Hemp industry thrives despite restrictions

By Dick Hogan
Source: news-press.com

People sometimes ask Sue Cameron if they can smoke the shirts she sells.

That’s because Cameron, owner of the Bonita Springs-based Hemp Bamboo and Things, is selling a product that many mistakenly conflate with marijuana. It’s a variety of the same plant, but has very low levels of THC, which gives marijuana its kick.

But the shirts and Cameron’s other hemp products are completely legitimate and part of a $419-million-a-year industry, although as a practical matter hemp can’t actually be grown in the United States because it’s subject to a Drug Enforcement Administration license and strict regulation.

But Cameron and others in the hemp industry say the versatile plant is still getting the short end of the stick because federal law prohibits its cultivation.

Cameron, who sells online and at events such as the weekend farmers markets at the Lee County Alliance of the Arts, extols hemp fabrics and foods as sustainable, environmentally friendly products.

She started selling products made of hemp, bamboo and other sustainable materials about a year ago when she moved here from Minneapolis, Minn., where she worked for an insurance company and sold real estate.

So far, she said, “It’s been going well. We’ve created a following. We get repeat customers so it seems to be starting off well.”

Some customers know the hemp and bamboo products Cameron sells are good for the environment but others are drawn by the marijuana connection.

“A lot of people ask me if they can smoke the T-shirt,” she said. “I say, ‘You can try.’”

Hemp has its own trade organization, the Hemp Industries Association, which is working to legalize growing it in the United States.

Until then, it can be hard to find hemp-based products, said Ingrid Setzer of Cape Coral, whose Florida 4 Hemp (Florida4hemp.com) sells hemp items including the garment called the “gi,” required for tournament competition in judo and ju-jitsu.

“It’s so hard to get,” she said, not to mention the shipping costs.

But the hemp gi sells itself once someone tries it, she said. “It’s a lot lighter and it’s anti-microbial naturally. Fungus and microbes will not grow in it.”

Hemp cultivation is allowed in most countries and was made legal in Canada in 1998. But in the United States, it can be grown only for scientific research reasons and under strict controls by the DEA, according to a January report by the Congressional Research Service, which provides research for members of Congress.

Setzer said she’d like to see hemp grown in Florida, where state law also prohibits cultivation.

“I’m trying to get it on the ballot in 2014” by getting enough petitions, she said. “I want to be able to start having a voice.”

HEMP FACTS:

$419 MILLION is the retail sales value of hemp-based products in the United States
$100 MILLION is the value of retail hemp clothing and textiles sales.
$40.5 MILLION in hemp-based foods and body care products.
19 PERCENT was the increase in retail sales of hemp-based products in 2010.
26,815 acres of land in Canada was being used to grow hemp in 2010.
SOURCE: Congressional Research Service