Thoughts from the void: Cannabis as an Agricultural Crop

- NORML

'Ganja ranks as one of the superior crops.' - Indian Hemp Drugs Commission 1895

Cannabis was once a major crop worldwide. It was grown alongside all the other crops that farmers cultivate these days. Cannabis flowers and resin were used for recreation and medicine, its fiber was used to create fabrics, rope and paper, its bio waste as building material and animal feed, and its seeds for oil and hemp flour. It was a significant crop for farmers, earning them much needed revenue. Numerous industrial applications are said to be possible from the plant. Nearly all parts of the plant can be used. There are multiple strains and varieties of the plant endemic to local areas all over the world.

A hectare of cannabis crop is said to be more effective at carbon sequestering than a tropical forest. Cannabis based plastics can replace nearly all the non-biodegradable petrochemical based plastic in use in the world today. Cannabis based paper can eliminate the need for the timber industry and felling of trees. Cannabis can reduce the cultivation of water intensive crops like paddy, wheat and cotton. Cannabis can replace synthetic fibers used by the textile and fabric industries. Cannabis can replace harmful crops like tobacco. Cannabis is a bio accumulator that improves soil health, including restoring soil depleted by intensive chemical pesticide use. Incredibly, it is very possible that this one plant alone can reverse all the negative effects that fossil fuel, pharmaceutical and petrochemical induced climate change have brought on the world.

The cannabis plant is resilient enough to grow in many climatic conditions, with varying soil conditions, water availability and nourishment. This ability to thrive in various conditions, evidenced by the fact that it grows nearly all over the world, has earned it the label 'weed'. 'The cultivation of cannabis plants was reported by 151 countries in the period 2010–2018 – countries home to 96 per cent of the global population – and was reported through either direct indicators (such as the cultivation or eradication of cannabis plants and the eradication of cannabis-producing sites) or indirect indicators (such as seizures of cannabis plants and the origin of cannabis seizures reported by other Member States).' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020.

The plant typically takes about 5 months from planting to reach maturity. Traditional crop practices in India involved light plowing of the soil around June, and the casting of seeds subsequently in furrows created in the soil. Seeds were sometimes planted in a nursery, and then transplanted to the field, once saplings were about a couple of weeks old. With weeding at intermittent points of time, the monsoon showers were sufficient to ensure that the crop was ready for harvest by November, when it was cut. It was then dried for three days in the open, before it was ready for packing and distribution. Some places may have had another planting season in the course of the year, but this would have been possible only in damp places where water was available round the year or the farmer watered the plant at reasonable intervals when rains were absent. By and large, cannabis had a single growing season in India. It was common to grow cannabis along with other crops, in a mixed cultivation approach. Usually male plants were extirpated at the time when they were saplings, in India, as they were considered unsuitable for industrial purposes, unlike hemp in other places. The female plants were considered suitable for the production of ganja, charas and bhang. Conditions across large parts of India were suitable for cannabis cultivation. Large numbers of India's small farmers cultivated ganja in environmentally sustainable ways for possibly thousands of years, and it formed one of their key sources of income and sustenance. That is why the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission of 1895 stated that 'Ganja must be considered one of the superior crops.'

Over the years, starting from the middle of the 19th century in India, cannabis cultivation was gradually discouraged and finally prohibited. Strangely, even though the 1961 UN Single Convention Treaty on Narcotic Drugs on the use of narcotic substances signed by all countries does not cover low THC cannabis, nearly all nations of the world take law enforcement action against the cannabis farmer, even if he is growing low THC cannabis. According to the definition of cannabis in the Single Convention - “Cannabis” means the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) from which the resin has not been extracted, by whatever name they may be designated.", only cannabis that has reached the flowering stage or produces resin is considered illegal. Even though the seeds are considered legal, according to the definition, how a plant can reach its seed stage without flowering is probably one the several conundrums that the UN has placed in the treaty, reflecting the level of thought that has gone into the inclusion of cannabis in the list of narcotic drugs. The law that a natural plant is legal when it is adolescent and becomes illegal when it is fully grown (i.e. flowering and resin producing) should have rung alarm bells across all those sections of human society that considered equity and the right to life as paramount for a creation of nature, but it did not do so, and still does not. Also, in the Single Convention Treaty, Article 28 Control of Cannabis, section 2 states "This Convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant exclusively for industrial purposes (fibre and seed) or horticultural purposes." Every single nation of the world has, however, completely disregarded Article 28.2 and completely banned the cultivation of cannabis for all purposes, because they couldn't be bothered with the details, and the prohibition of cannabis provided a bountiful opportunity to harass the public and extort money from them in the name of drug regulation. To add to this absurdity, a completely unscientific limit of 0.3% THC (delta9 - tetrahydrocannabinol) was placed on the plant. Any plant with THC above 0.3% THC was labelled as a narcotic drug, whereas a plant with THC less than 0.3% was considered legal hemp. THC is one of the most medicinal compounds in the cannabis plant. Most nations do not even consider the level of THC in the plant, they just destroy it wherever it grows. A significant number of cannabis farmers have ended up in jail, or have even been sentenced to death, for growing the cannabis plant. Today, most cannabis growers hide their cannabis among other crops and are in constant fear of legal or criminal harassment. How did such a strange fate fall upon a crop as valuable and versatile as cannabis?

Colonial Britain gradually prohibited cannabis in Burma, or today's Myanmar, India, Trinidad, Greece and Egypt and its other colonies since the 1850s. The US and Canada did the same in the 1930s. The strange move to prohibit one of the world's premier agricultural crops was a result of concerted action by vested interests that stood to gain immensely from the prohibition of cannabis. These vested interests included the tobacco, cotton, opium, alcohol, timber-based paper, petrochemical based plastics and synthetic drug based pharmaceutical industries. Over the years these industries have gained so much influence that they dictate global policy on cannabis. Together these industries and nations put immense pressure on the UN to globally prohibit cannabis. In 1961, the cannabis plant was classified as a scheduled substance by the UN. It was bizarrely and unscientifically included along with dangerous synthetic man-made substances. As a result of this, a natural plant suddenly became a substance and the plant was forced out, from being a mainstream agriculture crop for farmers, to the fringes, to be grown in hiding and under artificial lights, for fear of criminal action by law enforcement agencies and sanctions by international entities. Many strains or varieties may have been lost due to the rampant destruction of the plant. Many farmers have been killed or imprisoned because of their association with the plant.

Global agriculture has witnessed a downward spiral from the days of individuals and families growing numerous varieties of crops, often preserving local and indigenous varieties, and so has the social standing that agriculture held as the primary occupation of humans after the decline of hunting and gathering. Over the last 150 years or so, we have witnessed the advent of big businesses, often partnerships of wealthy individuals, working in tandem with governments to capture markets and profit from the business of agriculture. This has led to crop mono-culture, focus on unsustainable crops, drop in crop biodiversity through the distribution of patented seeds, farm loans, overuse of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and the general economic collapse of the small farmer. Minimum support prices and government support for certain crops, subsidized chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and subsidized water have resulted in crops such as paddy, wheat, corn, sugarcane, palm and cotton under cultivation disproportionate to the resources available, and often in places unsuitable for these crops. Clearing of forest lands, depletion of water sources, reduction of fertile areas into arid land, contamination of air, soil and water through chemical fertilizers and pesticides are some of results of these unsustainable agricultural policies. The use of more and more sophisticated agricultural machinery and technology has meant that fewer persons, only the ones who can afford these luxuries, now take up agriculture while many small farmers sell their lands and work as migrant laborers in large cities. Agriculture is looked down as a profession in many places with fewer people willing to take up the occupation.

In recent years, with the advent of various crises related to climate change, pharmaceutical medicine abuse, human rights abuse, farmer and economic bankruptcy, people across the world and primarily in the west, have started going back to the plant and remembering, as well as rediscovering, its agricultural potential. The US Farm Bill legalized the cultivation of hemp in 2018 but still restricts plants with delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content higher than 0.3%. Similar moves are being reported in an increasing number of countries. Unfortunately in most places in the world, you will get imprisoned by law enforcement and excise officials who have no clue what THC is and what % is present in the cannabis that they routinely seize and throw the farmer in jail for. I am positive that this scenario gets played out many times, in many places the world over, given the bizarre rules that the US and the UN have devised around a natural plant. China has, in the meantime, discretely become the world's largest producer of low THC cannabis. France is Europe's largest producer. The US has woken up to the importance of cannabis and is aiming to overtake China after spending decades destroying cannabis worldwide. Most other nations slumber blissfully under the sanctions and treaties that keep them from growing the crop.

We are a long way off from the plant becoming a mainstream crop once again. In places where cannabis has been legalized so far, such as Canada, Uruguay, Malta and Luxembourg, governments work with big businesses on large scale cultivation and crop export to European countries. The small farmer and local population are banned from cultivating the crop unless they possess licenses.

Farmers need all the legal, technical and economic support to bring this crop back on track, and all curbs, including licensing and undue regulations, must be removed. Cannabis must be treated like any other crop or commodity, which is what it is, and must be encouraged, especially among the small farmers. This sustainable, versatile, medicinal, recreational, traditional crop added to the mix of agricultural produce worldwide will be vastly beneficial for the farming community, primarily the small farmers and economically challenged. It is possible to bring about a truly global green revolution with organically grown cannabis, cultivated using local species by small farmers and sold through farmers' cooperatives, replacing the unsustainable paddy, wheat, corn, sugarcane, palm oil and cotton. Most importantly, the re-introduction of cannabis as a global agricultural crop may be the most potent way to try and slow down the effects of climate change. During the climate talks at Glasgow in 2021, and in the subsequent COPS, world leaders continued to blame each other for the climate crisis and came up with no substantial action, when the legalization of cannabis is one of the quickest, cheapest and most effective actions that the UN can take, thus enabling every nation to include cannabis in their mix of sustainable development strategies. This lifting of prohibition on cannabis cultivation can be done almost overnight. Instead of bringing about this significant change, all nations continued to show their incompetence and ignorance, fighting to protect their selfish interests, living under the man-made delusion of pandemics, in the face of such an alarming threat as climate change.

