'Cannabis' ice cream whipped up in Italy

Source: thelocal.it



An ice cream parlour the northern Italy has whipped up an ice cream flavoured with hemp seed as a tribute to the reggae singer Bob Marley.

The unusual delicacy has been produced by the ice parlour in the Ligurian resort town of Alassio, Intelligonews.it reported, and will be sold alongside the slogan, "it tastes good and it does good".

Its producers hope to have the new flavour on sale before the close of 2015.

The 'Bob Marley' ice cream  was created in collaboration with Canapa Ligura, a local organization which aims to raise awareness of the health benefits of hemp.

The recipe uses peeled hemp seeds as a base, which the producers claim contains “beneficial properties due to the high presence of fatty acids, which make it a valuable way to fight and prevent different ailments including arteriosclerosis, cholesterol, osteoarthritis, respiratory disorders, eczema and acne.”

Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant often used for making fibres and textiles, and its seeds contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

But mixing Italy's favourite dessert with the cannabis plant can be dangerous if attempted by non-professionals.

In February this year, two young people went to Iceland and downloaded instructions for making cannabis-flavoured ice cream. However, the attempt went wrong and the pair ended up in hospital after experiencing hallucinations.

High hopes for hemp

Source: agjournalonline.com


Casey Ives, director of business development for PureVision Technologies of Fort Lupton, shows off samples of hemp plant materials that can be used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products.

It sounds like a dream gift most farmers would be happy to find under their tree: a low-water-use crop capable of generating profits as high as $100,000 an acre.

Industrial hemp is that crop, farmers were told during an informational expo in Akron. From Rocky Ford to Springfield to Yuma, hemp is already being grown in fields across Colorado, although the risks involved are enough to quickly turn a potential bonanza into a lump of coal.

Progressive 15, an economic development and legislative advocacy group representing northeastern Colorado, hosted the expo featuring experts in plant breeding, production, marketing, manufacturing and law.

Tellingly, instead of having a banker address business financing, the crowd heard from Denver attorney David Bush on that topic.

Bush explained that industrial hemp still falls under the broad umbrella of cannabis, which triggers monetary restrictions, customer due diligence and extensive reporting requirements for banking institutions.

“Regulation is a cost to any business, and these are hugely costly regulations,” he said.

No federal crop insurance or Farm Service Agency support is offered to hemp growers either.

Drawbacks aside, organizers said it was important to give area farmers more information about the crop, which was authorized for interested states under provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill.

“We have around a hundred people here, and the majority are farmers who are interested in looking at it,” said Cathy Shull, Progressive 15 executive director. “As a low maintenance, low water crop, we see it being a good fit for this high desert area.”

“We’re just starting the discussion,” she added. “Maybe it makes the farming in this area more profitable or maybe we can get some processing companies to come in. We’ll be ready if legislation is introduced that we can get behind to make it easier to do this.”

David Loy, a retired farmer and Washington County commissioner who lives in Akron, said the interest was genuine.

“Four of the last five years farmers made money and some of them would be willing to take a risk and try it. They can afford to finance it on their own,” Loy said. “I don’t think we’ll see big acreages. But if they want to do it, there is help available. This is a way to bring them together to potentially share equipment or ideas.”

James McVaney, the owner of a company called 43 Solutions, has recruited farmers to grow hemp across the state. He told the crowd that hemp he grew in the San Luis Valley last summer brought $100,000 an acre.

In an interview later, he described it as an “once-in-a-lifetime” windfall that was enhanced by a somewhat unusual confluence of events. The proceeds came from 800 pounds of seed harvested from five acres.

Tony Grove holds up a promotional T-shirt made from hemp, organic cotton and bamboo. The screen-printed image on the front shows actual hemp plants grown by Hemp Farm Colorado. Grove was selling hemp seed for $10 an ounce at an informational meeting in Akron

However, he said he considered the San Luis Valley too rocky and the growing season too short to be ideal.

