Connecticut Governor Signs Hemp Feasibility Study Bill Into Law

By Thomas H. Clarke
Source: thedailychronic.net



HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (D) signed into law Thursday a bill to allow the state to study the feasibility of legalizing industrial hemp.

The bill will require the Commissioners of Agriculture, Consumer Protection and Economic and Community Development to study the feasibility of legalizing industrial hemp for “the purpose of encouraging economic development and increasing the number of new businesses in this state.”

The state has until January 1, 2015 to establish a maximum limit of percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in industrial hemp to define a distinct separation between industrial hemp and marijuana.

The state must also report on amending the state laws to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of “controlled substance” in section 21a-240 of the general statutes, and to  establish a licensing system for industrial hemp growers and sellers.

The bill, House Bill 5476, becomes Public Act 14-191 with Gov. Malloy’s signature.
While the bill does not immediately authorize farmers in Connecticut to begin growing hemp, the bill opens the door for the possibility to do so in the near future.

The United States remains the only developed nation that fails to commercially cultivate industrial hemp as an economic crop, according to the Congressional Resource Service.

Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa that contains only minute (less than 1%) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Farmers worldwide grow hemp commercially for fiber, seed, and oil for use in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including food and clothing. The CRS further states, “[T]he US market for hemp-based products has a highly dedicated and growing demand base.”