Hemp – 2015 in Review

Rebuilding the long-forgotten industry won’t be quick or easy, because seeds must be imported from Canada, Europe or China under DEA import licenses. The market has changed, and new varieties of hemp must be developed to meet industry demand for fiber, edible seed and cannabinoids, such as CBD for dietary supplements. In 2015, there was significant activity in a handful of states. Kentucky and Colorado had the most applicants and acreage, but Tennessee also had strong interest. Several states, including Hawaii, Indiana and North Dakota, elected to start with research.

Initially, the strongest demand has been for hemp grain for foods and body care, as well as hemp flowers for cannabinoids. Several universities are researching the production of cannabinoids from hemp, in addition to developing new harvesting technology. Other programs have focused on cultivating varieties best suited for regional growing conditions and developing new varieties that will do best in the region and meet market requirements.

A number of additional states plan to have hemp crops this year, including California, Virginia and West Virginia. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has announced that it will be issuing 175 licenses for more than 4,000 acres of hemp this year — up from 127 registrants who grew less than 2,000 acres in 2015 (see sidebar for more details about the country’s 2015 crop).

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has also announced the expansion of its program, and will be introducing a hemp seed certification program in the near future.

The Marihuana Tax Act first restricted hemp farming in 1937. Federal Bureau of Narcotics head Harry Anslinger promised farmers that they could “go ahead and raise hemp just as they have always done it,” but the law required farmers to register, pay a tax and get a stamp that branded them as producers of marijuana.

The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 restricted hemp cultivation even further, by requiring a permit from the Drug Enforcement Administration that was nearly impossible to get. The DEA treated hemp the same as marijuana, and only allowed its cultivation for research purposes under high security. Only a few research permits were issued for cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act, and American farmers lost the knowledge of how to grow the crop. Farmers also lost access to hemp genetics, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to maintain the varieties of hemp that had been developed by USDA fiber expert Lyster Dewey.

Eric Steenstra is the executive director of the Hemp Industries Association, the largest hemp trade group in North America. He is also on the board of Vote Hemp, which is working to change state and federal laws to once again allow commercial industrial hemp farming in the United States.