Compared to other states such as Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon, Ohio was lagging in the exploration of the opportunities presented by the lucrative hemp industry; however, after the approval of the 2014 Farm Bill, Ohio has now turned into a trendsetter in federally certified hemp programs.
Louisiana, New Jersey, and the Buckeye State submitted their hemp programs to the USDA, and on Dec. 27 the agency announced that it has approved their plans. The three states are the first in the U.S. to have their programs approved by federal hemp regulators.
The executive director of the Ohio Hemp Association trade group, Tomm Haren, said that it is a huge step for Ohio to be one of the three states to have an approved USDA plan even though it was late in joining the hemp sector. Haren Credits the Department of Agriculture in Ohio for enabling the approval process to take place sooner.
Kentucky was among the first states to embrace the hemp pilot program since the U.S. passed the 2014 farm bill. This led to the spread of industrial hemp, which steered the rise of the CBD market, whose legality was established after the 2018 Farm Bill was passed.
The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp’s federal status as a Schedule 1 substance, which led to the development of federal rules and regulations vis-à-vis hemp and hemp derivatives. The removal of the controlled substance status legitimized the sale of CBD products and the formation of hemp programs in states that were previously prohibited.
However, this was not the case in Ohio because when the state created the rules for the Medical Marijuana Control Program back in 2016, the lawmakers categorized hemp as marijuana due to a lack of information on the differences and understanding of the two. Unlike marijuana, hemp does not induce a high in the users, and it is mostly used for CBD extraction. Hemp is also used to make other products such as clothing, roofing, and paper. Federal regulations require hemp crops to have a THC concentration of not more than 0.3%.
The approval of the 2018 Farm Bill created confusion in Ohio because the state law stipulated that CBD products were not to be sold outside the licensed marijuana dispensaries, yet previously, that was not the case as food stores could sell CBD products. The Cincinnati health department even raided one health food store and embargoed all its CBD products.
In July, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 57 into law. The bill created a clear distinction between hemp and marijuana and brought the state’s hemp rules regarding hemp, especially the CBD products, in line with federal regulations.
The signing prompted the Department of Agriculture in Ohio to amp up their efforts in creating rules for a better hemp program, which included licensing of growers and testing of the hemp products. These rules would be submitted to the federal government as directed in the 2018 Farm Bill, whereby the USDA would then approve hemp programs submitted by states and Native American Tribes through their regulatory oversight program. On October 31, 2019, the USDA issued its Interim Final Rule and that paved way for states to start submitting their production programs.
Once the hemp program in Ohio is approved, farmers expect the ODA (Ohio Department of Agriculture) to start awarding cultivation and processing licenses in March, which would allow them to plant hemp this spring.
The hemp industry, including industry actors like No Borders Inc. (OTC: NBDR) and The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF), is probably glad that matters are moving so well, so far, in Ohio.
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