North Carolina Farmers Fear Smokable Hemp Ban Will Drive Them Out of Business

As farmers all over the country celebrate the USDA’s release of its final interim rule on hemp, those in the state of North Carolina are worried that the plant might quickly become unprofitable for them. As the farmers work on last season’s harvest, pending legislation on the legality of smokable hemp hangs over them like Damocles’ sword.

The ban on smokable hemp, which would take effect on June 1, 2020, has farmers very worried. Zach Mountford is a hemp farmer in Dublin County. He says that although he’s happy with this last season’s harvest, he fears that it might be his last batch of profitable crop. “25 to 35 percent of our profit is smokable flower. I would say you’ll see some folks going out of business, especially retail stores and things like that,” he adds.

Ever since he harvested his crop, he has been busy separating flower buds from the stalk of hemp plants, even as the impending ban weighs heavy on him. He has a processing facility near his farm where the hemp plants are hung and dried by industrial fans. Afterward, the branches are stripped of their flower buds, and the buds are packaged in industrial-sized plastic bags.

Over the years, the hemp extract cannabidiol (CBD) has made a name for itself as one of the most versatile medications we have seen in a long while. Products made from CBD have been said to reduce anxiety, chronic pain, and a host of other diseases. However, many say that smokable hemp has the most immediate and long-lasting effects, compared to CBD oils and edibles.

But according to the police, the hemp flower is virtually identical to its illegal cousin marijuana in both its raw form and when burned. The similarities would make it difficult for the police to differentiate who is smoking legal hemp from whoever’s smoking illegal marijuana. On Monday, the North Carolina Senate passed the Farm Act, which effectively banned the use of smokable hemp.

If the ban on smokable hemp becomes law, interested parties will have seven months to try and find a way to persuade lawmakers to change the legislation before it takes effect next year. A field testing kit developed in Europe that’s been recently made available to the U.S. is the farmers’ best hope.

Meanwhile, Mountford and his fellow farmers are hoping the consumers too will join the fight. “We encourage people to contact their state legislator and voice their opinions on the matter,” he says, “and in the meantime, we’re just going to continue to work and hope for the best.”

Industry watchers are saddened and believe that hemp industry players like Sugarmade Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX: RIV) (OTC: CNPOF) must be feeling frustrated that the new law is threatening to put the livelihoods of North Carolina hemp farmers in jeopardy and yet federal legalized all forms of hemp.

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