NORTH CAROLINA — Lawmakers are once again targeting the state’s rapidly growing hemp industry with Senate Bill 315, better known as the N.C. Farm Act of 2019.
“Over the past few months, the North Carolina General Assembly has been evaluating Senate Bill 315 – North Carolina Farm Act of 2019. Although the bill began as a collaborative effort between the bill’s sponsors, the hemp industry and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services positions the state as a leader in hemp production, a new version released yesterday significantly jeopardizes the industry’s future,” according to a press release from the Hemp Farmacy, a Wilmington-based hemp dispensary.
The bill has gone back and forth in committee as lawmakers continue to address a multitude of different additions to the bill, the State Senate is currently on version seven of the bill.
From farms to retail, the bill could have devastating impacts on the industry
Justin Hamilton CEO Hempleton Investment Group, which owns the Hemp Farmacy has been in the industry since 2015, and he participated in building the industry in N.C.
For Hamilton, the proposed legislation is regressive since hemp products were made legal in the state back in 2016. The banning of smokable hemp products would dramatically impact farmers across the state as well as manufacturers and retailers, he noted.
Hamilton said smokeable flowers are one of the most lucrative parts of the plant. Farmers wanting to create oils from their flowers can cash in at around $40 per pound, that same flower being sold as a smokeable product can fetch $800 per pound, he said.
“Right now the smokeable flower is about 27% of the retail industry, 30% or more is built around smokeable flower. They tried to ban every hemp product that could be combusted — it is a full attack on the industry,” he said.
But it’s not just about an individual’s rights to ingest hemp and CBD products, hemp farming is big business.
“It is one of the fastest-growing crops in NC, there were roughly 100 permitted farmers in year one, now there are more than 1,100,” he said.
If the bill were to pass as written Hamilton said there will be lawsuits launched against the state, especially since the federal Hemp Farm Act of 2018 legalized hemp products containing less than 0.3% THC.
The bill as it stands
According to a bill summary, “Senate Bill 315 would make various changes to laws concerning agriculture in the State. The Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) makes the following changes from the Sixth Edition:
- Makes changes to definitions and conforming changes concerning the classification of smokable hemp as marijuana under the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, effective December 1, 2019.
- Adds a Class 2 misdemeanor for selling hemp, hemp products, or hemp extracts to a person less than 18 years old.”
The new version of the bill could be construed as an outlaw all hemp and CBD products in the state until federal approval is granted — it would also ban smokable hemp and classify it as a controlled substance no different than marijuana — despite the fact hemp products sold in the state contain 0.3% or less THC.
THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive chemical found in marijuana and responsible for the ‘high’ associated with the plant.
“During a meeting of the House Committee on Finance, the Committee’s Chair, Rep. Julia Howard introduced a proposed amendment that would alter the state’s definition of a “hemp product” in a way that could be construed as a ban on all retail CBD products until expressly approved at the federal level by the Food and Drug Administration or the Department of Agriculture. The proposed amendment would also define smokable hemp as marijuana, subject to the same legal penalties for possession. Chairman Howard indicated that she plans to hold a vote on her version of the bill early next week, likely Tuesday or Wednesday,” according to the Hemp Farmacy’s release.
The Hemp Farmacy is asking voters to reach out to their local representatives and ask them not to side with the ban on CBD and hemp.
Anyone interested can use the online portal to send a pre-composed message to their senators with the click of a button.
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