Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Thomas Jefferson thought it necessary to "the wealth and protection of the country." Native American tribes grew it for centuries. And the U.S. government encouraged farmers to grow it "for victory" during World War II. But today, a plot of hemp could land its owner in jail.
Since 1970, hemp, a hardy cousin to marijuana long used in products ranging from textiles and rope to construction materials, paper and foods, has been classified by the federal government as a Schedule I drug, and its cultivation in the United States has been prohibited.
That hasn't stopped businesses from importing the plant, which is grown in more than 30 countries globally, including Canada, China and many European nations. In fact, as sustainability has become increasingly valued by consumers, industry's interest in hemp – which can be used to make cellulose but, unlike plastic, will biodegrade – has grown, with U.S. imports increasing from about $6.3 million in 2000 to over $78 million in 2015. Domestically, those imports have produced almost $600 million in sales annually, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Despite this burgeoning demand, the law has remained firm: hemp is a drug – one that can be imported, processed and used commercially in the United States but not independently grown within its borders.
Now, however, legislators, farmers and even business are beginning to push back.
"Hemp is a native grass of Virginia. It likes our soil, and we should like it," Del. Frank Ruff (R-Clarksville) told over 150 people who gathered Aug. 17 at Virginia State University's Randolph Farm for a field day on the production and potential of industrial hemp.
"It doesn't make sense. This is an agricultural crop for farmers," said Marty Phipps, owner of Old Dominion Hemp, a company that sells the product for equine and animal bedding. Like many others at Randolph Farm that day, Phipps sought to draw a hard line between hemp and marijuana: "You cannot smoke industrial hemp. ... It is not going to give you whatever desired effect you are looking for."
Over the past few years, Virginians, including many Southside farmers interested in diversifying their once tobacco-heavy operations, have begun to warm up to hemp. After Congress included a provision in the 2014 Farm Bill allowing universities and state agriculture departments to cultivate industrial hemp "for purposes of research," the General Assembly passed a similar law for the commonwealth. Bills introduced in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates in 2017 to broaden the provision to allow hemp cultivation "for any lawful purpose," however, died in committee.
Part of what is blocking forward motion for Virginia, along with the 32 other states that have taken action on hemp, is the federal government's refusal to remove the plant from the controlled substances list, a stance that makes it subject to U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency confiscation. Because state law cannot contradict federal law, state hands will remain tied until Congress loosens the knots.
"The biggest roadblock to all of this is the laws," said Jason Amatucci, founder and executive director of the Virginia Industrial Hemp Coalition, one of the most aggressive groups advocating for the crop in the state.
While the government continues to grapple with the implications of hemp for drug policy, however, many farmers and activists are more focused on its economic development potential.
"The first word that comes to mind when you hear 'industrial hemp' is opportunity," said Kimley Blanks, Halifax County's agriculture marketing director. Hemp, she believes, not only will help farmers by adding another crop to their rotation and boosting profits, but could generate non-agricultural jobs by spurring the construction of factories to process the raw materials for dozens of products.
"Rural Virginia needs something," she said. "We're surviving but not thriving."
Shirley Archer of Halifax's Bright Meadows Farm has already put aside 20 acres of land for the crop, which she sees as a route toward "a more sustainable way of living." More pragmatically, hemp's short 60- to 90-day growth cycle promises quicker and easier profits than the other crops – mostly grapes and blueberries – that she cultivates.
National studies of the crop's economic potential have been more cautious, however, largely because domestic hemp's exclusion from U.S. markets for decades has meant that reliable data are nearly nonexistent.
"While expanded market opportunities might exist in some states or localities if current restrictions on production are lifted, it is not possible to predict the potential for future retail sales or employment gains in the United States, either nationally or within certain states or regions," a March 2017 report by the Congressional Research Service concluded.
Many states are willing to take the gamble. In Kentucky, which since the 1990s has been at the forefront of efforts to bring back the crop to U.S. fields and markets, researchers are examining hemp's potential uses in aquaculture and as animal feed, as well as for what Craig Lee of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association calls "bio-based products."
"This is a product that works, and this is an industry that can be supported," he said.
And if it works in Kentucky, many farmers are asking, why not in Virginia?
"We need the product. I want it in my backyard," said Old Dominion Hemp owner Phipps. "At the end of the day, it would be a lot easier if it was here in Virginia."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: In search of opportunity, Virginia farmers look to hemp - News - Jackson Newspapers - Ripley, WV - Ripley, WV
Author: Sarah Vogelsong
Contact: Contact - Ripley, WV - Jackson Newspapers - Ripley, WV
Photo Credit: AP
Website: Jackson Newspapers - Ripley, WV: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Ripley, WV
Since 1970, hemp, a hardy cousin to marijuana long used in products ranging from textiles and rope to construction materials, paper and foods, has been classified by the federal government as a Schedule I drug, and its cultivation in the United States has been prohibited.