“This area has a lot more potential,” he said of northeastern Colorado. McVaney hopes to grow 200 acres of hemp in 2016 and was still looking to line up another 120 acres of production.

“The market is uncertain, but we’re still in the rising part of the bubble,” he said.

Those attending the meeting received a brochure detailing the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s industrial hemp program. Hemp production requires registration with the CDA. The application fee is $500 plus $5 per acre. Certifications are issued annually.

Hemp is still considered a controlled substance on the federal level and can’t be sold out of state, according to the literature. Hemp “grows like a weed,” according to some farmers, but also requires sophisticated management.

Most importantly, plants have to be constantly monitored to make sure levels of THC, the psycho-trophic compound that creates a high when consumed or inhaled, remains below the legal limit of .3 percent on a dry matter basis. Individual cultivars, growing conditions and other factors can have large and sometimes unpredictable effects on those levels.

Farmers invited to speak at the meeting said no specialized equipment was required beyond conventional planters or seed drills and a draper header combine.

“My plan next year is to plant it like wheat. That’s what they do in Canada,” said Fort Morgan farmer Matt Silz.

Mike Sullivan, owner of Hemp Farm Colorado of Brighton, said he left the marijuana industry to grow hemp instead. He was pleased with the 60 acres he grew under irrigation last year.

“Now we have the seed to grow it on a larger scale,” he said.

Sullivan said he was forming a cooperative, the Northern Colorado Hemp Growers Association, to facilitate seed sales, marketing, processing and distribution.

Manufacturers described hemp as a miracle plant suitable to many uses.

Casey Ives, director of business development for PureVision Technologies of Fort Lupton, explained how his company’s biomass refinery was churning out materials used in a large range of industrial and consumer products, such as paper products, sealants, binders, plastics, beverage bottles and even car frames and panels. Renewable bio-based products will continue to replace petro-chemical products in the future, he said.

Plant residue, however, appears to add only residual value. The big item driving the market is hemp oil, which is used in medicinals and health care products.

Bill Billings, co-owner of Nature’s Root, said he makes body salts and other oil-based products that have amazing health properties and huge demand. “In Canada, you can go into a Costco or a Whole Foods Market and buy hemp seeds or hemp hearts,” he said. “Hemp is the most nutritious food on the planet. It is perfectly balanced between Omega 3s and Omega 6s, and it contains 14 to 20 percent protein. As a food product, it’s great.”

Jason Robillard, head of cannibidiol products for Rocky Mountain High Brands of Dallas, said his company was expanding into a 17,000 square foot building in Westminster to pursue the health market.

“This crop is very valuable,” he said. “Do your research. If someone offers you $10,000 or $20,000 an acre, that's not necessarily a great deal. We like to partner with farmers rather than just sell them the seed.”

Omaha Tribe shifts its focus from legalizing pot to growing hemp

By Joe Duggan
Source: omaha.com

LINCOLN — Officials with the Omaha Tribe have tamped down their hopes of using marijuana to alleviate crippling poverty on their reservation.

Majorities in a November referendum voted to support legalizing the drug for recreational and medical purposes. The tribe’s elected officials said they would explore developing marijuana as a commercial enterprise on a reservation with 3,500 members plagued by 69 percent unemployment.

But they have taken no additional steps after a federal prosecutor promised legal action if the Omaha Tribe started selling the drug. And their enthusiasm was curbed even further when the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, which planned to open a pot lounge on New Year’s Eve, destroyed its marijuana crop ahead of an anticipated raid by federal agents.

“It’s not feasible — not yet,” Maurice Johnson, attorney general for the tribe, said last week.

The referendum also showed tribal support for legalizing the cultivation and sale of industrial hemp, a form of the cannabis plant with a minuscule percentage of the psychoactive compound THC. Johnson said the Omaha tribal council recently authorized a study on the economics of growing and selling hemp, which is used to make products ranging from building materials to clothing to hand lotion.

But legal questions remain about whether the tribe would face a standoff with the feds over a plant with no value to drug traffickers.

