Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Herb Rothschild: The year in review ... Guest Opinion: Gateway art process failed ... International Peace Day: Ashland Culture of Peace event Monday ... Herb Rothschild: The year in review ... Guest Opinion: Gateway art process failed ... International Peace Day: Ashland Culture of Peace event Monday ... Oregon stops issuing new permits to grow hemp Comment By The Associated Press DailyTidings.com By The Associated Press Posted Aug. 25, 2015 at 10:23 AM Updated Aug 25, 2015 at 5:16 PM By The Associated Press Posted Aug. 25, 2015 at 10:23 AM Updated Aug 25, 2015 at 5:16 PM » Social News GRANTS PASS — A state agriculture official said Tuesday that Oregon's hemp industry is not turning out the way lawmakers envisioned, so the department will recommend changes to the law regulating how it is grown. The law authorizing industrial hemp production in Oregon was written to regulate it as an agricultural crop, with large fields of densely planted hemp grown for fiber, seed and oil, said Lindsay Eng, who oversees the hemp program for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Instead, the nine operations inspected by the department this year seem more interested in producing compounds known as CBDs, which don't get people high, but are believed to have medical benefits. They are also found in marijuana. As a result, Eng says, the current law does not work well to regulate growers, who are growing small plots, sometimes in greenhouses, with the emphasis on producing buds that contain the CBDs. "I imagine there will be some changes in the next year or two," she said. "We definitely will have some recommendations to either shore up definitions or the intent. There is not a whole lot we can do through rulemaking." Hemp is related to marijuana, but it contains very low levels of the compound known as THC, which gets people high. It has a long history as an agricultural crop, but it was outlawed along with marijuana in 1937. The Legislature authorized hemp production in 2009, but the first permits were not issued until this year. Meanwhile, the department suspended issuing new hemp permits on Monday. Eng said it was largely because of practical considerations. No one could start a crop this year, and the current three-year permits change to one-year permits starting Jan. 1. The department has issued 13 permits for growing industrial hemp around the state, but only nine growers actually produced a crop. Tests have shown most met the standards for low values of THC, but Eng said few approached the minimum acreage set out in the law of 2.5 acres. Unofficial samples from an Orhempco industrial hemp field near Murphy tested by the ODA in June showed a THC level in excess of the legal limit of 3 percent, the Grants Pass Daily Courier reported. State Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, sponsored a bill earlier this year that pushed for the suspension of the entire industrial hemp program until a committee could provide recommendations for the department. After a controversial amendment was added that would have revoked at least one hemp grower's license, the bill was killed in the Senate. Buckley said that the decision to suspend the program is a sign the department is willing to address legal issues that were present with its current policies. These include the department failing to get GPS locations of grow sites and information about the size of grows, both of which violated the department's own rules. "They are now taking a step that they had the legal authority to do all along," Buckley said. He said that the department's main concerns moving forward should be figuring out how to regulate where hemp seeds are coming from and where the grows are. Medford reporting intern Kaylee Tornay contributed to this story. By The Associated Press DailyTidings.com By The Associated Press Posted Aug. 25, 2015 at 10:23 AM Updated Aug 25, 2015 at 5:16 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501