As many are waiting for medical marijuana in the state, others have already been relying on another component of the plant, Cannabidiol or CBD, to help with some medical conditions. Meanwhile, some farmers hope they’ll get to produce CBD oil here.
CBD hemp oil is growing in popularity and now it’s making its way into more natural health stores, like the Green Corner Store. Unlike marijuana, it’s already legal here because all of the THC is taken out.
“Lots of people use it for a lot of different ailments,” said Jason Martin, CEO of Tree of Life Seeds. “Alzheimer’s, cancer, lots of things.”
The industrial hemp company produces CBD oil in six states and began importing their products to Arkansas a couple months ago.
“it has a lot of pain relief efforts in there. It brings down swelling, inflammation, which reduces pain,” Martin said.
CBD is a compound that comes from the marijuana plant. It contains so little THC, it won’t get you high. All THC is taken out of products sold in Arkansas.
“There’s nothing psychoactive in it,” Martin said.
Martin hopes to grow hemp in Arkansas in order to produce CBD oil.
“We would love to move the majority of that development here to the state of Arkansas,” Martin said.
The 2014 Farm Bill allows states to grow hemp outdoors. It’s currently legal in 36 states.
“it’s definitely an opportunity for Arkansas farmers to have another crop source and capitalize on this market right now,” Martin said.
Last year, the Industrial Hemp Act passed in Arkansas. As a plant board spokesperson tells us, Governor Hutchinson won’t sign off on the act until he gets some questions answered.
“The governor had a couple questions regarding it, some things that need to be clarified to move on. We’re hopeful we can still get those questions answered and we can still have an outdoor crop this year,” Martin said.
Martin hopes farmers can start planting seeds by April or May this year. If the delay lasts past then, production won’t be able to begin until next year.