“We really don’t know yet if it’s worth the trouble,” Johnson said.

Tribal officials held the referendum in response to a memo the U.S. Justice Department released a year ago that seemed to indicate reservations would be treated the same as states where marijuana has been permitted and regulated. A total of 23 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, while four states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use of the drug.

The Justice Department has not enforced federal marijuana laws in states where the drug is legal and properly regulated.

Neither Nebraska nor Iowa allows recreational smoking or comprehensive medical use of marijuana. Both states, however, have laws on the books that allow limited use of cannabis oil low in THC for treatment of severe seizure disorders.

Nebraska’s U.S. attorney, Deborah Gilg, said in a recent interview that federal authorities would not stand by if the tribe legalized pot. She provided the newspaper with copies of letters she sent to tribal officials to make them aware of her position, including one that was mailed months before the referendum vote.

“I’ve made it clear to the tribe that would not be legal, and we would prosecute,” Gilg told The World-Herald.

The tribe operates a casino near Onawa, Iowa, which prompted questions about whether marijuana could be sold on the east side of the Missouri River. Gilg has discussed the matter with Kevin Techau, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, and, she said, “We are both of like mind.” A message left with Techau’s spokesman was not returned.

In the meantime, federal authorities have raided some tribal marijuana operations in other states while allowing others to continue.

On the one hand, federal officials appear opposed to tribes starting marijuana businesses in states where the drug remains otherwise illegal, said Johnson, the Omaha Tribe’s attorney general. That would explain why they were poised to act in South Dakota and why they’ve allowed tribes in Washington state, where recreational marijuana is allowed, to continue their pot operations.

But they’ve also taken action against tribes in California, where medical marijuana is allowed but recreational pot is not. Regardless, Johnson said he and other tribal officials detect a bias in the federal policy.

“It seems the federal government is more than willing to respect the sovereignty of the states but not the tribes,” he said. “That’s how it looks to us.”

Marijuana promises to be a hot topic during the 2016 session of the Nebraska Legislature, where a medical cannabis bill will be debated. Meanwhile, State Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete said she is considering introducing a bill that would allow cultivation of industrial hemp.

Current state law permits hemp to be grown only by the University of Nebraska and the State Department of Agriculture, for research purposes. Ebke said because hemp has no intoxicating properties, it seems like it would make an excellent rotational crop in Nebraska.

Regardless of what she decides to do about the issue in the upcoming session, Ebke said she would like the federal government to get out of the way of tribes when it comes to hemp.

“Anything they can do to generate revenue is a positive thing,” she said.

Farmers free to grow hemp again

By Jeff Linville
Source: mtairynews.com

While cooking oil was the main topic of Dean Price’s presentation to the school board, another key component to biofuel would be the growth of farm crops that could supply fresh oil.

Price said two products that could be grown here in North Carolina are canola and hemp.

Back in 1900, hemp was the biggest crop in the state, Price said. Then in the 1930s, confusion over the differences between hemp and its cousin marijuana led to laws outlawing hemp.

The component in marijuana that produces a high is known at tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). While that plant has a good amount of THC, hemp has only a trace in its leaves.

To get high from industrial hemp, “you’d have to smoke a joint the size of a telephone pole,” Lee Edwards, Sugar Hill Farms, explained to a Raleigh newspaper.

Not only that, but consuming enough hemp to feel any “buzz” would result in severe intestinal distress as it would be equal to multiple doses of a high-fiber laxative, studies have shown.

Lawmakers passed the legalization legislation in September, in the final days of the session.

The bill sat on Gov. Pat McCrory’s desk for weeks, with rumors floating around about whether or not he would veto it, but without that veto, the bill became law on Nov. 1.

Tim Hambrick, longtime agent for the Cooperative Extension Service, weighed in on the crop discussion.

Biofuels can be made from any number of products, he said. There was a time when researchers tried using tobacco. However, the leaves had to be transported green, and that created a lot more weight than the dry form that cigarette companies prefer.

