State lawmakers are currently reviewing a new measure that would give the Oregon Liquor Control Commission authority over the processing of industrial hemp.
If passed through legislature, Senate Bill 1015 would allow the state’s industrial hemp business to be treated equally to that of recreational cannabis. This could open up new possibilities for the lucrative hemp industry while being subject to certain limitations.
Currently only registered hemp handlers can grow, process, and sell industrial hemp products in Oregon. According to Seattle’s CannaLaw group, a legal firm providing support to several pot businesses in the Northwest, SB 1015 would create industrial hemp licensing for individuals already working in the legal weed business so that regular cannabis processors, handlers, and retailers could start to process and sell goods made out of hemp.
The biggest advantage of the new law would be that CBD-exclusive products like extracts could be sold in recreational dispensaries, thus lending even more of an edge to Oregon’s booming cannabis economy.
A few restrictions will come hand-in-hand with SB 1015. The bill’s fine print provides that, in order to process hemp, a recreational processor already licensed to handle recreational marijuana must register with the OLCC for the additional privilege of handling industrial hemp. In addition, growers would be required to give recreational processors any test results from the hemp that they grow, and processors would be required to record and save all of that information. Both parties would need to keep all material related to growing and processing available to the Oregon Health Authority, especially tracking data pertaining to industrial hemp plants and grow operatives.
The bill is currently being reviewed by the Joint Committee on Marijuana Regulation in the Oregon Senate.
By Kiki Genoa
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