Louisiana has started giving out licenses to farmers in order to enable them to grow hemp legally. While growing the crop was legalized the previous year, the state agriculture agency just finished framing rules and regulations to govern the CBD industry.
Mike Strain, a Republican and an Agriculture Commissioner said that the industrial hemp program administrators have strived for ensuring the regulatory framework was in place. The rules are ready to be implemented just in time for the 2020 planting season.
The president of the Powell Group, Nanette Noland was the first person to receive the first license to grow hemp by Strain’s office. Powell Group is an investment firm and also owns several agricultural businesses.
Related: The Booming Industry of Hemp and CBD Adds Another State With its Legalization in Louisiana
The farmers in Louisiana are pretty much excited about the prospect of growing hemp. The legalization followed after Louisiana witnessed several years of the trade war.
The rough weather also didn’t favor the growth of a few crops thereby bothering those in the agriculture industry.
The legalization of hemp bill passed in the year 2018 by congress coincides with the growing popularity of CBD or Cannabidiol. This non-psychoactive component is extracted from hemp.
Over 1,500 businesses have filed for procuring licenses which is mandatory for selling products containing CBD. This information has been obtained from Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Board.
The rules governing hemp are quite strict. If the regulations are not met, then there is a possible threat of the government destroying crops of farmers worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Also, there is a restriction on the amount of THC. It should not be over 0.3 percent.
THC is the component of cannabis that causes high. The amount of THC in hemp is small. This is the reason why the products created from hemp do not result in a feeling of “high”.
Related: Jay-Z Becomes the Chief Brand Strategist for Caliva, a California Cannabis Company
CBD is used in a wide range of products including tinctures, gummies, chapsticks and lotions.
CBD businesses span the entire state of Louisiana. You can find them in clinics, pharmacies, dedicated CBD shops and in chiropractic clinics.
The growing CBD market has also spiraled up the demand for hemp. You don’t just get CBD from hemp but the crop can also be turned into a wide range of industrial products including textiles and rope.
R-Gonzales, the House Speaker passed the bill the previous year which allowed farmers to grow hemp.
The Agriculture Commission has come up with a list of regulations that have to be met in order to gain approval from the federal government.
The commission requires everybody involved in growing, transporting, handling and managing processing hemp to procure a license from the government.
Currently, the agency is handing our four different kinds of licenses: producing seeds, growing, processing, and transportation of crops.
Related: Luxury Cannabis-Infused Macarons from Hervé for Sale in Las Vegas
Southern University in Louisiana is one of the two entities in the state that holds a license for growing marijuana under a special medical program that has been approved by the lawmakers.
The university has gotten into the game. A private vendor at the university has started selling CBD products that have been extracted from hemp grown outside Louisiana.
The university has still not produced any marijuana yet despite the legalization of the drug for medical use.
