Public hearing to be held Tuesday on rules for industrial hemp in Oregon

By Noelle Crombie
Source: oregonlive.com


A photograph of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. 

Oregon agriculture officials said Monday they are poised to adopt rules that would allow industrial hemp farmers to plant their crops this spring.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture, the agency charged with overseeing industrial hemp production, will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the draft rules. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the agency’s offices, located at 635 Capitol Street Northeast, Salem.

Prospective hemp producers said they’re happy the state is finally moving ahead with a hemp program, but they said key problems remain. They cited high licensing fees and a prohibition on producing hemp seeds as concerns. Hemp seeds are used as dietary supplements and to make hemp oil, an ingredient in food. Oregon’s industrial hemp law requires seeds be used to cultivate a crop.

Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, a proponent of industrial hemp, said the state’s hemp law and the rules that will guide the new industry may need to be tweaked, but they’re a good first step.

“I am in strong support of us moving forward and getting the rules of the current statute in place,” he said.

Eighteen states, including Oregon, have laws defining industrial hemp as distinct from marijuana and have removed barriers to its production, said Lauren Stansbury, a spokeswoman for the Hemp Industries Association. Only three states – Colorado, Kentucky and Vermont -- planted crops this year.

Courtney Moran, an attorney with expertise in hemp production, said she hopes the Oregon Legislature reduces the minimum acreage required for hemp production from two and a half acres. She also would like the state to issue special one-year licenses to producers who want to conduct research on the crop.

Moran said high licensing fees – it will cost producers $1,500 for a three-year license – “have been a huge problem,” but she said some producers will move forward anyway.

“I know lots of people ready to go,” she said. “They want to plant this summer.”

Jerry Norton, a hemp activist from Salem, hopes to plant the crop this spring. He said he’s begun lining up the equipment and land for hemp production, but he said he doesn’t have a clear sense of how large his operation will be.

Norton echoed the enthusiasm of hemp activists nationwide who see major economic potential in the plant.

“It could save America,” he said. “I am talking about everything from biodiesel fuel to food to health care products to paper. It’s endless. There are thousands of applications.”

-- Noelle Crombie

ncrombie@oregonian.com