The following set of articles taken from various newspaper articles and scientific journals give an overview of the current scenario for cannabis as an agricultural crop. Words in italics are the thoughts and comments of yours truly at the time of reading the respective article.

Report Highlights:

The Canadian hemp sector continues to be driven by the food and nutrition markets, despite the 2018 regulatory changes that legalized recreational cannabis, and opened the potential for new markets for hemp-extracted cannabinoids. The production and distribution of cannabinoids and cannabinoid containing-products (including CBD) remain highly regulated, although Health Canada is considering a possible regulatory framework for cannabis health products (such as CBD-containing products) for
humans and animals.

https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Update+on+Industrial+Hemp+Production+Trade+and+Regulation_Ottawa_Canada_CA2023-0034.pdf

'While the numbers of planted acres and participants in the U.S. industrial hemp industry increased rapidly under the pilot programs, and hemp can now be grown legally in nearly every State, the long-term trends for U.S. industrial hemp are uncertain. The long-term economic viability of industrial hemp in the United States will be affected by:•competition from conventional field crops and marijuana (in States where it is legal) for acreage, •well-established foreign competitors for hemp product markets, •the ability to decrease production and pricing uncertainty through transparency and risk management, and,• continued market development'

https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/95930/eib-217.pdf

Cannabis cultivated in 2021 for the state-legal adult-use market possessed a wholesale harvest cash value of more than $5 billion, making it the nation’s sixth most valuable cash crop, according to an analysis provided today by Leafly.com and Whitney Economics. Only corn, soybeans, hay, wheat, and cotton bring in more money on a wholesale basis.

In three states – Alaska, Massachusetts, and New Jersey – cannabis grown for the legal marketplace is the “single most valuable crop.

https://norml.org/blog/2022/11/01/report-legal-cannabis-once-again-ranks-among-nations-most-valuable-crops/

'Leafly’s Cannabis Harvest report is one of the most comprehensive summaries on cannabis agriculture production. Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from the report.

- When compared to cannabis crops, only corn, soybeans, hay, and wheat return more wholesale revenue to American farmers annually.
- Legal cannabis is the single most valuable crop in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon.
- In each of the 11 states with adult-use retail stores operating, cannabis crop value ranks no lower than fifth—often within two years of the first legal stores opening.
- In a surprising result, Colorado’s seven-year-old legal cannabis farming industry outproduced California (627 metric tons for Colorado vs. 514 for California). But that lead might not last.

After years of slow growth, California’s licensed cannabis cultivation sector is finally taking off.'

https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/cannabis-harvest-report-2021

'Last summer, Darshil Shah, a senior researcher at the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., notably asserted (if without citing any studies) that hemp crops may capture atmospheric carbon more effectively than forests, estimating that industrial hemp absorbs between 3 to 6 tons of CO2 per acre.

The most-cited study about carbon sequestration in soil by growing industrial hemp was authored and submitted to the Australian government by GoodEarth Resources PTY, Ltd. (i.e., GoodEarth Resources), before the latter disbanded in 2014. The study claims that one acre of industrial hemp absorbs nearly 40,000 pounds of CO2 through its growing cycle.

According to the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA), industrial hemp sequesters carbon through photosynthesis, storing it in the body of the plant and its roots. The CTHA states that approximately 40% of hemp biomass is carbon. While Shah and the GoodEarth Resources study address carbon sequestered in the soil from hemp production, the carbon in the stalk of the hemp plant equates to increased value by “permanently capturing” CO2 in long-life products (e.g., hurd-based concrete and cement). Those potentially carbon-negative biomaterials require comprehensive life-cycle assessments by qualified material scientists to quantify and spur that area of interest.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/with-abundant-hemp-hurd-coming-to-market-how-important-is-quality/

'This autumn marks the seventh season for an industrial hemp harvest since passage of the 2014 Farm Bill. While producers in some states could legitimately be considered veterans of hemp production (albeit through much trial and error), the learning curve remains steep for producers at large throughout states like South Dakota, which is ushering in its first year of legal hemp production. As cultivators strive to gather their crops from the field, a few vital trends bear noting by stakeholders and policymakers alike.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/making-heads-and-tails-from-an-upended-2021-u-s-hemp-harvest/

'Central State University and its multidisciplinary team, partnering with 1890 land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a 1994 land-grant Tribal College and 1862 Land-grant Universities, will investigate using hemp as an aquaculture feed ingredient to address food safety concerns about consuming seafood raised with hemp feed additives. They will also research ways to increase economic markets and production sustainability for seafood and hemp. ($10 million)'

https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/10/06/usda-announces-more-146m-investment-sustainable-agricultural

'The NHA economic impact report was based on the assumption that, with the correct education, harvesting and processing equipment, hemp could become another rotational crop for farmers who currently rotate corn, soy and wheat. “In 10 years, converting just 5% of those fields to include a rotation of hemp will translate into 10-12 million acres of hemp”, said NHA Executive Director, Erica Stark who oversaw the study. “Processing that crop will require, using today’s technology, the establishment of 525 decortication campuses across the country, which, using the example presented by IND HEMP will be life changing for rural communities”, commented Stark. “And that does not speak to the positive effects for mitigating climate change and improving soil health the cultivation of millions of acres will have. The end products produced will be better, stronger and more sustainable”.'

https://nationalhempassociation.org/hemp-fiber-and-grain-to-generate-32b-impact-by-2030/

'As spearheaded by the HFC, several universities nationwide are studying the safety and efficacy of hemp and its byproducts. In August 2020, HFC earned an Agricultural Products Utilization Commission grant from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to help fund a study of hempseed cake and meal in chicken feed. Likewise, researchers from Kansas State University were awarded a $200,000 federal USDA grant to study cannabinoid transference in the meat, milk, and eggs of hemp-fed animal byproducts in cattle feed. In March, the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) granted nearly $300,000 to Oregon State University for research into feeding spent hemp biomass to cattle. In addition to those, Colorado State University is studying hemp seed meal for lambs, Tuskegee University is studying the impact of hemp seed meal on goats, and North Carolina State University is studying the effect of hemp seed oil on horses.

Hemp industry stakeholders are banking on the approval of hemp grain ingredients. A 2019 Farm Journal survey of 950 U.S. farmers and ranchers found 60% of respondents agreeing that farmers should grow hemp for animal feed, while 48% agreed that they would use hemp for animal feed themselves. Approval of hemp for the animal feed market would greatly broaden the total addressable market for hemp producers. The American Feed Industry Association reports there being more than 5,800 animal food manufacturing facilities in the U.S. producing more than 284 million tons of finished feed and pet food each year. The domestic animal feed industry meanwhile supports over 944,000 jobs, ranking it among the largest economic contributors to the U.S. agricultural sector.

In addition to having the world’s largest fed-cattle industry, the U.S. is also the world’s largest consumer of beef—primarily high-value, grain-fed beef. In 2019, the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) found that major species of livestock, poultry, aquaculture, and pets in the United States consumed approximately 284 million tons of feed, with a value of $59.9 billion. Beef cattle consumed 64.5 million tons of feed, hogs consumed 61.8 million tons, and broiler chickens consumed 60.8 million tons, respectively.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/aafcos-hurry-up-and-wait-approach-for-approval-of-hemp-as-animal-feed/

'From wildfires to record heat to prolonged drought, outdoor marijuana cultivators across the American West had more than a few obstacles to contend with this year.

On top of that, market prices are falling in some Western states – including California and Nevada – as marijuana production capacity continues to expand (see chart above.)

Data from Seattle-based analytics firm Headset shows that, from September 2020 to September 2021, market share for cannabis flower shrunk in each of the following states:

- California: 45.2% to 39.7%
- Colorado: 49.5% to 43.1%
- Nevada: 60.8% to 50%
- Oregon: 50.7% to 45.3%
- Washington: 46.5% to 44%

So how tough is the outlook for this year’s harvest? Depends on whom you ask.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/western-us-marijuana-growers-prep-for-harvest-after-heat-drought-and-lower-prices/

'NASDA CEO Barb Glenn said in a press release that “allowing hemp to be designated as both a specialty crop and a traditional commodity recognizes the crop’s up-and-coming nature and assures new farmers will be supported in their decisions to grow the crop for either food, fiber or horticultural use.”

“As the regulators and stewards of healthy agricultural industries in their states, NASDA members have been the leading voice for supporting the hemp industry since hemp’s inclusion in the 2014 Farm Bill,” she said. “This action would be another important step in helping hemp achieve long-term sustainability.”'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-grants-for-hemp-farmers-should-be-expanded-state-agriculture-departments-demand-at-annual-meeting/

'While acknowledging the hurdles to undertake, the study speculates that shifting from indoor grows to outdoor could reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 96%. A switch to greenhouse growing could also reduce emissions to 46%. As for potential solutions, the report highlights conservation efforts like a controversial California proposal to mandate growers use more efficient LED lights by 2023 and a law in Illinois that limits light intensity and calls for high-efficiency HVAC equipment. It also alludes to one major fix, federal cannabis legalization, that might allow for indoor cannabis to be grown in lower elevations and transported across the country.'

https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/where-is-growing-weed-most-environmentally-sound

'Summary
- New and highly regulated crop/industry
- Limited information available for cannabis crop diseases
- Fusarium, Pythium, phytoplasma, and viruses are major pathogens
- Powdery mildew and other mold diseases need immediate attention
- Nematodes such as root-knot nematodes can be a major issue for hemp production
- Other diseases such as foliar leaf spot are reported in some areas
- Very Limited chemical control options
- Prevention and sanitation is the key
- Accurate lab-based diagnosis is critical'

https://agri.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/agrinvgov/Content/Plant/Plant_Pathology/Hemp%20and%20Cannabis%20Crop%20Diseases%20-A%20guide%20to%20field%20diagnosis%20and%20management.pdf

'Selected Provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill The 2018 farm bill enacted a number of provisions regarding crop insurance products and programs available to hemp producers. These provisions allow hemp to be included as an insurable crop under the FCIP [Federal Crop Insurance Program] and provide additional flexibilities for developing new hemp coverage (e.g., §§11101, 11119, parts of 11113). Other provisions specifically address the treatment of hemp production within the program. For example, Section 11106 exempts hemp (along with tobacco, potatoes, and sweet potatoes) from general requirements that the insurance period “not extend beyond the period during which the insured commodity is in the field.” This allows hemp to be insured by the FCIP during the time when it is not growing in the field (such as when dried, cured , or stored). Section 11113 permits the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to waive “the viability and marketability” requirements for developing a hemp policy or program. Typically, the FCIC must evaluate the feasibility of an insurance product prior to approving it for use in the FCIP, including an assessment of the demand from agricultural producers for the insurance product at the expected cost.'