That jacked up freight costs, plus there was the question of what to do with the gummy remains of the leaves after the oil was extracted.

One of the good things about corn and soybeans — two big crops in this state — is that the byproduct can be fed to livestock as meal, Hambrick said.

At one time, the U.S. government used hemp as pulp to make $10 bills. It is possible that hemp could both provide oil and be turned into pulp for paper.

Another benefit of hemp is a component called CBD. Recent research suggests that CBD may prevent seizures in epileptics and may serve as a neuroprotectant – that is, able to stem neurological damage following strokes and in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The more products that can be developed from a plant, the more lucrative it can be as a cash crop, said Hambrick. Look at how many ways corn and soybeans are used now.

Still, this is all a long, long way from being feasible in Surry County, the agricultural specialist said. Logistics plays a huge part in what crops a farmer will try to grow.

People have grown canola in Surry County before, and it does grow well here, he said. However, it grows in the same season as winter wheat, so a farmer would have to choose one over the other.

There are places to sell goods in Stokes County for feed and Statesville to a place that makes bread and crackers, Hambrick said. That soybean plant in Georgia is a long ways off, and the shipping would make for more of a hassle and cut into profits.

Plus, people have been growing corn and wheat in this state for a century, so the farmers know how to handle them, and there is a lot of infrastructure for the growing, shipping and processing of these crops, he noted.

Still, for all that, if hemp or canola can prove profitable, farmers are smart enough to adapt.

“If there’s enough money in it, people will figure it out,” he said.

Hemp glut in Manitoba

By: Bill Redekop
Source: winnipegfreepress.com

HEMP, the new Cinderella crop, is in for a major hiccup after Manitoba Harvest announced it will not contract the crop in 2016.

Winnipeg-based Manitoba Harvest, with its recent acquisition of Hemp Oil Canada in Ste. Agathe, buys about 75 per cent of the hemp crop in Western Canada. Its announcement will put the brakes on production in the new year.

"It's so much of a Cinderella crop that we were finding incredible yields on the Prairies," said Kelly Saunderson, Manitoba Harvest spokeswoman.

The yield was so great in 2015 that Manitoba Harvest doesn't require any new crop in the new year. That's even though its sales are increasing by 30 to 40 per cent annually, Saunderson said.

Manitoba Harvest contracts on a per-acre basis. When average yields started coming in at 1,000 pounds per acre last year, instead of the 200 to 500 pounds per acre projected, Manitoba Harvest realized it couldn't keep pace. The glut of hemp is mostly stored on farms.

Hemp is projected to be the next Cinderella crop, a label used for canola until it one day rivalled wheat as the dominant crop on the Prairies. Hemp production was banned in Canada in 1938 because it looks exactly like marijuana. Narcotic-free hemp production was legalized again in 1998. Hemp has extraordinary potential as a health food (high in protein, and omega 3 and 6) and for its fibre, but it's still banging at the door of food markets and clothing manufacturers.

There are fears a freeze in hemp production will be a setback and allow Americans to catch up to Canada. Regulations are starting to loosen up in the United States regarding hemp production.

Saunderson doesn't see it that way. For one, growers have a very big lead over any newcomers. That's why production has skyrocketed so quickly. As well, Manitoba Harvest has invested $8 million in recent years upgrading its processing facilities, including more automation.

If U.S. farmers do start producing hemp, it will only grow the market, said Dauphin-area hemp grower Bruce Rampton.

"The tide raises all boats," maintained Rampton, who grew 100 acres of hemp last year and has grown up to 600 acres.

"If Americans can legalize it and get production going there and get the marketplace going, we are ahead on production and know-how, like combining, drying and handling the crop, fertilizing and seeding rates. That's all figured out," Rampton said.

Manitoba Harvest's announcement wasn't a big surprise to many farmers, he said. "I've never grown a crop that makes me as much money as hemp, but I've never had anything as unpredictable as hemp," he said. "I've always told everyone when growing hemp, hemp is profitable but don't confuse profitability with cash flow."

