratizing-access-to-space/#57760c991c58

Let's hope you're not one of the jury, BBBBWWWAAAHAHAHA

;)

Yea, what that means is the Judge feels Ms. Marinov's testimony is permissible, which doesn't look like it's going to support anything Plaintiff is complaining about, seeing how they tried to get it dismissed prior to trial.

Look folks, this is obviously going to trial, unless at any given time either one of the parties makes a motion which would conclude them from proceeding, such as the Defendant's second (and likely final) request for judgement in Defendants favor, or, conversely, a motion to dismiss by the Plaintiff (a virtually 0% chance to occur, but would be cool).

My guess is Plaintiff is hellbent on pushing for as long as possible (because, why not, with unlimited resources) and has served the Judge with just enough reason to let this case go in front of a jury for a final verdict.

Question is, how long of a trial?

Better question is, ALMOST TWO AND A HALF YEARS LOOKING, ANY EVIDENCE YET?!?!?

This is PACER:

https://www.pacer.gov/

It's ran by the government.

Pacermonitor.com is a third-party alternative.

As is RECAP Project.

Hemp, On The Brink Of Being Legal, Still Faces Challenges

Questions will remain about how to test hemp and how to treat new products.

09/26/2018 12:27 pm ET

By Sophie Quinton

DENVER — It’s a giddy time for the U.S. hemp industry. Farmers are planting more acres. Businesses are selling more products. And with Congress on the brink of fully legalizing hemp, industry insiders are eagerly anticipating a boom.

But even if the legalization provisions in the 2018 farm bill pass, hemp will remain a tightly regulated crop facing plenty of regulatory and legal challenges.

As the more than 30 states that operate hemp pilot programs have discovered, it’s not easy to oversee a plant that’s used to make everything from car parts to hand cream and that, except for the chemical that produces a high, is identical to marijuana — which the federal government still classifies as a dangerous drug.

It could take one or two years for federal officials to craft regulations for hemp, said Tim Gordon, president of the Colorado Hemp Industries Association. “Just because the farm bill passes doesn’t mean hemp is suddenly legal and everything’s great.”

In Congress, House and Senate lawmakers are working to finalize this year’s farm bill, which is expected to fund farming and nutrition programs, agricultural research and other related policy areas for the coming five years. They have less than a week to reach an agreement before the 2014 farm bill expires.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, is from the hemp-rich state of Kentucky and a strong supporter of legalizing the crop.

The amount of hemp grown in the United States has steadily increased since 2014, when Congress gave states permission to set up pilot programs focused on researching the plant and its commercial potential.

Nineteen of the states that allow hemp cultivation reported a crop last year, from a single acre grown in Hawaii and in Nevada to more than 9,000 acres in Colorado, according to Vote Hemp, a nonprofit that advocates for hemp legalization. Over 25,000 acres were planted nationwide.

Although legalization will solve many of the industry’s problems, such as by allowing farmers to get crop insurance for their hemp, there are several challenges officials running a hemp program — and people running a hemp business — will continue to face.

For instance, there are no national standards for how to test hemp for tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive compound that, under federal law, cannot exceed 0.3 percent concentration in hemp plants.

There are also conflicting state rules for cannabidiol, or CBD, a cannabis compound with alleged healing qualities that’s sold as a natural remedy and ingredient in foods, drinks and lotions. “That will be the other real mess that will need to be cleaned up,” said Duane Sinning, director of the plant industry division at the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Testing for ‘Hot’ Hemp

Hemp and marijuana aren’t genetically distinct plants. The difference is legal: the 2014 and 2018 farm bills define “industrial hemp” as cannabis plants that have a THC concentration of 0.3 percent or less. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which the 2018 farm bill would explicitly override, defines hemp as the mature stalk, sterilized seeds and products made from stalk and seeds of the cannabis plant.

Under the guidelines for hemp pilot programs and the proposed rules for regulating fully legal hemp, states must destroy crops that test above the 0.3 percent threshold — known as “hot” hemp plants.