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11919

'“History confirms that the world looks to America to lead change, be it industrial, cultural or environmental,” Geoff Whaling, chair of NHA, said in a press release. “This is more true today than ever before, as we look to combat the global climate crisis affecting humankind.”

“We know American ingenuity will drive many of these solutions and can do so with plant-based technologies,” he added. “Hemp, America’s newest commodity crop, will be at the forefront of this regenerative economic and social shift; helping create jobs, clean our soil and air, and introduce sustainable new products once only dreamed about.”'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/national-hemp-association-asks-congress-to-budget-1-billion-to-support-industry-innovation/

'Karla Avila and Jacob Johnson started Flowerdaze Farm in California’s famed Emerald Triangle with a focus on farming cannabis sustainably with as small of a carbon footprint as possible.

Today, their small farm produces 200-300 pounds of craft cannabis annually, selling for up to $1,500 per pound. But thanks to their regenerative farming techniques, their costs are extraordinarily low.

In this episode of Seed to CEO, Karla and Jacob share:

- How to be both a regenerative and profitable farm.
- How to reduce nutrient and other input costs by using inputs already available on the farm.
- How to market regeneratively grown cannabis and get top dollar for it.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/podcast/regenerative-rewards-low-cost-cannabis-farming-with-high-returns/

'Decorticators used for hemp fiber processing come in many shapes and sizes, from old-fashioned manually operated hemp breaks and modern hand-cranked tabletop versions to small-, medium- and large-scale mechanized models powered by motors and integrated into fully automated industrial production lines. To avoid supply chain issues and cut out the middleman, growers have the option to purchase their own decorticating equipment. Here are five tips for selecting and using the right decorticator for your operation.'

https://www.hempgrower.com/article/quick-tips-5-tips-decorticate-hemp-rachel-berry-illinois-hemp-growers-association/

'Still, agribusiness contributes approximately $87 billion to the Tar Heel state’s economy. As Daniel Yohannes, CEO of clean-tech manufacturing Renaissance Fiber explained, “the connection between hemp and textiles was obvious, especially in North Carolina. What we’ve come to understand, though, is that hemp promises two very important things. In a traditional sense, hemp will rebuild some of the lost connection between agriculture and industry that actually built the communities we live in here. At the same time, it will improve the environmental impact of some of the U.S. and the world’s largest and most important supply chains. Both are urgently needed.

There almost couldn’t have been a better time for this.”

There is a substantial upside to reshoring: The U.K.’s House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee found that textile production contributes more to climate change than do international aviation and shipping combined. According to the UN Environment Assembly, the fashion industry is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/weaving-hopes-for-reshoring-u-s-hemp-textiles/

'Large Canadian cannabis producers are turning to small-batch cultivators to tap into a growing consumer appetite for higher-quality “premium” marijuana products.

To that end, some large licensed producers have entered into partnerships with craft companies. Others have bought them outright, and some are buying craft cannabis in the wholesale market for resale at the retail level.

The rise of small-batch production comes after mass producers spent years and billions of dollars cultivating cannabis, the vast majority of which was ultimately unsaleable. An MJBizDaily analysis found that Canadian LPs destroyed more cannabis than they managed to sell in legal channels from 2018 through 2020.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/how-large-canadian-cannabis-producers-are-leveraging-small-batch-craft-cultivation/

'From wildfires to drought to hurricanes, a changing climate means more extreme weather for cannabis companies up and down the supply chain.

But no one is more directly impacted by these changes than marijuana growers.

Depending on where a grow operation is located, the challenge that climate change presents is different.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/how-cannabis-cultivators-are-combatting-the-effects-of-climate-change/

'“The purpose of the proposed initial survey is to develop national and State estimates of the hemp planted and produced in 2020,” a USDA explanatory document says. “The survey will be conducted annually. The questionnaires used for this survey will collect data for hemp produced in the open as well as under cover (greenhouses, low or high tunnels, hoop houses, etc.).”

“Hemp produced in the open will have data collected for five categories of hemp (flower, grain, fiber, seed, and other). Hemp produced under cover will have data collected for four categories of hemp (flower, clones or transplants, seed, or other),” it continues. “Similar questions will be asked for these different categories relating to amount harvested and prices received for each of the crops. In addition, there will be some demographic questions about the operator.”'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-launches-national-survey-of-20000-hemp-farmers-to-inform-policy-and-industry-stakeholders/

'Regenerative organic cultivation standards encourage the planting of cannabis alongside food crops with strategic use of cover crops, composting, mulching and reduced soil tillage – methods that have been shown to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and are championed as a part of the solution to global warming by groups such as the Pennsylvania-based Rodale Institute, a pioneer of organic agriculture research and consumer education.

The regenerative organic model for cannabis grown under the sun, in the soil, without chemical fertilizers or toxic pesticides can drastically reduce the carbon footprint of cannabis and, indeed, build networks of food and flower production that are themselves more resilient to the impacts of climate change.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/cannabis-industry-needs-regenerative-organic-farming-not-modified-seeds/

'When it comes to cannabis cultivation, every grower believes he or she invented how to do it.

And for a long time, those hard-earned secrets were kept close to the vest.

But now, with more legal markets coming online in the U.S., expert cultivators are increasingly likely to share their expertise.

With that sharing of knowledge, they’ve also come to realize that growers have been holding on to superstitions and myths.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/6-common-marijuana-cultivation-techniques-that-are-more-myth-than-fact/

'Many cannabis growers on the West Coast have accepted the reality that wildfires and smoke are an unavoidable part of the late summer-fall growing season each year, while a few are considering other options.

This year, beginning in July, wildfire smoke blanketed much of the West, and some experts are warning that fire season could last until December.

Thick smoke can filter sunlight, reducing plant growth and yields. If a farm is too close to the fire itself, smoke can taint the cannabis and make it unsaleable even if it passes laboratory testing.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/west-coast-cannabis-growers-operating-under-ongoing-threat-of-wildfire-smoke/

'The extreme weather conditions pose serious challenges to cannabis growers throughout Western U.S. states and Canada all of which are experiencing historic drought conditions. In addition to California, nearly three-quarters of each Oregon and Nevada, and over one-third or more of Arizona, Washington, and New Mexico, are facing technically defined “extreme” or “exceptional” drought. Collectively, the affected states produce approximately two-thirds of the cannabis consumed in the U.S., suggesting the potential impacts which the shifting climate may have on the country’s most productive cannabis-producing regions.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/facing-extreme-weather-and-a-changing-climate-cannabis-producers-must-adapt/

https://mjbizdaily.com/how-to-detect-eliminate-common-fire-hazards-in-cannabis-cultivation-operations/

'Cannabis cultivators can’t control what Mother Nature throws at them, but they can prepare their crops to withstand some of nature’s fury.

In this exclusive guide, expert-level cultivators offer advice on everything from properly preparing your soil prior to planting to proper treatment of plants when it’s time to transplant them to the great outdoors.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/download-planning-for-planting-an-outdoor-cultivation-primer/

'In 2019, more than 4,000 acres among roughly 243,00 planted in the U.S. were destroyed for going hot. In 2020, despite total U.S. hemp acreage decreasing, hot hemp acres increased to 6,234. Based on those figures, with current projections calling for roughly 108,000 acres of hemp production in 2021, approximately 11,675 acres will expectedly test hot. However, the use of USDA’s finalized sampling and testing methodology by state agricultural officials may greatly mitigate that projection.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/how-many-acres-have-farmers-lost-to-hot-hemp/

'If you decide to go the old-school route of just looking for indicators from the plant that it’s ready, Brie Kralick, director of cultivation operations for Hava Gardens, based in De Beque, Colorado, recommends looking at the pistils rather than the trichomes.

Trichomes can look cloudy – which some growers say is the time to harvest – but they can also revert to clear, according to Kralick.

Instead, she likes to check for color in the pistils on the buds.

“If the majority of the pistils are more orange, it’s mostly finished,” Kralick said. “If not, you have more time.”'

https://mjbizdaily.com/how-cultivators-can-prepare-for-a-cannabis-harvest/

'The aim of our study was to test the immunostimulating effect of a diet with hemp extract on the resistance of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). The experiment compared the effect of supplementation between the bees receiving the extract in the form of a mixture with sugar syrup and on the strip with the extract, compared to the bees that had no contact with substance. In order to determine this effect, the biochemical indicators were analyzed: the proteolytic system (proteases, protease inhibitors, total protein concentration) responsible for the fight against pathogens/parasites, biomarkers (ALT, AST, ALP), and the basic components of metabolism (glucose and urea concentrations). Parameters were determined in the hemolymph of 2- and 7-day-old workers. Hemp extracts caused an increase in the protein concentrations. Regardless of the method of administration, proteases decreased. Protease inhibitors increased, except supplementation on strips where the activity decreased. The biomarker activities increased in the control group and workers feeding extract in syrup and decreased in workers supplemented with the extract on strips. The results of the metabolic component were as follows: glucose and urea concentrations indicate that the extract will not adversely affect metabolic changes in the insect’s organism. Hemp extract improves the natural immunity of bees. '

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/8/2190

'“What we found over the weeks that we were sampling, the amounts of CBD and THC went up proportionately in all of these different cultivars for all of these different stresses,” Toth said.