Don Dewar, another Dauphin-area farmer, said he will still grow hemp in 2016. He contracts his crop with the Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Co-op, which has not announced any cuts in contracting. The co-op, started in 2002, processes hemp for bulk sales of grain and fibre.

More choice for Albury's Boxing Day sales

By Shana Morgan
Source: bordermail.com.au



ALL NATURAL: Sam Hamilton from Albury's Eco Store loves his hemp oil and clothing and is ready for a busy day of customers when the shop opens its doors on Boxing Day. Picture: MARK JESSER

EVEN more Albury business will have their doors open and sales on offer for bargain-hunting shoppers this Boxing Day.

The NSW government announced last month that retail shops previously required to stay closed on December 26 could open if staff freely elected to work.

Rhys Mildren’s shop, Gym Depot Clothing Co, opened in AMC Lane last year and just added a smoothie bar after recent renovations.

With many people’s health kick to begin after a day of indulging in Christmas celebrations, the store could be in for a big Boxing Day.

​“The population of Albury increases during this time because everyone is home,” Mr Mildren said.

“Hype around this place has been really good.”

AMP Lane and the city were evolving to create a more metro-feel.

“Every Christmas it seems to get to busier, Albury-Wodonga is growing as a whole,” he said.

HOLIDAY HEALTH: Gym Depot Clothing Co.'s Rhys Mildren and Jess Mastenbroek are ready for the madness of Boxing Day. Picture: MARK JESSER

But he said it also meant a day of small businesses paying penalty rates.NSW Business Chamber Murray Riverina regional manager Ben Foley said the new laws meant Boxing Day was no longer the domain of big business.

Shops needed to ensure clientele was there to meet the dollar value of their staff.

“We want to give businesses the flexibility to say whether they do or don’t open their doors,” Mr Foley said.

“At least now the scales have been evened.”

He said he expected more shops to open in large centres such as Albury, Wagga and Griffith, which would attract big crowds, but smaller towns might not see value in the expense of employing workers for a public holiday.

Albury’s small businesses reported a mixed reaction to opening on Boxing Day.

Eco Store employee Laura Eyles said the shop did not even need clearance sales to justify being open on Boxing Day.

“It’s a good day, there’s people everywhere,” she said.

“Being a small store, if Myer is open, then we have to as well.”

Bamboo and hemp products had been popular in the lead up to Christmas, but Mrs Eyles would not call it a trend.

“It’s not necessarily what’s fashionable or trendy, people are looking for something different,” she said.

Hemp industry piques interest

By Forrest Hershberger
Source: southplattesentinel.com

Is it industrial hemp, or is it marijuana, and how does a person discern the difference?

That is one of the many questions discussed during the Progressive 15 Industrial Hemp Expo held at the Events Center earlier this month in Akron. The expo addressed concerns and questions on developing an industrial hemp industry in Colorado.

Barry Gore, chairman of the board, Adams County Economic Development, said the industry is at a unique time in history.

“It is kind of a chicken and the egg thing,” Gore said.

He said the industry can develop markets to support future product, or develop the product to inspire the market.

Cathy Shull, executive Director of Progressive 15, said the next step is to develop legislation addressing industrial hemp.

Duane Sinning of the Colorado Department of Agriculture spoke on the difference between industrial hemp and marijuana. He said 18 months ago he was trying to convince people hemp is an industrial product; people cannot get high from industrial hemp.

He said the Industrial Hemp Act gave the Colorado Department of Agriculture jurisdiction over registration and cultivation of hemp. The 2014 Farm Bill included a clause for higher education facilities to begin research and development of hemp.

He said industrial hemp is a plant of the genus cannibus with a maximum THC (the hallucinogenic chemical in marijuana) content of .3 percent.

“It is an arbitrary line for trade more than anything,” Sinning said.

He said the .3 percent is not necessarily the definition of where a person can get high. He added the federal government does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana, except in the Farm Bill.

He said the .3 percent benchmark was started through the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, supported by the United States. He added most of Europe supports a .02 percent maximum THC content.