But the testing rules that determine whether a farmer will have a crop to sell aren’t the same across states. That can mean “drastically different” THC results, Sinning said.

For instance, he said, some states require testing of samples that are predominantly made up of flower material, and others on samples that blend more parts of the plant. Because flowers generate the most cannabinoids, including THC, samples heavy on flowers generate higher THC results.

Colorado tests the top two inches of a plant — so the flowers, leaves and buds, but not the seeds or stem.

State agriculture commissioners are now banding together to come up with a common standard. A working group convened by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture is expected to start meeting next month, according to Amanda Culp, the association’s communications director.

It doesn’t help matters that some farmers have an incentive to push their crops to as close to the 0.3 percent THC limit as they can get.

Kentucky grain farmer Joseph Sisk and his business partner have planted 200 acres of hemp this year, which will be processed to extract CBD oil. Sisk said growing hemp isn’t easy, and making sure plants reliably test under the THC limit is one of the difficulties.

“I think that challenge would be the same no matter where you put the level,” he said, at least for farmers like him. That’s because growing plants to maximize CBD inevitably increases the levels of other cannabinoids, including THC.

Colorado state Sen. Don Coram, a Republican who runs a hemp CBD business in the rural western part of the state, said he thinks some hemp growers try to game state THC tests to push up their cannabinoid yield. “I think there’s some cheating,” he said, another issue that may merit more attention from lawmakers.

The CBD Conundrum

A decade ago, few people had heard of hemp-derived CBD. But four years from now, it’s expected to dominate sales of hemp in the United States, generating some $646 million, according to the Hemp Business Journal, a publication that tracks the hemp industry.

People across the country, from Brooklyn hipsters to middle-aged Kentucky dads, take hemp CBD as a pill, swallow spoonfuls of hemp CBD oil or rub CBD-infused creams onto their bodies to soothe aches, pains and anxiety. Patients who suffer from seizure disorders — and their parents — have successfully lobbied states for access to hemp or low-THC marijuana-derived CBD oils as a medical treatment.

The fast-growing hemp product has raised several regulatory issues. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has maintained that CBD oil cannot be marketed as a dietary supplement and has been going after companies for making outlandish health claims.

Laws and regulations that define the hemp extract, who can use it and who can sell it, differ from state to state. In Colorado, where voters in 2012 amended the constitution to legalize cannabis, marijuana-derived CBD products are sold in dispensaries and hemp-derived CBD products are sold in health food stores, coffee shops, smoke shops and spas.

In Ohio, where medical marijuana is legal but no state hemp program exists, hemp- and marijuana-derived CBD oil must be sold by licensed dispensaries. And in Wyoming, which is setting up an industrial hemp program, patients with intractable epilepsy are allowed to take hemp CBD oil for seizures.

Right now, state policies are all over the place, said Patrick Goggin, a San Francisco-based attorney for the Hoban Law Group. That’s not a problem federal legalization will solve. “It really is going to be left to the states,” he said.

Under the 2018 farm bill, states would still need to track where hemp is produced and come up with a procedure for testing, inspecting and getting rid of hot hemp, as they do under hemp pilot programs today. States may need to make a few tweaks to conform their programs to the proposed legislation.

In Colorado, lawmakers are looking even further ahead — to the possibility that the federal government might one day change the THC concentration limit for hemp. The 0.3 percent limit is written into the state constitution. If the federal limit increased, or decreased, that could make Colorado products less competitive or harder to sell across state lines.

So Colorado lawmakers placed a referendum on the November ballot that asks voters whether they want to change the constitutional definition of hemp to a more easily changed statutory one.

Last but not least, states face the ongoing challenges of managing an industry that generates new products constantly.

Gordon of the Colorado Hemp Association said that, for instance, he’s come across hemp-CBD-infused gummies — a non-psychoactive version of the pot candies state lawmakers banned last year, fearing that they were tempting to children.

Coram said a close partnership between various state officials, from agriculture regulators to law enforcement, has been key to Colorado’s program, and that he’s sharing that approach with colleagues in other states. “We’re trying to give them the Colorado solution,” he said.