By week four, at harvest time, they found that nearly every plant (except those treated with herbicide, which were nearly dead) produced the expected ratio of CBD to THC, with high levels of CBD corresponding to levels of THC above the 0.3% THC threshold.'

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/07/hemp-goes-hot-due-genetics-not-environmental-stress

'In 1963, two years before I was born, Rachel Carson warned us in her book Silent Spring that we were doing terrible damage to our planet. She would weep to see how much worse it has become. Insect-rich wildlife habitats, such as hay meadows, marshes, heathland and tropical rainforests, have been bulldozed, burned or ploughed to destruction on a vast scale. The problems with pesticides and fertilisers, she highlighted, have become far more acute, with an estimated 3m tonnes of pesticides now going into the global environment every year. Some of these new pesticides are thousands of times more toxic to insects than any that existed in Carson’s day. Soils have been degraded, rivers choked with silt and polluted with chemicals. Climate change, a phenomenon unrecognised in her time, is now threatening to further ravage our planet. These changes have all happened in our lifetime, on our watch, and they continue to accelerate.'

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/25/the-insect-apocalypse-our-world-will-grind-to-a-halt-without-them

'Hemp is “versatile in extracting many different kinds of chemicals from the soil,” Chelli Stanley, a member of Upland Grassroots, states in the commentary.

Previous research has also demonstrated industrial hemp can be effective in phytoremediation.

“Hemp phytoremediation has been previously used for other types of soil contaminants – mainly metals,” Sara L. Nason, one of the lead researchers on the project, tells Inverse. Nason is a scientist affiliated with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment station.

Hemp, in turn, has been grown in other sites with significant amounts of environmental contamination such as Chernobyl, Nason says.'

https://www.inverse.com/science/hemp-plants-forever-chemcials-solution

'Licensed outdoor marijuana farms in northern California do not put undue strain on limited water resources, according to data published in the Journal of Environmental Management.

A team of researchers affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley and with the State of California, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board assessed irrigation patterns among licensed cannabis farms.

Authors stated that cannabis farming isn’t “particularly thirsty relative to other crops.” They estimated that “legal outdoor [cannabis] production uses about the same amount of water as a crop like tomatoes” and about 33 times less water than almonds.

The study’s findings run counter to previous claims that cannabis farming placed undue strain on the state’s limited water supply.'

https://norml.org/news/2021/07/08/study-legal-marijuana-farms-are-not-a-drain-on-water-resources

'Pioneering growers like Doug Fine, Manny Alvarez and Terry Sardinas are paving the way in cannabis and hemp regenerative farming, while teaching others how to do this kind of agriculture.

Both are also introducing craft cannabis products to their communities, keeping it local and authentic. With over 89 million acres of corn planted annually and only half a million acres of cannabis/hemp, there are many concepts to prove as farmers like Fine, Alvarez and Sardinas try to scale it up and take a swing at the plate. For the sake of all of us, let’s hope they hit some home runs.'

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewdeangelo/2021/06/22/regenerative-farming-in-cannabishemp-the-new-art-of-a-lost-science/

'In a previous study, Shi’s team learned that, for a given amount of biomass, hemp has biofuel-producing potential comparable to other bioenergy crops such as kenaf, switchgrass and sorghum.

Where the plant shines is in its higher yield per hectare—agronomy data suggest the per-hectare yield of hemp stems alone is at the same level as entire switchgrass and sorghum crops.

“For growers, hemp can be more profitable [than other bioenergy crops] because you have both the fiber and grain,” says Shi. “The fiber can also be used to make paper, clothing, building materials and more.”

Beyond hempseed oil, the plant has potential to produce ethanol and methanol, both forms of alcohol that can be used as fuel. Cellulolysis ferments and distills hemp biomass to extract ethanol. Methanol is generally produced from woody plant matter through the process of dry distillation.

The majority of biofuel currently comes from corn or sugarcane. Although their high sugar content is a robust source of ethanol, utilizing these plants for fuel production can cut into a farm’s food manufacturing profits, says Pearce. Conversely, the leaves and cellulose fibers from hemp are not valuable food sources'

https://www.hempgrower.com/article/postponed-promise-hemp-biofuel-biomass-hempseed-oil-uk-uconn-hia/

'We, Bombay Hemp Company, incorporated in 2013, are an Argo-based enterprise reimagining the future of Indian agriculture and sustainable living with hemp as our lens. Hemp’s uses are kaleidoscopic. Pull its Fibre out and it’ll give you Yarn; chop it into Softwood, it’ll give you material to build Shelter; harvest its seeds and it will transform into all the health and nutrition a human body needs; study its Genetics, and you’ll find Medicine. Our design fuses this very potential with the existing industries of agriculture, technology, health and nutrition, to bring together community, impact, and value.'

https://bohecolife.com/pages/about-us

'Hemp can capture atmospheric carbon twice as effectively as forests while providing carbon-negative biomaterials for architects and designers, according to Cambridge University researcher Darshil Shah.

"Numerous studies estimate that hemp is one of the best CO2-to-biomass converters," said Shah, who is senior researcher at the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at Cambridge.

"It's even more effective than trees," he said. "Industrial hemp absorbs between 8 to 15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare of cultivation."

"In comparison, forests typically capture 2 to 6 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year depending on the number of years of growth, the climatic region, the type of trees etc."'

https://www.dezeen.com/2021/06/30/carbon-sequestering-hemp-darshil-shah-interview/

'An in-depth look at water usage in the regulated cannabis cultivation market reveals how it compares to the illicit market and traditional agricultural sectors. On a per-pound basis, cannabis might be better compared to more valuable, scarce cash crops. Mid-range cannabis in the United States, costing approximately $1,500/lb., is comparable to the price a pound of saffron fetched in Delhi, India, last year ($1,496), or the same amount of Italian white truffles ($1,581). Notably, the substantial expense associated with saffron and truffles are in part derived from the labor-intensive collection process for the former, and the relative rarity and difficulty in procuring the latter.

Consequently, cannabis is not only one of the world’s most valuable cash crops, but the industry’s market value has potential to increase dramatically, with only incremental increases in production. Across the globe, nations which have legalized cannabis for either medical or adult use have found the plant to be an enticing source of additional revenue. At the same time, agricultural research and innovation should normalize cultivation practices and lead to greater resource efficiency.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/bureaucratic-restraints-constrain-cannabis-as-a-commodity/

'Though they are often lumped together under the same industry umbrella of hemp, the three subcategories which make up the sector – including cannabinoids, grain, and fiber – have less in common than it may seem.

Each segment has entirely different production needs when it comes to cultivating, sorting, and processing material, and their end markets are often entirely unrelated – be it cannabinoids, health foods, industrial materials, textiles, etc. Even the plants themselves differ noticeably: Most CBD cultivars are bushy and shorter than 4 feet, while fiber cultivars are tall and thin, with some reaching 20 feet tall. Indeed, the differences are almost great enough to constitute a separate plant species.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/segment-differentiations-beginning-to-redefine-the-hemp-industry/

'That’s the “real driver” behind his cannabis advocacy, the senator said, adding that he “knew that this would be a huge bonanza for Oregon agriculture” when the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. But he said further reforms are still needed to support the industry, and he’s recently introduced legislation to achieve that.

“We’ve seen a lot of young farmers get very interested in hemp,” Wyden said during an interview with U.S. Hemp Roundtable General Counsel Jonathan Miller.

“At a time when the age of farmers in America keeps going up and up, to have all these young farmers interested and coming back to the farm because they see so much potential here” shows that “we’re on the right side of history,” he said.'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/legal-hemp-is-attracting-young-farmers-to-an-aging-agriculture-market-top-senator-says/

'China’s 13th Five-Year Plan lays out the country’s intention to cultivate 3.2 million acres of fiber hemp for textiles by 2030. That move is being fueled by a desire to supplant cotton with less environmentally taxing crops, part of the country’s ambitions to beat the U.S. and the EU in achieving net-zero carbon emissions. Early support and investment from the Chinese government has put the country at the forefront of innovation in hemp fiber, and is largely responsible for the country’s 70% market share in the space.

As governments, companies, and entrepreneurs compete to create and implement carbon-neutral technologies, China is likely to remain a major player in the expanding development of the global hemp industry.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/how-is-china-poised-to-be-a-hemp-fiber-superpower/

'Within the specific context of the hemp industry, hopes are high among stakeholders that hemp’s superior carbon-sequestering qualities can make it a major source of offset credits. Fiber stakeholders are particularly excited, especially those manufacturers who see opportunities for carbon credits to help subsidize their low-carbon products, and lead them closer to price parity than they would find otherwise.

While carbon offset projects for now are rare in the industry, interest in them is rapidly increasing, fueled by government support. Robert Bonnie, an adviser to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, recently mused in a transition memo about a USDA carbon bank which could spend up to $1 billion a year to buy farm-related carbon credits. With government support of carbon-neutral measures steadily increasing, New Frontier Data expects compliance-based carbon offset markets to comprise a major component of future industry'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/hemp-stakeholders-hoping-to-cash-dividends-from-usda-carbon-bank/

'Banned in the U.S. for decades by the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, hemp production was revived by the 2018 Farm bill. From clothing to food to CBD oil, the plant is used to make a variety of products. At one time, it was the fastest growing crop in U.S. agriculture.

"We really see hemp as this really great opportunity for lots of farmers to be able to get in to," said Place.'

https://www.fox9.com/news/usda-approves-minnesota-hemp-production-plan

'“Dependable” genetics – i.e., those seeds capable of delivering predictable yields that avoid risk of running “hot” (i.e., testing above the regulatory legal limit of 0.3% THC) – require cultivars that have been fully acclimatized to a geographic region, a process which can take upwards of seven years. Due to the U.S. federal government’s 81-year-long prohibition of hemp cultivation, however, states have primarily been using cultivars developed for use in Europe, Canada, and China. For the most part, those cultivars have performed adequately, but issues have emerged in hemp crops located in warmer climates, which tend to be at higher risk for testing hot'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cultivar-availability-casts-doubts-about-seed-supply-in-2022/

'Along with the sustainable and breathable benefits of hemp denim, Madewell is touting the fabric as a soft yet durable addition to closets, noting that the material is three times more durable than cotton. According to Mary Pierson, Madewell’s senior vice president of denim design, the brand will continue to work with the fiber.