He said hemp with more than 1% is considered to have some intoxicating affect.

He said if a hemp product has more than .3 percent THC content, it would preclude universities from research and development. Researchers may have to get a medical marijuana permit if the project is above the .3 percent level.

Industrial hemp and marijuana appear to be virtually the same plant, which is one of the problems, according to Sinning.

“You can’t really tell by looking at it,” he said.

He said there has been a significant shift in the industry this year. Indoor production has “exploded,” he said.

He added that more than half of Colorado’s 69 counties have land area registered for hemp production. In 2014, the largest field was about 17 acres. In 2015, that field wouldn’t rank in the top 10 fields, he said.

“As you enter the marketplace, be sure your seed is legitimately here in the state of Colorado,” he said.

He added that if hemp production exceeds .3 percent THC, it could result in a visit with the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the producer defined as a smuggler.

Logan County farmer Alan Gentz questioned the risk to the producer.

“I don’t see any protection for the farmer at this point,” Gentz said. “There are a lot of problems here. There’s nothing protecting the farmer.”

Sinning said if a producer is monitoring his crop correctly, there are options.

“It really just becomes part of your business practice,” he said.

Hemp attorney David Bush addressed the legal issues with industrial hemp.

“Knowing what the law is is not enough people,” he said. “You have to know how it is being enforced.”

Bush said producers also have to know what the perception of the law is.

He addressed the Controlled Substances Act and lists of controlled substances. He said it isn’t so much about producing hemp as having permission to raise it. He added the federal law does not distinguish between marijuana and industrial hemp. He said costs are associated with legislation, and where there is less legislation, there will be less cost.

Industrial hemp breeder Grant Orvis talked about research on developing hemp.

Casey Ives of PureVision Technologies talked about his company in Fort Lupton during the manufacturing panel discussion.

The employee-owned and financed company was started in 1992. It employs 21 people: 15 technical staff and three PhDs. PureHemp Technology, LLC., was created in 2014 and processes about a half ton of industrial hemp per day.

“We plan to scale up on a very large scale,” he said.

Ives said their goal is to process 25 tons per day.

Bush returned to the front to talk about banking as an industrial hemp producer. He said the hemp industry, hemp banking, is in conflict with the racketeering laws. Banks are required to complete SARs, Suspicious Activity Reports, on any customer suspected of involvement in illegal activity. He said banking will result in reporting to the federal government.

He said the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015 is designed to protect banks from losing FDIC, prevent federal interference of bank loans. However, banks are still required to complete SAR reports, he said.

“The SAR part is still there, and that is why banks don’t want to do business,” Bush said.

The Expo included discussion on water and soil testing, and Yuma County Sheriff Chad Day was scheduled to address law enforcement.

Colorado Farmers form Hemp Co-op

By Jonathan Baker
Source: hppr.org

Farmers in Northeast Colorado have formed a new kind of co-op, reports Colorado Public Radio. Several farmer have banded together to grow hemp in the region.

The growing of hemp became legal in the state in 2012, along with the growing of cannabis. Hemp, unlike cannabis, has no mind-altering properties. The plant can be used for clothing, soaps, food and other industrial uses. The Colorado farmers are hoping to build a hemp industry in the state.

David Serrano, who organized the Northeastern Colorado Hemp Farmers Association, explains: "Whether it's for fiber or medicine or oils we want to be able to give the farmers the opportunity to create a valuable asset for themselves." The prospective Colorado hemp industry could include selling hemp seeds to co-op members, negotiating prices and sharing advice.

Legalizing Weed: 4 Financial Predictions of Industrial Hemp Cultivation

By Andrea Miller
Link: newsmax.com

Proponents of legalizing industrial hemp note that this crop has the potential to be a huge moneymaker for American farmers, bolstering the economy and the nation’s agricultural trade. While legalizing weed may get more press, the industrial hemp movement is perhaps even more impactful for America as a whole, particularly from a financial standpoint. 

