In California Hemp Politics, legislation has been resistant to allowing a hemp industry to thrive in the state. Instead, marijuana has been getting the spotlight.
At this point, there is only farm in Santa Barbara County that is cultivating hemp, so it’s hard to imagine that industrial hemp will grow in demand and become a prevalent cash crop in California.
There is speculation that marijuana crop prices could fall, and some of the cannabis farmers would then have the option to switch to growing industrial hemp instead. This could help to spur on a hemp industry in the state.
For several decades, hemp has had illegal status in the United States, lumped in as a Schedule 1 drug along with its psychoactive cousin. The difference between hemp and marijuana, however, is that hemp contains only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient, which makes it impossible to get high from hemp.
Hemp has several other uses. In fact, an estimated 50,000 products can be made from hemp, including sunglasses, construction materials, composites for building cars, and health and nutrition products.
California Legislature has approved several Bills that aim to relax the restraining hemp laws, but they have not been effective.
Click here to read more.