“We’re committed to continue incorporating more hemp into our clothing because it is such an exciting and sustainable fiber to work with,” she said.'

https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-brands/madewell-summerweight-denim-lightweight-cottonized-hemp-summer-278156/

'Within the growing market for plant-based proteins, hemp is one of the fastest growing segments. Though the plant-based protein market has historically been dominated by pea and soy protein (which together make up more than 90% of the market), hemp protein’s amino acid and mineral profiles have been popular with customers.

What would really move the needle in the hemp grain market, however, is entrance into animal feed. Allowing hemp into animal feed would significantly reduce risks to farmers and open an entirely new product category of hemp-fed products in one stroke. Although federal regulations currently bar hemp animal feed from being used for animals destined for human consumption, headway is being made in that area.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/can-grain-fiber-acreage-eclipse-cbds-this-year/

'Most synthetic fertilizers don’t contain micronutrients or beneficial organisms critical to soil health. And they can be too fast-acting for their own good, leaching deep into the soil and water table where plants can’t access them.

Overapplication can burn plants and build up toxic concentrations in the soil.

Worse, poorly managed synthetic fertilizers can damage groundwater supply and create polluted water runoff.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/are-synthetic-or-organic-fertilizers-better-for-cannabis-plant-nutrition/

'There's some legitimate research behind the push to bring hemp into the forefront, though. It's no perfect crop, but there's starting to be good reason, and research, behind the argument that hemp might help save the planet. On Earth Day, perhaps there's no better plant to look to than this. Here are two ways cannabis can help you limit your negative footprint on our environment.'

https://www.inlander.com/spokane/compared-with-some-alternatives-hemp-soaks-up-carbon-and-merely-sips-water/Content?oid=21530888

'While the industry waits to see how hemp fiber product categories first find their footing in the marketplace, it might prove instructive to view those product categories in terms of how significantly they play into the United States’ total carbon emissions, and review how hemp fiber products may disrupt various industries, ranked by their total annual emissions'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/where-might-hemp-fiber-products-make-the-biggest-dent-in-emissions/

https://twitter.com/usdaRMA/status/1384177751876243465

'Hemp industry members are cheering Idaho for becoming the last state in the U.S. to legalize industrial hemp, making the crop now legal to produce in every state in the union, more than two years after the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp as a commodity crop.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed legislation Friday to legalize the production, transportation and sale of industrial hemp in the state, allowing hemp production to begin in 2022.'

https://hempindustrydaily.com/hemp-now-legal-in-all-50-states-with-former-hold-out-idaho-becoming-last-state-to-approve/

'Hemp fiber can play a pivotal role in commerce and economic development. But the most important thing governments need to understand is hemp’s potential for healing the planet and advancing human health. As hemp fiber gains momentum it’s not a question of phasing out other fibers and completely replacing them with hemp. The interesting feature of the “hemp business model” is that the synergies with existing industrial capacities are virtually unlimited.

Unlimited. As usual, with hemp!'

https://hemptoday.net/industrial-hemp-fiber-is-better-than-wood-in-every-way/

'“Industrial Hemp can be grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, requires less water than crops like cotton or corn, and reaches maturity one hundred days from planting,” the federal agency said. “Hemp photosynthesizes carbon dioxide with greater efficiency than trees and can be harvested twice per year, doubling the rate of carbon sequestration.”

Further, the hemp blocks can “improve health outcomes for residents” because they contain components that are “antifungal and antimicrobial, reducing the risks of airborne bacteria while also being vapor permeable.”'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/epa-awards-100k-grant-to-support-production-of-hemp-based-bricks-for-sustainable-construction/

'This year, and for the first time since its federal prohibition in 1937, a significant amount of hemp fiber will be grown in the U.S. However, even as its supply is ramping up, producers are still struggling to find its foothold in the market. Which end-use hemp products will find their niche?'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/new-markets-and-applications-trying-hemp-fiber-for-size/

'Key Findings:
- Cannabinoids: Total U.S. consumer spending on CBD was estimated to have reached $3.83 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $6.26 billion by 2025, a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.16%.
- Grain: The U.S. is the largest consumer of hempseed used primarily for human consumption; retail sales for hemp food products are estimated to have reached $67.1 million in 2020, and is projected to reach $144.1 million by 2025, at a CAGR of 16.5%.
- Fiber: With more than 25,000 potential uses, hemp fiber is considered one of the world’s most versatile crops; the wholesale market for processed hemp fiber reached $47.1 million dollars in 2020 and is estimated to reach $82.2 million by 2025, a CAGR of 10.53%.'

https://info.newfrontierdata.com/u.s.-hemp-market-landscape

'Hemp also has the potential to help reduce carbon dioxide and combat global warming. International scientific studies have shown that hemp absorbs more carbon dioxide per hectare than any forest or commercial crop (one hectare of hemp can absorb between 15 and 22 tons of carbon dioxide), making it the ideal “carbon sink.” Indeed, once absorbed, the carbon dioxide is permanently bounded within the fiber, which is then used to manufacture other hemp-derived products, such as textiles, building materials, and auto parts.'

https://abovethelaw.com/2021/03/hemp-is-much-more-than-cbd/

'As seen in Europe, it is likely that products requiring the least amount of processing and calibration will prove to be the first to achieve market viability in the U.S. and Canada. High-volume, low-margin products include mulch, animal bedding, and animal litter, along with pulp and paper. As the industry matures, ever more lucrative fiber applications should become viable. A New Frontier Data poll of fiber processors found them anticipating the best five-year growth potential among segments to include construction materials, automotive parts, bioplastics, and nonwoven textiles, respectively.

Construction materials, particularly, have attracted significant attention from hemp stakeholders. Companies such as Hempitecture – which designs and builds homes using hemp construction materials – and HempWood – manufacturer of a hemp-based wood alternative – have taken early leads in popularizing the use of hemp in construction, but face uphill regulatory battles against notoriously cautious international standards organizations, and toward expanding municipal building codes.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/hemp-fiber-market-set-for-growth-but-end-markets-remain-uncertain/

'Challenges and risks remain, but the future is still bright for hemp and the industry is well-positioned for continued growth. As legal and regulatory foundations continue to settle and develop, it is imperative that hemp participants of all kinds – cannabinoid, industrial, or other focused uses – stay abreast of these changes and developments. It is also important for hemp businesses to better utilize and adopt commonplace business and legal best practices when entering into agribusiness, transactional, and corporate deals and agreements within the industry. Keep in mind the message of unity and collaboration, and let's celebrate and support one another's successes as we work together to advance the industry for the benefit of all.'

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/common-ground-hemp-uncertain-world

'Consequently, while the state produced over 7.1 million tons of grapes valued at $6.3 billion dollars, and nearly 2.3 million tons of almonds valued at $5.5 billion dollars, the state produced less than 10,000 tons of smokable cannabis flower (for the legal and illicit markets combined), but for a total value of nearly $25 billion dollars. That comparative scale in yield to market value is a key reason why, despite longstanding conventional wisdom, cannabis comparatively uses so much less water per dollar gained than California’s other leading crops.

As explained in Cannabis H20: Water Use and Sustainability in Cultivation, New Frontier Data’s latest report (in partnership with Resource Innovation Institute and the University of California, Berkeley), our estimates found that while the state’s orchards use nearly 7 million acre-feet of water, and rice fields use nearly 5 million acre-feet, the state’s lucrative cannabis industry only uses 3,000 acre-feet, making it the most water-economical crop among the state’s top revenue crops.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/legal-cannabis-cultivations-footprint-sinks-common-assumptions-about-comparative-water-use/

'New Frontier Data’s latest annual report about the U.S. hemp market is scheduled for release this month. Available to the industry free of charge starting March 23, the report offers a high-level view of the most important developments in each sector of the burgeoning hemp industry: cannabinoids, fiber, and grain.

As the market sectors grow and develop, the distance between them will accordingly expand. In the long term, cannabinoid production and fiber/grain applications may have little mutual overlap as regional cultivars are developed and specialized. For now, however, they are unified by the national conversation taking place around hemp and its role in the future of our economy.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/getting-a-handle-on-hemp-new-report-examines-cannabinoids-fiber-and-grains/

'Opportunities exist to reduce water consumption across all facilities types. The technological shift from hand-watering with pipes to drip irrigation has played a major role in lowering water use in the legal market relative to unrelated markets (where managing water use is rarely a prioritized consideration), and innovation is likewise further advancing water-use efficiency across the legal industry. An increasing availability of sensor-based watering solutions — which provide real-time measurement of moisture content and electrical conductivity in the substrate, and apply micro-pulses of water to ensure optimal moisture levels — are but one example of emerging technologies which can decrease the volume of water consumed for irrigation by up to 90% (depending on a facility’s previous irrigation techniques).'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cannabis-growers-consider-broader-options-to-improve-facility-water-efficiency/

An elegant outcome to the impasse between India's farmers and the government will be for the farmers to grow cannabis as an additional agricultural crop. Cannabis has diverse industrial, medicinal, scientific, nutritional, environmental and recreational uses that are incomparable. Its stalk, from which pulp and fiber can be extracted, can be used for such diverse applications as construction, textiles, paper and hi-tech industries. Its leaves, flowering tops and seeds can be used for medicine, recreation, food and nutrition, wellness and cosmetics to name just a few. The biomass, a by-product, can be an excellent source for animal feed and organic fertilizers. The plant itself is a bio-accumulator that removes toxins from the soil increasing soil health. The plant requires far less water than any of India's blockbuster crops - rice, wheat and cotton. The crop can be grown in both India's growing seasons, kharif and rabi. Cannabis is one of the most suited crops for India's diverse growing conditions, especially suited for small farmers and the adverse effects of climate change. China is quietly now the world's largest cannabis producer for industrial purposes while France is Europe's. The Indigo movement, salt satyagraha, rice, wheat, khadi and cotton revolutions will pale in significance compared to the green revolution that cannabis can be for all India's farmers and the country...