That hasn't stopped businesses from importing the plant, which is grown in more than 30 countries globally, including Canada, China and many European nations. In fact, as sustainability has become increasingly valued by consumers, industry's interest in hemp – which can be used to make cellulose but, unlike plastic, will biodegrade – has grown, with U.S. imports increasing from about $6.3 million in 2000 to over $78 million in 2015. Domestically, those imports have produced almost $600 million in sales annually, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Despite this burgeoning demand, the law has remained firm: hemp is a drug – one that can be imported, processed and used commercially in the United States but not independently grown within its borders.
Now, however, legislators, farmers and even business are beginning to push back.
"Hemp is a native grass of Virginia. It likes our soil, and we should like it," Del. Frank Ruff (R-Clarksville) told over 150 people who gathered Aug. 17 at Virginia State University's Randolph Farm for a field day on the production and potential of industrial hemp.
"It doesn't make sense. This is an agricultural crop for farmers," said Marty Phipps, owner of Old Dominion Hemp, a company that sells the product for equine and animal bedding. Like many others at Randolph Farm that day, Phipps sought to draw a hard line between hemp and marijuana: "You cannot smoke industrial hemp. ... It is not going to give you whatever desired effect you are looking for."
Over the past few years, Virginians, including many Southside farmers interested in diversifying their once tobacco-heavy operations, have begun to warm up to hemp. After Congress included a provision in the 2014 Farm Bill allowing universities and state agriculture departments to cultivate industrial hemp "for purposes of research," the General Assembly passed a similar law for the commonwealth. Bills introduced in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates in 2017 to broaden the provision to allow hemp cultivation "for any lawful purpose," however, died in committee.
Part of what is blocking forward motion for Virginia, along with the 32 other states that have taken action on hemp, is the federal government's refusal to remove the plant from the controlled substances list, a stance that makes it subject to U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency confiscation. Because state law cannot contradict federal law, state hands will remain tied until Congress loosens the knots.
"The biggest roadblock to all of this is the laws," said Jason Amatucci, founder and executive director of the Virginia Industrial Hemp Coalition, one of the most aggressive groups advocating for the crop in the state.
While the government continues to grapple with the implications of hemp for drug policy, however, many farmers and activists are more focused on its economic development potential.
"The first word that comes to mind when you hear 'industrial hemp' is opportunity," said Kimley Blanks, Halifax County's agriculture marketing director. Hemp, she believes, not only will help farmers by adding another crop to their rotation and boosting profits, but could generate non-agricultural jobs by spurring the construction of factories to process the raw materials for dozens of products.
"Rural Virginia needs something," she said. "We're surviving but not thriving."
Shirley Archer of Halifax's Bright Meadows Farm has already put aside 20 acres of land for the crop, which she sees as a route toward "a more sustainable way of living." More pragmatically, hemp's short 60- to 90-day growth cycle promises quicker and easier profits than the other crops – mostly grapes and blueberries – that she cultivates.
National studies of the crop's economic potential have been more cautious, however, largely because domestic hemp's exclusion from U.S. markets for decades has meant that reliable data are nearly nonexistent.
"While expanded market opportunities might exist in some states or localities if current restrictions on production are lifted, it is not possible to predict the potential for future retail sales or employment gains in the United States, either nationally or within certain states or regions," a March 2017 report by the Congressional Research Service concluded.
Many states are willing to take the gamble. In Kentucky, which since the 1990s has been at the forefront of efforts to bring back the crop to U.S. fields and markets, researchers are examining hemp's potential uses in aquaculture and as animal feed, as well as for what Craig Lee of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association calls "bio-based products."
"This is a product that works, and this is an industry that can be supported," he said.
And if it works in Kentucky, many farmers are asking, why not in Virginia?
"We need the product. I want it in my backyard," said Old Dominion Hemp owner Phipps. "At the end of the day, it would be a lot easier if it was here in Virginia."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: In search of opportunity, Virginia farmers look to hemp - News - Jackson Newspapers - Ripley, WV - Ripley, WV
Author: Sarah Vogelsong
Contact: Contact - Ripley, WV - Jackson Newspapers - Ripley, WV
Photo Credit: AP
Website: Jackson Newspapers - Ripley, WV: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Ripley, WV
