Legalization of Industrial Hemp Passes House (AK)

Senator Shelley Hughes first introduced the bill in January. Hughes said farmers in Matanuska-Susitna Borough wanted to grow hemp, as an inexpensive way to feed livestock.

The bill separates hemp from marijuana's definition and regulations.

"The bill that was passed today defines hemp as a plant that is less than .3 percent THC," said Senator Hughes. " So it does not have the psychoactive response and a person could smoke acres and acres and all they would get is a cough and a sore throat. "So there are no psychoactive impacts from hemp so it is now an agriculture crop product and it is not under the marijuana statutes," said Hughes.

Legalization of Industrial Hemp Passes House (AK)

Finally! The smart thing was done that delineates between "pot" and (industrial) hemp.

Nothing the DEA can do about it which is a great thing. And goes back against the inclusion of hemp as a Schedule 1 drug like the devil weed, marijuana. Having both defined as the same plant was/is backwards. Here in Alaska, we did it backwards and legalized pot first. It has taken since pot was legalized to get this far.

Note to future legalization states, do it right! First, legalize industrial hemp. Then figure out a tax system, some kind of oversight and/or regulatory system, then, legal pot. You will save tons of time and effort doing backwards like Alaska did!

ETA: Since this is BAN, the AK Legislature voted today, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, to legalize industrial hemp.

Looks like America is slowly getting it's masculinity back.

I knew they could not feminize all of us!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

This is fantastic news - the industrial and medical benefits of Hemp should be further explored and capitalized on!

This is awesome news. It's about time hemp got separated from marijuana. It's too bad that people like Sessions have their heads so far up their butts that they can't do the same in their outdated mentalities.

what are we 75 years behind the times?

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Finally a plant related to Marijuana that doesn't get anyone high, even aphids, is legal to make into a renewable form of textile and oil.

I think the diesel engine was made to run off it originally.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Hemp Hemp Hooray!

We're getting there slowly but surely. My state is as far as:

The “North Carolina Epilepsy Alternative Treatment Act” went into effect on August 1st 2015. Governor McCrory signed HB 766 into law two weeks earlier giving neurologists the authority to recommend low-THC cannabis oil to qualifying patients.

Its hilarious most hemp products made legally in the US come from Hemp grown in Canada. Its quite silly.

a reply to: FamCore

The uses are so many! The fact that it is one the fastest growing plants will be one to look for! Maybe 2 harvest per growing season here. 20 hours of sunlight will really help that out!



a reply to: Subrosabelow

Amen! Testify! I think hemp biodiesel might become a thing!

a reply to: toysforadults

Well, it was the idiots listening to big business that were afraid of their paper plants being put out of business that got it put on the same list as MJ. Now that news papers have dwindled (and that industrialist has long since left the earth), we can get back to living on a cleaner planet.



For those familiar with all the uses of hemp, how it helps the environment, what a couple of noted downsides are...

Wikipedia - Hemp

a reply to: luthier

The oil industry would have none of that either! There is a form of biodiesel out there called B100 that looks interesting. Maybe instead of shipping oil out of AK we start shipping out hemp biodiesel! The cool thing is biodiesel closes the carbon cycle and we take CO2 out of the atmosphere and keep recycling it.

a reply to: Reverbs

Hehe!

AK, MO, CO, Ohio, AR (that is Arkansas! People, stop confusing it with Alaska!), and Maryland are looking at de-hitching hemp from MJ. A smart move in my book. And yes, the CBD oils have a variety of health benefits besides cluster headaches. My friend feeds his dog a pellet with her meals and at 12 yo, she carries on like the floppy puppy when I met her!

Quiet silly. The DEA still claims they have jurisdiction of who can grow hemp (usda.gov, citing DEA's view on their powers over industrial hemp, great, I just probably made some list somewhere! lol)

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Is there 120 days of temps above 75 there?

Or do they have to grow in a greenhouse?

Added

I think they should look at high THC plants as fuel, that stuff is dripping with flammable oils, if they can keep the smokers off the property.

The amount of oil per plant would be staggering vs extracting from tons and tons of plant material, it literally grows oil on it like tiny mushrooms.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Is there 120 days of temps above 75 there?

Or do they have to grow in a greenhouse?

Hemp grows everywhere like a weed, I'd bet money their crops will be absolutely fine in Alaska's harsh climate.

Just a matter of time until all the other states follow along as they realize the massive profit potential and usefulness.

a reply to: Mandroid7

120/30 = 4. Yup, we can squeeze in a good 4 months. The 75 degree part might be a stretch but most everything starts in greenhouses anyway (late snow storms, really cool, or wet, springs). Might even be the right time to go vertical farming indoors! We do have some greenhouses running year round providing organic veggies so it can be done.