Mar 04, 2021 12:11:51pm

'Growing marijuana outdoors is great because you won’t need to spend a ton of money on it and you can rely on the power of the sun. If you have access to a sunny spot in a private yard or even a balcony, terrace, or rooftop, you can grow weed outside. You will be tied to the sun and the seasons and local weather, but you won’t have to spend a bunch of money on equipment and utilities like indoor growers.'

https://www.leafly.com/learn/growing/how-to-grow-marijuana-outdoors

'Hemp is an extraordinary crop, with enormous social and economic value, since it can be used to produce food, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paper, paint, biofuel, and animal feed, as well as lighting oil. Various parts of the hemp plant represent a valuable source of food and ingredients for nutritional supplements. While hemp inflorescence is rich in nonpsychoactive, yet biologically active cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), which exerts potent anxiolytic, spasmolytic, as well as anticonvulsant effects, hempseed has a pleasant nutty taste and represents a valuable source of essential amino acids and fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and fibers. In addition, hempseed oil is a source of healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids, and hemp sprouts are rich in antioxidants. This review article aims to provide a comprehensive outlook from a multidisciplinary perspective on the scientific evidence supporting hemp beneficial properties when consumed as food or supplement. Marketing of hemp-derived products is subjected to diversified and complex regulations worldwide for several reasons, including the fact that CBD is also the active principal of pharmaceutical agents and that regulatory bodies in some cases ban Cannabis inflorescence regardless of its THC content. Some key regulatory aspects of such a complex scenario are also analyzed and discussed in this review article.'

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/can.2020.0001

'While still early, 2021 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the nascent hemp fiber industry. Investment in primary processing operations, combined with interest in the plant’s potential to help “decarbonize the economy” – i.e., overhaul the infrastructure of the American energy system toward carbon neutrality – has brought hemp’s industrial usefulness to the forefront of the public conversation. Despite the bullishness, fears about the oversupply present in the CBD industry have industry stakeholders asking whether the fiber segment will follow the same boom-and-bust cycle seen in the CBD industry?

The answer is almost certainly no'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/oh-no-is-the-hemp-fiber-market-looking-to-be-cbd-2-0/

'New Frontier Data estimates that while legal production of cannabis represented nearly a quarter of the 2020 total U.S. market (including illicit sales), that share should increase to reach 35% of the market by 2025. Conversely, the nation’s illicit market is expected to see sales decline from $66 billion in 2019 to $64 billion in 2025.

During that same period, researchers expect total water use in the legal cannabis market to increase by 86%. Though some critics and opponents have seized upon water use as a policy issue, the regulated, legalized cannabis industry In California generally uses significantly less water than do some of the Golden State’s other major agricultural crops (e.g., cotton, tomatoes, wheat, and corn). That noted, it is a virtual given that the trend toward longer, more acute droughts will be sustained well into the future, which lends more urgency to the Water Working Group’s efforts and messaging.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/what-to-do-about-water-getting-the-cannabis-industry-out-in-front-for-wise-usage-2/

'Toombs said that USDA hemp research includes working on standardizing THC and CBD testing and establishing a new collection of hemp germplasm with Cornell University.

She said USDA scientists “have a proven track record of revolutionizing American agriculture and pioneering technology advancements to bring new commodity innovations to consumers.”

“We have challenged ourselves to discover the next bold move in agriculture, and industrial hemp is positioned to achieve that same success,” she said.'

https://hempindustrydaily.com/usda-creating-hemp-germplasm-collection-funding-lab-to-study-plant-breeding/

'Paul Burke, CEO of Jamaica’s Ganja Growers and Producers Association, said in a phone interview that people are no longer afraid of being locked up now that the government allows possession of small amounts. He said the stigmatization against ganja has diminished and more people are appreciating its claimed therapeutic and medicinal value during the pandemic.

Burke also said that some traditional small farmers have stopped growing in frustration because they can’t afford to meet requirements for the legal market while police continue to destroy what he described as “good ganja fields.”'

https://apnews.com/article/world-news-jamaica-kingston-coronavirus-pandemic-marijuana-2d9e9c6dbc4d311e7b7085708eca0571

One's farm should be of a size manageable either by oneself or with the help of one's family members. Persons should only be hired to work on the farm for tasks that require specialized skills not available within the family such as, say, climbing coconut trees. Any farm that is larger than what can be managed by one's family is too large. It is better that such farms are broken down into smaller sizes to be managed by individuals and their families. Then farming will become a truly sustainable activity and yield a wide diversity of produce. Otherwise the connection with the land and the beauty of farming is lost and farming becomes a purely commercial activity whose aim is only to make profits. This results in evils such as crop mono culture, excessive usage of chemical pesticides, stubble burning, deforestation, water wastage and the farmer debt trap...E F Schumacher's Small is Beautiful philosophy holds especially true for farming...

'“People say, well, we can capture this giant graphene market with hemp”, Mitlin notes. “I suggest the bigger opportunity is for hemp to take a big chunk out of the advanced carbon market.” The advanced carbon market spans a huge range of industrial applications, including water purification, energy storage, carbon capture technologies, HVAC filters, and more. Water purification, especially, has taken on heightened importance considering an ongoing environmental crisis and decreasing access to clean water in the developing world.

Advanced carbon products require large amounts of precursor material. Hemp is an ideal precursor for these products due to the ease and scale with which it can be produced, and given its relatively low lignin content compared to alternatives. Some competing precursor materials like coal and wood carry with them serious environmental concerns, while others, like coconut, cannot be produced domestically at scale.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/hemp-fibers-uniquely-suited-for-advanced-carbon-uses/

'Last summer, researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin-Madison invited growers in their states to submit certain information about their crop for the database in exchange for a discount on cannabinoid sampling.

The result is the Midwestern Hemp Database, which also includes participants from Michigan State University, Purdue University and growers in their respective states.

“We wanted to work together to stop working in silos all the time and share information across the region, not just within our own state, and figure out what’s working and what’s not for our growers,” said Phillip Alberti, educator for commercial agriculture at the University of Illinois Extension.'

https://hempindustrydaily.com/despite-pandemic-midwest-hemp-producers-build-regional-database-to-spot-best-cultivation-practices/

'The demand for alternative fibers and the sustainability problems with cotton create a gap to be filled. Industry, innovation and adaptability will be keys to the growth of the fiber industry.

As I attend seminars and follow the industry, what strikes me is that while everyone seems to talk about how to get hemp products ready for market, there is little discussion on how to go to market. These are two different aspects of any business.'

https://hemptoday.net/demand-for-sustainable-textiles-is-big-opportunity-for-hemp-fiber/

'An oft-repeated byword among hemp advocates posits that there are over 25,000 different products that can be manufactured from the crop. In actual practice, however, but a fractional amount of those remains in active production today. As has been detailed here before, the hemp fiber industry suffers from a crisis in infrastructure and critical gaps in its supply chains which are stifling product development and stymying growth. The good news is, those gaps are steadily being connected by a host of new fiber-processing companies. As a reliable domestic supply of hemp fiber emerges, the industry is faced with deciding exactly what to do with it, i.e., which product categories to establish first.

In quick summary of the growth prospects for some of the most promising hemp fiber product categories:'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/which-hemp-fiber-product-categories-will-develop-first/

'Like all other crops, hemp grows through photosynthesis. That means that it takes in CO2 and releases oxygen, while storing carbon in the very structure of the plant itself (i.e., the fibers, hurd, and seed). Products made from hemp then trap the carbon in the form of whatever product is being manufactured, be it a t-shirt, building materials, or a plastic spoon. In a real way, hemp products are manufactured by transforming carbon in the atmosphere into usable goods. Carbon offsets mean that hemp products can achieve carbon-neutral or possibly carbon-negative status. Even if manufacturing processes fail to achieve net-negative carbon emissions, hemp-based materials still outperform petroleum-based materials, as half of the emissions savings would be derived by not having to extract the petroleum in the first place. It is theoretically possible with many crops, but what separates hemp is the plant’s versatility. Indeed, industrial hemp is one of the few natural resources at humans’ disposal whose versatility can compare to oil’s.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/hemp-stands-to-benefit-from-biden-climate-plan/

'Hemp processors will have some additional flexibility when it comes to THC negligence standards that would require disposal of the crop if exceeded. Hemp is defined under federal statute as containing no more than 0.3 percent THC, and now it can reach 1 percent, rather than 0.5 percent, without necessitating eradication.'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-releases-final-rule-for-hemp-two-years-after-crop-was-federally-legalized/

'"Hemp takes very little water, as opposed to cotton, which takes a lot to grow. Hemp also doesn't really require pesticides, and is an easy thing to grow organically," Auman says. "On the work-wear end, hemp is the strongest natural fiber on the planet, and with work wear you want fibers to be as strong as they possibly can be."

As an early advocate of legal hemp farming, Colorado has a chance to attract more business from companies like Patagonia that are interested in transitioning toward industrial hemp and away from traditional textiles, plastics and other manufacturing materials, says Polis, who visited the Wright-Oaks farm earlier this year to see the hemp for himself.'

https://www.westword.com/marijuana/patagonia-colorado-farm-governor-polis-hemp-clothing-production-11845272

'The cooperative farming model is another factor fueling optimism that more farmers will get their own brands.

Under this approach, small farms band together and share the costs of packaging, labeling, manufacturing and other functions needed to get their crops and products to market.

“I strongly believe the co-op model is going to grow in importance and value in coming years, especially for small growers,” said Scott Watkins, a consultant and principal at Buildaberg in Trinity County.

