Source: dailybarometer.com
Despite ban on hemp research, OSU offers online industrial hemp course
A first-of-its-kind industrial hemp course at Oregon State University gives students an opportunity to learn about the controversial hemp industry.
Industrial Hemp, Wood Science and Engineering 266, is a three-credit course taught by Anndrea Hermann, who has more than 15 years of experience in hemp industry and research.
“The course puts OSU as a leader and driver in providing information about industrial hemp,” Hermann said. “Because it’s so diverse of a course, there’s potential for something about one of the lectures to cause interest and make a student specialize in, for example, hemp and nanotechnologies.”
Industrial Hemp has been offered online since 2013. The class brings together over 20 guest lecturers to give students a broad overview of the possibilities and opportunities in the industrial hemp industry.
“I took this course because there has been a lot of buzz about it,” said Beatrice Serrano-Martinez, a senior in natural resources, in an email. “There’s a huge difference between marijuana and hemp, so I wanted to know what’s the difference. I feel that if governmental officials took this course they would be aware of that and promote the growth of hemp because of its environmental and economic value.”
Hemp is grown for oil, seed and fiber and has extremely low amounts of THC, the active ingredient of marijuana. Despite Oregon’s legalization of hemp in 2009, it has taken over five years of bureaucratic hurdles to even issue a single license to commercial farmers. Nineteen other states have legalized hemp cultivation for commercial or research purposes.
So far, there is evidence that hemp be useful in sustainable practices.
A 2010 study out of the University of Connecticut showed that more than 97 percent of hemp oil used was converted into hemp biodiesel.
“I believe that the sustainability potential for the crop could alleviate some of the strain on the planet to meet the demands of certain products,” Miranda Crowell, a freshman business major, said via email. “This is my favorite college course to date and my hope is that someday this class will be offered at the Corvallis campus.”
Concerns over jeopardizing federal funding has led Oregon State University to not support hemp research on campus or on its extensions.
Hermann said she’d like to see the course become required in order to further develop hemp education systems.
“It would make more sense to have an in-person class since OSU has a focus on agriculture,” Crowell said. “I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in botany, politics or sustainability.”
The industrial hemp online course counts towards the Social Processes and Institutions baccalaureate core category.
Sam Talbot, news reporter
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