I think they should GMO the heck out of hemp! Non-pollenating for starters. Maybe female only, extra oily seeds. The extraction method has improved. Taking a page from coffee producers, they use supercritical CO2. The conversion to biodiesel would be a cost (mostly heat/energy), but you would not be taking something like corn out of the feed cycle (and causing milk prices to go higher, etc.) The hemp oil, as luthier pointed out, was being envisioned as being one of the sources for creating diesel in the first place (Source: Wikipedia entry). I am all behind using hempoline (as it is sometimes called) instead of gas.

a reply to: Jay Electronica

Aw, c'mon! It is not that harsh! LOL. I mean, uhm,.. it is snowing cat's and dog's right now! (Really, a good 3 inches since morning).

a reply to: trollz

Here's what the Trump administration thinks (d@mn, didn't even make it off the first page before DJT shows up!)

Asked how the USDA and Trump administration envision hemp being regulated, [Greg] Ibach [undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture] said there’s danger to opening up the market to all states.

“We need to be careful so that we don’t kill the market for hemp by overburdening the market with supply before there is demand for it,” Ibach added.

He said oversight of hemp should belong to the U.S. Department of Justice, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, not the USDA.

The DEA appeared in court last week to argue that CBD, a molecule derived from hemp and marijuana, is an illegal drug and not authorized by the Farm Bill.

MJbizDaily.com Trump administration cautions against hemp expansion.

How's that? I mean, they don't want to have to explain the difference between pot and hemp, so caution about flooding the market! That is rich! A nice deflection (as some would say here on ATS!). And throw in the CBD as a "nasty molecule" that is an illegal drug (that is like saying olive oil should be regulated like petroleum products! It is an oil after all! Biodiesel is more manipulated than CBD. Oh well. More for the states that have separated the two!

Nice to hear about rolling back regulations except when it comes to hemp by the administration. Which is it? Deregulate or not? Don't pick and choose...

A bill to legalize the production of industrial hemp has made its way through both the Alaska House and Senate and now awaits the governor’s pen.

The legislation would allow registered participants into a pilot project to grow hemp if signed into law.

...

Even if the bill is signed into law soon, Hughes said it’s unclear whether regulations will be written in time for this year’s growing season.

She said it is more likely that farmers could be growing industrial hemp in Alaska in 2019.

ktoo.org, Feb. 22, 2018 - Alaska Legislature passes bill to legalize industrial hemp.

I forgot about the governor's signature. Which makes it really look like next growing season. Of course the government is going to be involved, department of agriculture, which is way better than the DEA!

And add Arizona to the growing list of states thinking of going this route.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

this falls under a law obama signed in 2014 I think that allows states to grow hemp(sativa plant under .3% thc) if they chose to under state pilot programs or research hemp either through a university or blah blah..

going by memory this would have to be grown with state and agriculture dept oversight.

but instead of trying to remember lets find it...



got em

maybe that is just addressing researching hemp?

but you could have a fully funded hemp farm funded by the feds if you meet the criteria therin.

originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
a reply to: Jay Electronica

Aw, c'mon! It is not that harsh! LOL. I mean, uhm,.. it is snowing cat's and dog's right now! (Really, a good 3 inches since morning).

LOL! Blues skies right now, though. If the hemp doesn't like our weather, all it needs to do is wait around an hour or two and the weather will undoubtedly change to something it prefers.

a reply to: Reverbs

I was just reading about the 2014 Farm Bill!

Yes, it was trying to be tightly controlled by the DEA because they classified CBD as a drug (it is naturally occurring in the plant along with Omega-3 fatty oils which is why it is good for you). In order to plant hemp you had to qualify by having a proposed study. Then you get a permit (they can black ball you by rejecting your study). What AK is doing is taking it one step further away from national government control by treating the hemp as being regulated by the state department of agriculture. You still have to apply but it is no longer viewed as a drug but a plant like hay or clover.

Extracting CBD seems to be a sticking point. That just makes my tinfoil hat tingle and realize that it is really good for you (i.e., bad for big pharma). A naturally occurring oil that has health benefits beyond anything coming out of Walgreens? Must make some large investors nervous. And out of the hands of what was Monsanto?? That is d@mn near un-American!! Or that is how some people are trying to spin it.

And add New Mexico and Indiana to the list of states that are either passing or thinking of passing legislation to legalize industrial hemp. I just saw a possible US$ 2.1 billion market at some future date headline (update: 2020, and I did not see the decimal point. D'oh!).

Here is a good idea! After the oxy-natural gas burner is done processing supercritical CO2 through the Allam cycle SCO2 generator, why not use the SCO2 to extract CBD from hemp before selling the CO2 or sequestering it? Upcycling at it finest!

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Crazy how worked out! Right at 1:45 like predicted too! Got some nice views north too! Denali looking huge and formidable in addition to shiny and white!

Maine legalized hemp a few years ago....but it is hindered by regulations to the point that nobody is growing it. Certified seed is one of the bigger hurdles. Also there is a substantial per acre fee that discourages a lot of people.

So while it may be technically legal to grow hemp it is shackled to the point where it's effectively been squelched.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Cbd oil is amazing. Seriously. After hard work outs or judo it's incredible. Even a hang over.