Watkins reckons that co-ops, combined with the appellations program, will provide a great foundation for more farmers to work together to overcome the financial obstacles in California’s current market landscape, such as securing commercial space to package flower or manufacture pre-rolls.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/appellation-program-and-cooperatives-might-boost-small-california-cannabis-farmers/

'NIHC says it plans to focus its advocacy on China and Europe as “top priority markets,” aiming to develop relationships and trade policies that will promote the sale of hemp products that are manufactured domestically.

The federal government has also recognized the market potential of China for the crop, which historically has been a main source of hemp imports. A trade deal announced at the beginning of the year requires the country to import hemp from the U.S. on a larger scale over the next two years.'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-awards-hemp-advocacy-group-200000-to-support-international-trade/

'Hemp has been continuously cultivated in Europe since the early Middle Ages, and was the traditional source of textiles and cordage on the continent up until its Industrial Revolution.

The 1793 invention of the cotton gin suddenly made cotton far and away the most competitive natural fiber in the world, and marked the start of hemp’s long commercial decline. After the outlawing of hemp in the United States, both the introduction of cheap synthetic fibers, and the agricultural turmoil from two world wars likewise drove a steady decline in European usage and acreage of the crop. By 1993, acreage for hemp fiber was just over 12,000 acres, of which nearly 95% was dedicated for specialty pulp and papermaking.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/lessons-for-the-u-s-hemp-fiber-industry-to-learn-from-europes/

'The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has signed off on hemp plans for six additional states and three Indian tribes this month, with a new batch of approvals coming on Friday.

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Dakota each had their regulatory proposals accepted within the past two weeks, as did the Comanche Nation, the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

That raises the total number of approved plans to 69.'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-approves-hemp-plans-for-six-additional-states-and-three-indian-tribes/

'The record wildfires that have blanketed the West Coast in smoke and ash also have blocked out essential sunlight and set back the growth of outdoor marijuana plants by weeks, leaving growers with less-than-ideal options for when to harvest their plants.

Cannabis growers in California, Oregon and Washington state are contemplating two choices in the face of wildfires that have burned more than 5 million acres:
- Harvesting underdeveloped plants with lower yields in early October.
- Trying to regain those lost days by harvesting later in the month, risking freezing temperatures or early snow.

All of this further underscores the threat that climate change poses to cannabis and, more broadly, agriculture.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/western-wildfire-smoke-delays-outdoor-cannabis-harvest-exposing-climate-impact/

'The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday that it is expanding its coronavirus relief program for farmers—and this time around, hemp cultivators are eligible for benefits.

In May, USDA said it would be making $19 billion available for agriculture producers to assist them amid the pandemic. But it excluded hemp and several other crops, stating that they don’t qualify because they didn’t experience a five percent or greater price decline from January to April. Industry stakeholders contested that point, arguing that there’s insufficient data to establish that given how young the newly legal market is. They said they were suffering just like other sectors.'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/hemp-farmers-now-eligible-for-usda-coronavirus-relief-program/

'In a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, the Senate’s top-ranking Democrat argued that hemp farmers are having difficulty adapting to the department’s interim hemp regulations.

“The timing of implementation of the Interim Final Rules, especially during the COVID crisis, will create extreme disruption in this nascent industry,” Schumer wrote. “I ask that you delay the issuance of a final rule until January 2022, and allow states to continue to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill pilot program authority until then.”

Stating that current compliance costs are “suffocating for the emerging industry,” he added that the cost for reporting would be around $17,363.40 and that testing could cost producers around $700 per sample — which is only half-correct.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/schumer-urges-usda-to-aid-hemp-producers-by-delaying-regulatory-deadlines/

'In short the Department of Agriculture embarked on its program without even elementary investigation of what was already known about the chemical to be used - or if it investigated, it ignored the findings. It must also have failed to do the preliminary research to discover the minimum amount of the chemical that would accomplish its purpose. After three years of heavy dosages, it abruptly reduced the rate of application of heptachlor from 2 pounds to 1 and 1/4 pounds per acre in 1959; later on to 1/2 pound per acre, applied in two treatments of 1/4 pound each, 3 to 6 months apart. An official of the Department explained that 'an aggressive methods improvement program' showed the lower rate to be effective. Had this information been acquired before the program was launched, a vast amount of damage could have been avoided and the taxpayers could have been saved a great deal of money.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'The sight of these two men, so different from one another - the well-fed elegant Frenchman, in a top-hat and a long overcoat that was then very fashionable, radiant with freshness and self-confidence, with his white hand, unused to work, energetically showing how the Germans must be squeezed; and the shaggy figure of Prokofy, shriveled up by constant labour, always tired but always at work despite his enormous rupture, with fingers swollen by toil, with wisps of hay in his hair, with slack home-made breeches and down-trodden bark shoes, striding along with an enormous fork of hay on his shoulder, with that step, not lazy but economical in movement, with which a working man always moves - the strong contrast presented by those two men made much clear to me then, and now, after the Toulon-Paris festivities, vividly occurs. One of them personified all those who, fed by the people's toil, afterwards use those same people for cannon-fodder, while the other personified that very cannon-fodder which feeds and protects the others who afterwards so dispose of it.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays

'A man should have a farm or a mechanical craft for his culture. We must have a basis for our higher accomplishments, our delicate entertainment of poetry or philosophy, in the works of our hands. We must have an antagonism in the tough world for all the variety of our spiritual faculties, or they will not be born. Manual labor is the study of the external world. The advantages of riches remain with him who procured them, not with the heir. When I go into my garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done with my own hands.' - Man the Reformer, Emerson, The Basic Writings of America's Sage

'I’m proud that Kansas is moving forward with the Commercial Industrial Hemp program and I look forward to working with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and others to encourage growth in this new industry.'
https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1117875066983706624

'Passage of the 2018 Farm Bill sparked both sharp nationwide increases in licensing and explosive sales growth for 2019.
The issuance of U.S. hemp-cultivation licenses saw a year-over-year, nationwide increase of 364% (from 3,546 in 2018 to 16,462 in 2019).
Small family farms’ entry to the space drove licensing booms in some states, while other states saw the arrival of Big Agriculture interests in their markets.
In 2019, Tennessee led the trend with 3,200 new licenses, marking more than a 13x increase over its 226 in 2018. Conversely, Montana’s comparatively low 277 licenses in 2019 represent nearly 40,000 acres, averaging a Big Ag-style footprint of more than 144 acres apiece.
Traditional hemp states Colorado, Kentucky, and Oregon continue to lead in cultivation as the nation overall shows a projected 225,000 acres harvested in 2019, more than a 180% increase beyond 78,176 in 2018.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/increases-in-state-issued-hemp-licenses/

'“If its less than .3 percent, it’s considered hemp and the byproducts of that hemp are legal nationally,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter. '
https://www.ketv.com/article/exclusive-omaha-division-of-the-drug-enforcement-administration-says-it-is-not-prosecuting-cbd-hemp-sellers-or-dealers/28875681

'“We have already made provisions for them to have access to land as well so that 60 acres of land being made available in Barbados to the Rastafarian community is the first step towards ensuring that they will not be left out of this.”
https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/barbados-government-promises-rastafarians-60-acres-of-land-to-grow-marijuana/

'In fact, according to advocates of small cannabis businesses, if the sector evolves under the right conditions, craft will be the future of the marijuana sector.

Conversely, they say, under the wrong conditions, craft will perish and leave the space to a handful of cannabis conglomerates.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/craft-cannabis-is-the-marijuana-industrys-small-batch-sector/

'There is little industry-wide consensus on cultivation best practice. Some outdoor growers might divert streams to water crops, whereas others pursue dry farming, which uses no irrigation. Indoors, growers sometimes choose cooler, light-emitting diode (LED) lights to substantially decrease water use. Meanwhile, others simply expand small, energy-intense facilities into larger operations. “There is a wide range of energy efficiency,” Smith says. “Outdoor crops planted from seeds might have a zero footprint, while old-style indoor cultivation can be 500 times more energy intensive.”'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02526-3

'For years, the popular image of cannabis growers has been scruffy hippies getting high on their own supply in a disorganized underground economy, rather than shiny white industrial agriculture facilities. Even larger-scale operations involved minimal quality control or lacked formal record keeping.

But as legal medical — and increasingly, recreational — cannabis becomes more widespread, the cannabis industry is becoming more professional. By adopting the methods and rigour of plant science and analytical chemistry, it is ensuring that it can produce safe, consistent and high-quality products for a fast-growing and lucrative market.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02527-2

Cannabit from New Frontier Data...

'The 29 U.S. states having reporting licensed hemp cultivation acreage total nearly half a million acres in combined cultivation land area, a massive increase over 2018’s combined U.S. total of just over 100,000 acres.
Colorado leads the nation in hemp cultivation and processing land area with over 80,000 acres reported.
Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Montana lead in hemp program expansion efforts.
Tennessee leads in total hemp licenses issued in 2019.
At least 70% of the 2019 U.S. hemp harvest is intended for extract production.
California is poised to be the top-producing hemp state for both conventional and organic production as thousands of acres have already been planted in 2019'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/hemp-licenses-issued-by-state-2019/

'It is increasingly likely that the U.S. hemp industry will see more acreage planted this year than in 1943, the peak of cultivation during World War II.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/a-year-into-a-resurrected-hemp-market-how-are-states-handling-it/

'Even as the Central Government is yet to decide on legalizing the cultivation of cannabis, Madhya Pradesh government has decided to allow the farming of hemp in the state.

Madhya Pradesh Law Minister PC Sharma, however, made it clear that the cultivation will be only for medical and industrial purposes. '
https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/madhya-pradesh-set-to-legalize-cultivation-of-cannabis-for-medical-purposes-500887.html

'They are the latest generation of bioplastics, which are plastic materials produced from renewable sources such as agricultural by-products, straw, wood chips, sawdust and recycled food waste -- and now hemp.

Hemp seems to satisfy some plant-based plastics researchers looking for alternatives to plastic waste that has filled landfills and oceans.'
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/02/24/Products-made-from-hemp-based-plastics-enter-consumer-market/8661582241399/

Giving pharmaceutical industries control over the crop and seeds looks like a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. This is a big threat to the natural indigenous varieties that currently exist in Lebanon. How much the small farmer will benefit is anybody's guess.

