Hemp, once grown around the world, has been persecuted for decades. But Arizona lawmakers are working to bring this versatile crop back. This week, the governor of the Grand Canyon state just re-legalized hemp farming. Here’s a closer look at the pilot program laying the seeds for economic growth.
Hemp Has Been Illegal Since 1937
1937 was a fateful year for marijuana and its non-psychoactive sister plant, hemp. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 outlawed the cultivation of all cannabis, including marijuana and hemp. Since then, the two plants have been indistinguishable from a legal standpoint, despite their significant differences.
To date, hemp, from which you can derive the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD, is still a Schedule I substance when grown commercially. However, hemp research is no longer classified under the Controlled Substance Act since the Obama Era.
Arizona’s Agriculture Program Would Legalize Hemp Farming
This week, Governor Doug Ducey signed an agriculture pilot program into law. Bill SB 1098 permits the study and growth of industrial hemp. This means that universities can produce it and farmers can farm and sell it on a big scale. Nevertheless, growing, processing, harvesting and transporting hemp for commercial use all require a permit from the Arizona Department of Agriculture.
The legislation specifies that hemp must be below 0.3 percent THC. Legally, anything above this qualifies as psychoactive cannabis and would be illegal, at least in Arizona.
This is a pilot program, which means that it only legalizes hemp farming in the short term. Assumedly, the program has an end date, at which point legislators will study its results and decide how to proceed. It will most likely lead to more comprehensive legislation.