For Sinning’s office, one aspect of the partnership involves fielding calls from local police or sheriffs who have passed a field of cannabis and want to know if they’re looking at a licensed hemp crop. “We’re getting calls all the time from law enforcement,” Sinning said, “because now hemp is everywhere.”

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hemp-legal-challenges_us_5bab989ce4b058f61cdf0564

Hemp processing plant escapes Hurricane Florence unscathed

Wed, Sep 26, 2018

Hemp, Inc. announced last week that its 85,000 square-foot facility on 59 acres outside Spring Hope did not sustain any damage during Hurricane Florence. The industrial hemp processing plant was only closed Friday, Sept. 14 to ensure personnel safety. The facility resumed operations the following business day on Monday, Sept. 17.

Executives said the industrial hemp processing facility never lost electric service despite numerous power outages that occurred statewide as a result of the storm. In addition, the company announced Sept. 13 that it had safely secured 100 percent of its biomass, industrial hemp and kenaf in North Carolina through its own warehouse and with its strategic partnerships with existing storage warehouses in preparation for the brunt of Hurricane Florence.

As per the company’s policy, Hemp, Inc. maintains over a year’s worth of kenaf in storage at all times as a contingency plan for a bad harvest one year. According to Hemp, Inc. CEO Bruce Perlowin, the firm will be doing the same thing with hemp this year.

“The best time to respond to any type of disaster is before it happens,” Perlowin said. “This prevents any severe damage and helps to mitigate the effects of a hurricane-related disruption of your business. It’s also the reason our kenaf fared well during Hurricane Florence. It’s simply sound business practice.”

Only about 50 acres, on flat land, of the company’s hemp were destroyed by flooding due to the storm; however, other lots of the company’s hemp in North Carolina appear to be faring well due to strategically placed ditches days ahead of Hurricane Florence’s arrival to divert the anticipated flooding problems.

The Hemp, Inc. acreage lost in North Carolina only accounts for two tenths of 1 percent of the amount of the up to 25,000 acres of hemp the company is growing (or contract growing with other farmers) nationwide in states including Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, California, Kentucky and West Virginia, among others.

Company officials said Florence will not affect Hemp, Inc.’s bottom line.

“As water levels recede, we will continue to monitor our hemp and kenaf plants in North Carolina closely,” said Perlowin. “We are grateful that our manufacturing and processing facility was left unscathed, and our thoughts and prayers are with those farmers and residents throughout the state that experienced a more negative impact from the storm’s wrath. As we continue to execute our strategic vision to expand our footprint across the U.S. — and the world — we are able to diversify our portfolio to include markets beyond our headquarters in North Carolina, allowing us to create increased value for our shareholders.”

Source: http://springhopeenterprise.com/hemp-processing-plant-escapes-hurricane-florence-unscathed-p10883-165.htm

Russians dont need a single vote to "interfere" with elections. Online voting would make the system even more transparent, something big gov't, two party politricks would hate if it became a thing. Think of all the individual power positions with lucrative payouts lost.

Blockchain or no blockchain, ppl ok with doing their banking online, no reason we couldnt be casting votes.

Everyone has POLITICAL PROCRASTINATION and GREED to thank for what appears to be, yet, another farm bill delay.

Still some time to line a few more pockets.

Can we develop and automated congress ran by the people, already? i.e. online voting.

We already have reddit and American Idol... the the people decide, SNAP or NO SNAP.

Canada legalization in October, US hemp harvest results, and more US states voting pro cannabis during this years mid-term elections should keep the industry up, while out self-seeking, antiquated politicians hammer out the last of the Farm Bill issues.

Is anyone able to explain?

CBD prosecuted? Selling will be challenged?

HEMP is growing in WV.

America: Farm Bill, or this crap continues

Do people actually believe this...?

NOPE.

Fake News knows its audience well.

Play investors like a saloon piano.

Seasoned CON MEN, no doubt.

Slimy and as low as they get.

Good at their craft.

Hemp Inc just walks on by, with hemp legalization in the near future, winning awards.