MONTPELLIER, Vt. (Aug. 29, 2018) – Hemp production is starting to boom in Vermont, despite federal prohibition.
In 2013, the Vermont legislature passed a law legalizing and licensing hemp production at the state level. The Vermont law does not limit hemp cultivation to research purposes, as required under federal law.ย When Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the Vermont hemp bill, he emphasized that cultivation was still illegal under federal law.
โAlthough the growing of hemp will now be legal under Vermont law, it remains subject to federal anti-drug statutes. That means that farmers who choose to grow hemp do so at their own risk and need to be aware of the possible consequencesโ
The minimal possibility of federal prosecution has not stopped some growers from taking advantage of the opportunities they see with the door now cracked open to develop a hemp market in the state. And there have been no consequences.
Hemp cultivation in Vermont has grown each year since the state legalized the plant. In 2014,ย Netaka White planted 8ร8 foot plot of hempย with seed she obtained illegally from France. Several other growers planted small plots that year. By 2016, Vermont had aboutย 60 acres of hemp growing in 12 locations. According to the Vermontย Agency of Agriculture, this year the state has more than 400 registered growers cultivating nearly 3,000 acres of industrial hemp.
Carl Christianson is in the process of turning an old Hostess Twinkie plant in Battleboro into a CBD processing facility. His company has invested more than $150,000 into renovating the space.
“We see hemp as being something that could be quite advantageous to the state because the state needs new revenue. It needs new industry. But it doesn’t want to abandon who it is,” he said in an NPR interview.
And what is Vermont? As the NPR host put it:
“It’s the Green Mountain State, dotted with picturesque small towns, food co-ops, farmers markets and some of the best craft breweries in the country. And now, fields once used for hay are now filled with lush, green hemp plants 10-feet tall.”
Joe and Rebecca Pimentel started growing hemp on their farm last year. They also opened a commercial kitchen in a nearby town where they produce CBD-infused honey and ointment. If you are asking the question “Are there any stores selling CBD oil near me?”, well then most likely there is. But it all depends on the laws your state has on CBD products.
It’s not just small farmers getting into hemp. Outside money is flowing into the state. According to NPR,ย the Green Mountain CBD farm in Hardwick got a $5 million investment from an out-of-state venture capital firm. Andย Alejandro Bergad’s company has ramped up CBD production to an industrial scale. He said his factory currently produces 60,000 CBD capsules per day. He projects his company will produce upwards of 1 million capsules per day by next year.
CBD has proven effective in treating a number of medical conditions, including seizures, pain and anxiety. The NPR report notes that the FDA forbids CBD producers from making health claims. It doesn’t mention that the DEA considers all CBD sales in the U.S. illegal. As the rapidly growing hemp industry in Vermont indicates, federal prohibition has virtually zero effect at this point.
People in the cannabis industry who argue that CBD is legal over the counterย rely on the โhemp amendmentโ in the 2014 farm bill. But the law only legalized hemp production for limited purposes. It โallows State Agriculture Departments, colleges and universities to grow hemp, defined as the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis, for academic orย agricultural research purposes, but it applies only to states where industrial hemp farming is already legal under state law.โ
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Drug Enforcement Agency released a โstatement of principlesโ to guide interpretation of the hemp section in the Farm Bill. It states, โThe growth and cultivation of industrial hemp may only take place in accordance with an agricultural pilot program to study the growth, cultivation, or marketing of industrial hemp established by a State department of agriculture or State agency responsible for agriculture in a State where the production of industrial hemp is otherwise legal under State law.โ
In short, the current federal law authorizes farming of hemp โ by research institutions, or within state pilot programs โ forย research only. Farming forย commercial purposesย by individuals and businesses remains prohibited.
The definition of โcommercialโ remains murky and hasย created significant confusion.
The statement of principles also asserted that industrial hemp programs are limited to fiber and seed. It didnโt mention CBD oil or other edible hempย products. The DEA has interpreted that to mean they remain illegal. According to the DEA, CBD cannot be sold under any circumstances.
An Indiana TV stationย interviewed DEA spokesman Rusty Payne.
โItโs not legal. Itโs just not.โ
Payne says cannabis plants are considered aย Schedule I controlled substance, and medicinal oils derived from cannabis plants are illegal according to two federal laws: theย Controlled Substance Actย and theย Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. He said confusion surrounding theย Agricultural Act of 2014ย (better known as the โFarm Billโ) is frequently cited as legal justification by those who want to manufacture, sell or use CBD oil. The DEA believes the Farm Bill permits only CBD research โ not CBD marketing and sales.
โAnybody whoโs in violation [of the federal laws] always runs that risk of arrest and prosecution,โ he said.
Nevertheless, people across Vermont are producing, selling, buying and using CBD – nullifying the federal law in practice and effect.
When the state ignored federal law and legalized industrial hemp, it in effect stepped out of the way. The market is beginning to respond. When you remove barriers, markets grow – or in this case, thousands of acres of hemp.
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