Hemp Industry News

Big Sky Scientific, whose 6,700-pound shipment of industrial hemp was confiscated in January by Idaho State Police, says it will drop its lawsuit if the impounded hemp shipment is returned. It’s not known whether the hemp would still be usable.

Hemp cultivation rates in the U.S. have quadrupled since 2018, with an estimated 115,000 to 138,000 acres of hemp expected to be harvested by the year’s end.

Multiple interstate hemp shipments have been seized by Idaho police — at least one shipment has been returned but, in another incident, a trucker still faces a potential five-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.

A new hemp facility in Murray, Kentucky demonstrates the newly legal crop’s ability to outpace and replace oak trees as a lumber source.

California’s Santa Rosa Junior College is revising its Environmental Horticulture program to include a focus on hemp agriculture and will offer hemp cultivation certificate degree programs starting next year.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has come out against the legalization of hemp, citing primarily law enforcement concerns that legal hemp complicates cannabis enforcement.

Hemp farmers can file for federal crop insurance under a new directive from the United States Department of Agriculture.

Ashtabula County, Ohio has joined the growing ranks of local jurisdictions that have opted out of enforcing cannabis laws in light of hemp’s newly legal status.

A truck driver delivering 300 pounds of hemp from a Colorado company to Minnesota was arrested in South Dakota and charged with marijuana possession with intent to distribute.

The National Credit Union Administration says that credit unions are free to serve hemp businesses now that the crop has been federally legalized.

Aurora Cannabis has announced a new brand — Aurora Hemp — after acquiring industrial hemp company Hempco Food and Fiber Inc.

Washington state Ag Department officials recently clarified that hemp-derived CBD is not allowed as a food additive.

The de-facto cannabis reforms resulted from national hemp legalization have reached several Nebraska counties, where police are suspending cannabis enforcement until they can differentiate cannabis and hemp products.

Following hemp’s legalization in the state, law enforcement offices around Georgia are beginning to suspend low-level cannabis enforcement — the latest is the Cobb County, Georgia police force.

Following the legalization of industrial hemp in Georgia, officials in Gwinnett County have announced they will no longer prosecute or make arrests for misdemeanor cannabis cases.

Officials in Zimbabwe announced a plan to legalize hemp and export hemp-based products to the global market.

The University of Missouri has planted the state’s first hemp crop in 70 years; the school will be studying the crop to help farmers prepare for the 2020 growing season.

An industrial hemp seed bank is under construction at Cornell University in Geneva, New York.

The Ohio Agriculture Department has planted a pilot hemp crop so officials can practice hemp cultivation and lab testing procedures in preparation for the state’s hemp market launch expected next year.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has pulled $375,000 in funding for the state’s pilot industrial hemp program because “currently there is no existing industry to support a state funded program.”

Ohio is the latest state to legalize hemp cultivation and CBD product manufacturing; the bill had been overwhelmingly approved by the state’s legislative bodies and was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday.

After receiving more than 800 applications to grow industrial hemp, Virginia’s Agriculture Department is planning to establish new regulations for hemp-derived CBD products.

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have approved legislation banning hemp flower starting in 2020 due to police complaints that hemp flower will interfere with their cannabis enforcement efforts.

Due to the hemp legalization law passed by Texas last month, some cities are dropping cannabis possession charges as it has become too hard to distinguish between industrial hemp flower and cannabis.