Status of States: Growing Hemp | International Hemp Exchange

The passing of the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the growing of hemp on a federal level, but with the jurisdiction of such left up to state and local governments, it has become more complicated to figure out where you can and can’t safely grow and produce hemp. Some states, like Colorado, Washington, California, and Oregon, are widely known for their welcoming attitude towards hemp in general. But, with the prospering economic climate of the hemp industry, interesting is piquing nationwide.

As your supply chain partners, we want to give you the rundown of the status of important regional hemp laws in the US, particularly revolving around growing hemp and producing CBD.

Colorado

The Colorado Hemp Production Act was the first of its kind to propose hemp production in modern day America. Colorado is at the forefront of advocating hemp in the US, but this act–in 1995–came a little before its time. Colorado then passed a bill allowing the domestic cultivation of industrial hemp in 2010, recognizing the value of hemp as an agricultural commodity. The state also piloted an industrial hemp remediation program testing the cleansing capabilities of the hemp plant on contaminated soil. Colorado is so hemp-friendly that our founder, Mike Leago, started iHEMPx in Longmont, CO in 2014. (1)

Oregon

As another state that has been a friend towards hemp, Oregon introduced legislation to begin industrial hemp production as early as 2003. By 2009, the manufacturing and trading of hemp commodities was fully legalized and Oregon began licensing hemp farmers statewide (2). With such a big market and a community of growers, Mike and the team at iHEMPx scouted it as the perfect location to grow, cultivate, and distribute HGH genetics.

Michigan

With the launch of the Industrial Hemp Ag Pilot Program, Michigan will be one of the newest states to come to the table of the hemp industry. Beginning in the 2019 growing season, Michigan farmers and politicians believe this will stimulate the state’s economy as the profits come in from growing, processing, and selling hemp statewide. (5)

Montana

In 2018, Montana reported the largest acreage of licensed hemp-producing land in the nation (3). While only the medical use of marijuana is legalized in the state, the licensed growing of industrial hemp has been permitted since 2001. By 2017, the processing and buying and selling of hemp containing less than .03% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as an agricultural crop was written into Montana State Law (4).

North Carolina

Since 2006, North Carolina has been studying the benefits of industrial hemp. North Carolina finally recognized the agricultural and economic benefits of the crop and implemented the legislation necessary to support such in 2015 (6). The state currently holds the sixth largest amount licensed industrial hemp acreage in the nation. (3)

While the production of industrial hemp is now legal across the country, there are still varying levels of accessibility to the crop. These are just a few of the states that depict the spectrum receptiveness to the hemp industry, and we encourage you to inquire about and seek advancement for agricultural hemp and its byproducts. The agricultural communities embracing hemp are seeing a skyrocketing of profits and success as more and more states invest in industrial hemp.

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