by Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle
Hemp growers in the state will now need to abide by several new federal regulations that will be overseen by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
The changes come at a time of growing concerns over illegal marijuana operations in parts of southern Oregon. Both hemp and marijuana are cannabis plants, similar in appearance and smell but distinguished by differences in their levels of the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol compound (THC).
The new regulations require that Oregon growers now must provide for each key person listed on a grower application a criminal history report and report yearly to the state Agriculture Department the number of acres they planted and pounds harvested. Those figures then get reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The new rules also require growers to collect and submit plant samples to the state agency for testing within 30 days of harvesting and require growers to register with the federal Farm Service Agency. That agency is in charge of agriculture policies, farm loan programs and conservation, commodity and disaster relief programs.
Oregonians have been allowed to grow recreational marijuana with a license since 2016 and industrial hemp with a license since 2015, but because the two cannabis plants are so similar in appearance and smell, it is difficult to enforce laws penalizing growers who illegally use hemp licenses to grow marijuana.
Hemp is regulated by the state Agriculture Department while marijuana is regulated by the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
Rules around hemp production in Oregon have been around since 2009. The 2018 federal Farm Bill, which made the crop legal to grow nationwide, added greater regulations, as well as the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program, run by the federal Agriculture Department.
To further combat illegal marijuana operations, state lawmakers last year passed House Bill 3000, allowing the state Agriculture Department and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to set stricter standards for the production and sale of cannabis products, and to better regulate the amount of THC in cannabis plants. That law also went into effect on Jan. 1.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Les Zaitz for questions: [email protected] Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.
- Advocates, parents ‘beg’ Nebraskans to seek out and sign petition to legalize medical cannabis
Advocates for legalizing medical marijuana switched Wednesday from urging Nebraskans to sign their petition to begging them as a July 7 deadline looms to submit signatures to qualify for the ballot in November. - Iowans launch cannabis reform campaign aimed at showing public support
Robert “Lewy” Lewis of Windsor Heights has been in pain since 1974, when he had spinal surgery at the age of 21. To repair a blockage in his spine, surgeons removed eight inches of his vertebrae and then sewed them back on, using about 300 steel stitches. - Big Apple Cannabis: CWCB Returns to New York City for Eighth Year
“No one seems to have gotten it right.” Mayor Eric Adams told a Friday afternoon crowd, of legal cannabis in America. “This is our chance to get it right.” New York City’s mayor addressed attendees of the 2022 Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo (CWCBExpo) on the second day of the three-day event. Adams stressed the social equity focus of New York’s cannabis program. - Nebraska medical cannabis backers file legal challenge to petition process
Supporters of medical marijuana in Nebraska have launched a legal challenge to the state’s requirement that 5% of registered voters in at least 38 counties sign a petition to get the measure before voters on the ballot. - N.J. lawmakers seek to curb cannabis use
As New Jersey nears the end of its first month of legal recreational marijuana sales, lawmakers have introduced a series of bills aimed at restricting what types of workers can use cannabis off the job. - Missouri House votes to require disclosure of medical cannabis ownership records
The Missouri House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require state regulators to disclose ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses that the state has withheld from public view. - Nebraska medical cannabis group calls for ‘grassroots’ effort after losing donor
Unable to raise $1 million to replace funds from a major donor who died, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana issued a plea Friday for supporters of the cause to take up petitions and gather signatures. - Lawmaker says GOP resistance may doom Missouri cannabis legalization
A Republican lawmaker pushing legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri says his bill is in jeopardy because of stall tactics by his GOP colleagues and the insistence of the House floor leader that it include license caps. - SD cannabis legalization campaign to submit signatures for November
Today, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, the political group that led the 2020 campaign to legalize cannabis in South Dakota, submitted petitions to place an adult-use cannabis legalization initiated measure on the November 2022 ballot. - NH senate votes down legal cannabis bills, ending chances for 2022
The New Hampshire Senate voted down two bills to legalize cannabis Thursday, likely heading off the last opportunities for legalization in the Granite State this year.