Source: bendbulletin.com
Bill would ban hemp, pot within five miles of each other
SALEM — Hemp farmers and an expert say a bill moving through Salem that’s proposed as a way to get Oregon’s hemp industry off the ground is too restrictive and would make marijuana the state’s favored cannabis plant.
Oregon lawmakers passed a law in 2009 to legalize hemp, which has been classified as a drug federally for decades because of its relative: marijuana.
But bureaucratic delays since 2009 and changes in the last year in how federal authorities view the plant have kept Oregon farmers from getting seeds in the ground.
Amendments to House Bill 2668 were presented as a way to research the plant and lead to a thriving commercial market for the plant that’s grown for its myriad benefits, but a hemp expert says the bill caters to medical marijuana growers rather than hemp growers.
“It’s very clear that only the concerns of medical marijuana growers and future recreational marijuana growers have been addressed,” said Courtney Moran, a Portland attorney who is considered an expert on hemp. “The actual concerns regarding industrial hemp should be addressed.”
The bill was scheduled for a preliminary vote in committee Wednesday that was postponed until today. It has received vocal opposition from some farmers and county commissioners.
Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, who also sits on the committee regulating marijuana before it becomes legal July 1, said he proposed the hemp bill as a way to launch a commercial hemp industry that has sputtered while states such as Kentucky, Tennessee and Colorado have grown the industry.
The bill would prohibit growing hemp and marijuana outdoors within 5 miles of each other. That so-called buffer zone would prevent cross-pollination between the THC-rich marijuana plant and hemp, which has virtually no psychoactive ingredients.
“We’re trying to find a way for coexistence to make sure nobody’s crop is damaging anybody else’s crop,” Buckley said in an interview.
Cross-pollination between the plants is ruinous for both crops. If a male hemp plant pollinates a female, bud-producing marijuana plant, the buds would turn to seeds.
But Cheryl Walker, a Josephine County commissioner, said the buffer zone would amount to a prohibition of hemp growing in her county.
“There is not a single valley or a single location in our county that would work,” Walker said.
Oregon has legalized three cannabis industries despite their designation on the federal controlled substances list alongside heroin and other drugs. As more states enact cannabis laws that contradict federal laws, Congress and federal agencies have set guidelines for states to follow to prevent problems.
For hemp, federal law prohibits sending live seeds across state lines. Seeds must be sterilized before they can be sent. Plants are also considered illegal in most circumstances.
In last year’s Farm Bill, Congress put a provision that allows states to set up hemp research programs run by the state departments of agriculture or public universities.
After taking more than five years to create rules for the hemp industry in Oregon, the state Department of Agriculture came up with rules that would still leave hemp farmers vulnerable to federal criminal penalties. One amendment to Buckley’s bill would provide protection.
The state has given 13 hemp licenses to farmers and businesses, some of whom want to grow hemp for its medicinal ingredient, CBD, that has been shown to help cancer patients and people who suffer from seizures. They’ll all lose their licenses under provisions in Buckley’s bill.
One farmer, Cliff Thomason, has planted hemp seeds on some of his 43 acres after receiving a license earlier this year. He wouldn’t say where he got the seeds, which may have been in violation of federal law, but he said it’s not difficult to find seeds to plant.
Thomason would likely have to plow under his newly planted farm because it’s too close to a high school in Josephine County, Buckley’s office said. Thomason said Buckley is favoring marijuana over hemp despite years of available research where hemp is legal, such as in Canada and Europe.
“The research has already been done. This is just a way to cut us out of the opportunity in favor of the medical marijuana growers,” Thomason said in an interview.
An amendment to Buckley’s bill would nullify the 13 licenses and require farmers who have planted hemp seeds to plow under their plots. The state would reimburse them for any money they lost because of the change in state law. Prospective hemp growers would then reapply to become one of just six test plots that would research the plant alongside Oregon State University.
“The amendments that have been put forward would essentially put us out of business,” Thomason said, adding an investment of several thousand dollars could easily multiply into hundreds of thousands if hemp were harvested for CBD rather than for another of its uses, textiles.
A provision in Buckley’s bill that might be taken out would also prohibit hemp from being grown outdoors anywhere in Josephine, Jackson and Douglas counties, which are considered one of the best regions in the world to grow hemp and marijuana.
Jackson and Josephine counties have a disproportionate number of registered medical marijuana growers and cardholders, according to data from the Oregon Health Authority.
With a population of just over 82,000, Josephine County is home to nearly 4,000 medical marijuana growers. Jackson County, with a population of about 206,000 that is nearly four times smaller than Multnomah County, has about three-quarters as many growers. Much of the pot in those areas is grown outdoors because of the climate.
“We’re going to have to share this land between hemp and marijuana,” said Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass, who said he opposed some components of Buckley’s bill.
Other farmers agree something needs to be done to clarify the plant’s legality here before they plant. But with or without Buckley’s bill, Oregon may likely miss another growing season.
“Now would be the time if we’re going to move forward with it,” said Eric Lund, a license holder who plans to grow a hemp strain that is high in the medicinally valuable CBD. “We’re unsure as of right now just because of what the law is.”
— Reporter: 406-589-4347,
No comments:
Post a Comment