Here are four financial predictions by those who have studied the marketability of industrial hemp:


1. A boon for farmers
United States consumers purchase $500 million of hemp products annually. These goods, which are currently imported from other countries, include health and beauty products, textiles, clothing, food, and many other environmentally sustainable products. If American farmers were able to cultivate industrial hemp, those funds would go into the pockets of American farms rather than the coffers of other nations.

2. Job creation
Hemp has the potential to create jobs where they are needed most. Rural economies were some of the hardest hit during the recession of recent years, and many areas have yet to recover from the loss of jobs and industry. If industrial hemp was legalized as the country is in the process of legalizing weed, it could create a sustainable farming economy in these small towns and provide untold numbers of jobs. 

3. Keeping the money local 
Industrial hemp will continue to be a growth industry. In 2011, the U.S. imported $11.5 million in raw hemp material for production of goods — four times the amount imported just 10 years earlier. As more and more products are made with hemp seed and oil, this plant will continue to be an expensive import until the United States begins growing its own.

4. All signs point to profit 
There is a positive market outlook for growing industrial hemp in the United States. Economists from the USDA and various land grant universities have studied the potential market for this crop in several states and found that the financial outlook for industrial hemp is positive across the board. While normal fluctuations can be expected, all signs point to cannabis sativa as a profoundly profitable crop. 

Data from a University of Kentucky study suggested that the cultivation of hemp seeds, one processing facility, and one industrial hemp paper-pulp plant could produce a minimum of 771 jobs for the state and create an estimated $17.6 million in revenue. Extrapolating these numbers, even to just a few additional states, could make industrial hemp a financial asset to the United States.

Hemp test plot results released: Extension researchers study 12 industrial varieties in North Dakota

By Jonathan Knudson

Source: thedickinsonpress.com

LANGDON, N.D.- The long-dormant U.S. industrial hemp industry is enjoying a resurgence — and results from a Langdon, N.D., test plot could spur more interest in the crop.

“It’s a start. But there’s still a lot of research to be done,” says Bryan Hanson, a researcher at the North Dakota State University Langdon Research Extension Center.

He was involved in the project, in which 12 industrial hemp varieties from three countries were planted in small plots and evaluated this past growing season at the Langdon center. Key conclusions include:

Industrial hemp appears to be adapted to the Langdon region.

Grain and fiber yields were comparable to research data from Canada, where the crop has been grown for a number of years.

French varieties, planted later than varieties from Canada and Australia, had lower grain yield, but higher fiber yields. The Australian variety, planted the latest of the 12, was the tallest and the greatest fiber yield, but didn’t produce grain.

Seed mortality is a big issue in hemp production and not well understood. More research is needed.

Other studies to identify the best varieties and crop production practices are needed.

Industrial hemp once was widely grown in the U.S., and was treated like other crops by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But for decades, growing hemp wasn’t allowed without a permit from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the DEA’s last such permit, for a quarter-acre experimental plot in Hawaii, expired in 2003.

Industrial hemp supporters say U.S. farmers should be able to grow it. They argue that it has many positive uses and, unlike its cousin marijuana, can’t be smoked to get high.

Supporters won a big victory in the 2014 federal farm bill, which allows states that have legalized hemp to set up pilot growing programs. North Dakota is among the states that have done so, with research at the Langdon center an important part of the program.

Hanson says he’s optimistic about industrial hemp’s potential in North Dakota.

He also recommends patience.

“It’s going to take time to learn more about this crop,” he says.

Hemp lip balm causes furor at Alaska military base — 400 tubes tossed

Source: thecannabist.co



'It's a real thing; kind of embarrassing, I guess,' said a spokesman for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richards


ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Officials say they had to discard hundreds of tubes of lip balm that were distributed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richards after they were found to have hemp seed oil as an ingredient, which contains trace amounts of THC.

The base’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office had been distributing the lip balm as it typically does with other promotional items, like water bottles and calendars, The Alaska Dispatch News reported. JBER spokesman 1st Lt. Michael Harrington said the lip balm was purchased mistakenly.

