Reg's Impeding Hemp Growth, Says Trade Alliance

by Kelvin Heppner
Source: portageonline.com

(photo courtesy MB Harvest Hemp)

Regulations are impeding the growth of the hemp industry, says the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance.

As part of Health Canada's current review of hemp regulations, the industry association is calling on the federal government to deregulate the production, processing and export of industrial hemp.

"We're looking for some significant changes. The biggest change is we're looking for hemp to be moved out from the auspices of Health Canada to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada," explains CHTA executive director Kim Shukla, who lives near Steinbach.

Unlike marijuana, industrial hemp contains little or no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but hemp production in Canada is still managed by Health Canada's Office of Controlled Substances.

Shukla says Health Canada's permitting and testing requirements are holding the industry back, which is why they want it to be treated like other mainstream crops under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

"We wouldn't have the regulations that are now part of Health Canada, and we would also be working with a group that understands the nature of agriculture, which is what hemp is all about," she adds.

The number of industrial hemp acres in Canada has grown from around eight thousand in 2008 to roughly 67 thousand in 2013. Based on gross returns between $700 and $1000 per acre, the CHTA projects hemp acres will exceed 100 thousand in the next year or two. The industry has also set a goal of 250 thousand acres by 2018.

"It is time for the Canadian government to release the unnecessary regulatory burden on industrial hemp and allow this important crop to flourish," says the CHTA's new president Russ Crawford, who also points out hemp does not use the traditional transportation system that is currently struggling to keep up with demand for moving other crops to market.

"We need government to facilitate that expansion, not constrain it," he says.

Health Canada's review of hemp regulations is being conducted in response to recommendations from the federal government's Red Tape Reduction Commission. Submissions can be made until December 20th.