Farm bill raises hopes for hemp at Virginia Tech

by Mike Gangloff
Source: roanoke.com


With this month’s passage of a federal Farm Bill, former Montgomery County Supervisor Jim Politis sees new hope in his longtime advocacy for industrial hemp.


And he also sees the possibility that Virginia Tech could become at least a regional center for hemp research.

“We have a foothold,” Politis said last week.

The Farm Bill lets universities grow hemp for research if their states have passed legislation allowing it. The research provision is being hailed as a major change in the federal position on hemp, which for decades has seen no distinction between industrial hemp and marijuana. Hemp backers define hemp as a form of the cannabis plant used to make rope, fabric, paper, oil and many other products, and marijuana as the varieties of cannabis that have a higher concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical that creates a high when ingested.

Separating the two varieties of cannabis “is a huge, huge, huge step because it basically identifies industrial hemp as something other than marijuana. So it’s in a class of its own,” Politis said.
Supporters of industrial hemp see a major worldwide market that United States farmers cannot access. They point to the plant’s historical role in providing fiber and oil for an array of foods and medicines, as well for making as clothing and many other items. Recent news stories have highlighted its experimental use in controlling a rare seizure disorder. Politis said he is in contact with a local resident who is seeking permission to use it to ease symptoms of lupus.

So far, 10 states have passed legislation to allow hemp growing: California, Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

Politis said he hopes that during next year’s General Assembly session, New River Valley legislators will introduce a measure to allow Virginia universities to grow hemp for research. Several legislators could not be reached for comment for this story late last week.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t need to study it,” Politis said. “People have been using it for 12,000 years.”
Still, new research may well yield new uses, he added.

Politis said he so far has letters from administrators and researchers at Tech and the University of Virginia stating a wish to begin research projects if Virginia will allow them.

Politis has spent years buttonholing state and federal legislators, and traveling around Virginia urging town councils and county supervisors to pass resolutions supporting hemp legalization. When he ended a four-term stint on Montgomery County’s Board of Supervisors in December, Politis said hemp advocacy would be a top priority.

“We’re a heck of a lot further than when I started seven years ago,” Politis said and laughed. “I will take credit for some of it — and if it passes in Virginia, I will take credit for all of it!”