“Not everybody thinks to check the ingredients list on ChapStick,” said Harrington.

The lip balm contained hemp seed oil, which is banned under U.S. Army and Air Force regulations.

The base’s public affairs team had emailed JBER employees Wednesday, asking them to toss out the 400 tubes of lip balm. The email was posted on the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page.

“It’s a real thing; kind of embarrassing, I guess,” Harrington said.

While the lip balm “does not have a significant amount of THC to register on a drug test,” the email says, it still falls under the ban on hemp seed products.

Harrington said the products were thrown out to “take the route of utmost caution.”
___

Information from: Alaska Dispatch News


Comments from the original post:

• This is one instance of what will be one of the great new frontiers our society will face as we wind down the drug wars--unraveling the tangled web of subsidiary regulations that rely on the Controlled Substance Act continuing to classify marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. Even if congress decides in a spasm of reality to repeal the CSA, we will have things like this, financial regulations, zero tolerance rules, workplace limitations and many more residual tools that the wannabe drug warriors can call upon to continue wreaking havoc on our society. It will take some clever work from legislatures (there's an oxymoron for you) to come up with ways to wipe them all out at once.

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  newbroom • 3 days ago

  Co-incidentally, I decided on a whim this a.m. to read the ingredients in my Publix brand oatmeal cookies and found a list including propylene glycol. I'd rather it were organic hemp seed oil.

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  kcRon • 6 days ago

  This is what happens when reason and logic are tossed to the wind and the rules are followed to the T regardless that everyone knows better. Just more wasted tax dollars. More stupid political/military decisions.

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    Fungi Sclerotia 1427  kcRon • 5 days ago

    In other words... 
    "Military INTELLIGENCE" in ACTION! 
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    A NON-psychoactive FOOD PRODUCT is BANNED as 
    an intoxicating "controlled substance" in the U.S. armed services... 
    http://hprc-online.org/dietary...

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  niwotsblessing • 2 days ago

  military intelligence = jumbo shrimp.

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    Fungi Sclerotia 1427  niwotsblessing • a day ago

    Pretty ugly

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  MokFarin • 5 days ago

  Why, exactly, was hemp seed oil banned? Was there a fear that someone would spike the hemp seed oil with a huge dose of THC to make our troops lose their minds or something? Or was this actually based on the controlled substances act?

  If we are going to follow that sort of, er, "logic", we might as well ban other plant oils, too. Pretty much all of them contain a trace amount of something that we wouldn't want in our bodies in abundance.

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  Hempfullygreen • 5 days ago

  unacceptable levels of ignorance.

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  Fungi Sclerotia 1427 • 5 days ago

  Consider, If you would, 
  the 'sage wisdom' of one of our Most Revered former Commanders in Chief: 
  -
  “I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is 
  equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast.” 
  ~Ronald Reagan 
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  Therefore, 
  Even non-psychoactive, ZERO THC food products made from this incredibly dangerous plant 
  need to be regulated as strictly as fissile uranium and plutonium isotopes... / SARC

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    niwotsblessing  Fungi Sclerotia 1427 • 2 days ago

    Ronald Reagan was a vegetable.

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  Paulpot • 5 days ago

  This is a disgraceful waste of taxpayers money. There is no logical reason why it should have been thrown out this is just a control freak having a tantrum. There is basically no THC in seed oil. The amount is so tiny it will only show up on the cheap testing kits the police like to use because it always gets a positive result.

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  Jon • 6 days ago

  Uh, they couldn't have returned it to the distributor, C.O.D.? And if these were promotional items WHY did they buy them?! I bet people are lined up to scavenge their trash now.

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  fleetingfree • 6 days ago

  Stupid IS!

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  MikeyTG • 5 days ago

  Come on folks, lighten up! What's the big deal? 400 tubes of lip balm at the typical military price of $250 a tube is only $20,000. The base commander spend more than that on toilet paper in a day!

   

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