'In July 2018, a draft bill was introduced to parliament which legalizes the cultivation of marijuana for medical and industrial purposes. The bill has now finally been approved by parliament on February 26th.

The long-awaited first step in the legalization of the drug has finally been taken. However, the bill is extremely strict on how it regulates the growth and cultivation of marijuana crops.

Private pharmaceutical companies would provide the seeds and seedlings to farmers in the Bekaa and, during the harvest, they would inspect the crops to make sure that nothing had been diverted.'
https://www.the961.com/news/lebanon-just-legalized-the-growth-of-marijuana

'The hemp industry scored a victory on Tuesday after the Senate passed a coronavirus relief bill that, for the first time, will allow farmers to access a certain federal loan program amid the pandemic.

Farmers have historically been left out of disaster relief legislation through the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) because they’re eligible for separate programs under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). But those programs are designated for natural disasters, and so industry advocates have been pushing Congress to allow farmers to be eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/hemp-industry-secures-federal-coronavirus-relief-for-farmers-in-senate-passed-bill/

'The process is part of an experiment in the Netherlands to legalize for the first time – though it’s limited in scope and time – the production of marijuana destined to be sold in coffee shops.

Only applicants that demonstrate the capability to cultivate at a large scale – a minimum of 6,500 kilograms (14,330 pounds) per year – will be considered.

But the government’s newly released FAQ specifies that the winners won’t necessarily have to grow that amount.

Up to 10 growers will be selected to supply roughly 80 coffee shops in 10 municipalities during a period of at least four years.

The government estimates a minimum production of 65,000 kilograms per year will be needed, considering that each of the 80 coffee shops has an average turnover of about 1 kilogram per day – 20% of which is hashish.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/netherlands-clarifies-process-for-applications-to-grow-legal-adult-use-cannabis/

'The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved hemp regulatory plans from Minnesota, Tennessee and Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

This latest development brings the total number of approved plans across states, territories and Indian tribes to 53.

“We thank USDA for their work on this new federal hemp program, and we are grateful they have approved Minnesota’s plan,” Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said. “While this is a major step forward, there are still concerns over some the regulations imposed on states and tribal governments, such as testing requirements. We look forward to continuing our dialog with USDA so we can ensure Minnesota’s hemp growers and processors are successful in this fledging industry.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-approves-hemp-plan-for-minnesota-tennessee-and-puerto-rico/

'Farm cash receipts in British Columbia hit a record high in 2019, boosted by an increase of nearly 300 million Canadian dollars ($221 million) in cannabis sales.

The annual growth in cannabis cash receipts in British Columbia far outpaced growth in other agricultural sectors such as dairy (CA$47 million), beef (CA$25 million) and field vegetables (CA$17.5 million), the provincial government reported Tuesday.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/cannabis-gives-british-columbia-farm-sales-ca300-million-boost-in-2019/

'The practice itself – of landowners entering into contracts with farmers to grow marijuana – is nothing new, said Hezekiah Allen, board chair of California cannabis farmer cooperative Emerald Grown.

Allen, who grew up in Humboldt County, the heart of California’s Emerald Triangle, said he took part in such a deal himself from 2006 to 2008.

“I was a sharecropper for a few years. It was kind of how you got established in the business,” Allen said.

In that sense, he said, it was akin to “an apprenticeship, where you manage someone else’s farm for less than you were worth before you got your own farm.”

These days, Allen said, it’s more a question of precisely how such agreements and contracts are structured, which he noted can often get “messy.”'
https://mjbizdaily.com/contract-cannabis-farming-gaining-popularity-in-california-but-practice-draws-lawsuits/

'With revenue of $10.6 billion-$13 billion in 2019, sales of legal adult-use and medical marijuana in the United States topped spending on sleep aids, hard seltzer and toothpaste combined.

Total marijuana sales now exceed the National Basketball Association’s annual U.S. revenue and, by 2024, could surpass Americans’ annual spending on craft beer.

The data – published in the 2020 edition of the Marijuana Business Factbook – underscores the fact that the U.S. cannabis industry is already a major economic force, even though it has yet to reach its full potential.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-retail-cannabis-sales-surpass-nba-revenue-approach-prescription-pain-meds/

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cbd-oil-vs-hemp-oil-whats-the-difference/

'Fifty years ago, these men who are now feared in Kathmandu’s restaurants would be welcomed at Freak Street in shops called ‘Your Old & Favorite Hashish Centre.’ In the 1960s and early 70s, cheap and potent marijuana drew thousands of hippies to Kathmandu where they could readily buy one-kilogram boxes of the downer at a pittance.

In 1976, mostly under pressure from the American government which was worried about its young citizens becoming dope addicts, Nepal banned the use and sale of marijuana. The decision had far-reaching implications: the hippies left, tourism was hit, the government lost tax revenue, farmers lost a lucrative cash crop, and the trade in hash went underground, criminalising a legitimate livelihood.

In fact it is said that one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the Maoist revolution in 1996 was that the government’s ban on the production of cannabis was so stringent that it angered the Kham Magars who cultivated it as a major cash crop.'
http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/marijuana-high-time-to-lift-ban,2548

'Among the rural folk of the western hills of Bajura, Bajhang, Rolpa, Rukum and Darchula, hemp collection is an important pastime. Shepherds spin the fibre into thread while grazing their sheep and cattle.

Cannabis plants grow to a height of 20 ft. After harvesting them, villagers shred the leaves and soak the stems in water for up to 20 days. When they are tender the bark is separated from the rest of the plant, smoked above a fire and boiled in ash water. Thin strips are then removed from the bark by hand.

"The older generation used to have holes in their thumbnails through which they passed the strips of fibre and wove them to make thread," says Prem Dahal, proprietor of Hemp House. Dahal has been in the hemp business for over 19 years and is one of few who still use Nepali hemp for his products, even after the emergence of Chinese hemp in the market'
http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=879#.XxU3JxJS_IV

'Thamel trader Prem Dahal is acknowledged by his peers as the pioneer of the hemp trade. He was inspired to take it up 28 years ago after travelling with shepherds in western Nepal and finding that their hardy mattresses were woven from cannabis fibre.

“Hemp fabric is stronger, more absorbent and has better insulation against heat and cold than cotton,” Dahal explains. “Hemp is environmentally friendly.”

Given that half the pesticide sprayed worldwide is in cotton plantations, hemp is a nature-friendly alternative fabric. The plant also prevents soil erosion on mountain slopes because of its thick deep root system, and the fabric can be made into at least 100 types of products. '
https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/clothed-in-cannabis/

'Kathmandu had become a haven for anti-war ‘peaceniks’, draft dodgers, and Vietnam veterans. White House recordings from the early 1970s reveal Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warning Nixon: “They come from Nepal to demonstrate against you because up there they can get free pot … or at least it is legal.”

Banning cannabis drove the cultivation and use of this important cash crop underground and into the hands of organised criminals with police and political protection. Nepal’s subsistence farmers were pushed deeper into poverty, and may even have sparked the Maoist revolution in later years.

Campaigners in Kathmandu now see no reason why Nepal should keep the ban when the Americans who forced it on Nepal have legalised it in 25 states for medical and commercial purposes.'
https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-grass-is-greener-in-nepal/

'There is little industry-wide consensus on cultivation best practice. Some outdoor growers might divert streams to water crops, whereas others pursue dry farming, which uses no irrigation. Indoors, growers sometimes choose cooler, light- emitting diode (LED) lights to substantially decrease water use.

Meanwhile, others simply expand small, energy-intense facilities into larger operations. “There is a wide range of energy efficiency,” Smith says. “Outdoor crops planted from seeds might have a zero footprint, while old-style indoor cultivation can be 500 times more energy intensive.”'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02526-3

'It is increasingly likely that the U.S. hemp industry will see more acreage planted this year than in 1943, the peak of cultivation during World War II.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/a-year-into-a-resurrected-hemp-market-how-are-states-handling-it/

Cannabit from New Frontier Data...

'The 29 U.S. states having reporting licensed hemp cultivation acreage total nearly half a million acres in combined cultivation land area, a massive increase over 2018’s combined U.S. total of just over 100,000 acres.
Colorado leads the nation in hemp cultivation and processing land area with over 80,000 acres reported.
Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Montana lead in hemp program expansion efforts.
Tennessee leads in total hemp licenses issued in 2019.
At least 70% of the 2019 U.S. hemp harvest is intended for extract production.
California is poised to be the top-producing hemp state for both conventional and organic production as thousands of acres have already been planted in 2019'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/hemp-licenses-issued-by-state-2019/

'Federal agriculture officials will delay the requirement that all THC testing on hemp crops must be performed at laboratories registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

And food and drug regulators say it’s a “fool’s errand” to get people to stop taking over-the-counter CBD'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/usda-drops-dea-testing-requirement-while-fda-acknowledges-demand-for-cbd/

'While the numbers of planted acres and participants in the U.S. industrial hemp industry increased rapidly under the pilot programs, and hemp can now be grown legally in nearly every State, the long-term trends for U.S. industrial hemp are uncertain. The long-term economic viability of industrial hemp in the United States will be affected by:•competition from conventional field crops and marijuana (in States where it is legal) for acreage, •well-established foreign competitors for hemp product markets, •the ability to decrease production and pricing uncertainty through transparency and risk management, and,• continued market development'
https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/95930/eib-217.pdf

'Bob Escher said they are “working with the federal government to have hempcrete designated as a certified building material so that architects and builders can specify it with confidence that it will meet certain criteria.”

On their wish list is a loosening of restrictions – including eliminating testing requirements – for producers growing hemp for industrial purposes, though they recognize the challenges that would entail.

“I would like to see that if you’re growing hemp for fiber, you don’t have to test for delta-9 or anything else,” explained Alex Escher. “But that’s probably going to take a while for people and government agencies to accept.”'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/hemp-construction-trade-group-aims-to-ease-usda-regulations-for-producers/

Farmers must be allowed to cultivate the cannabis plant. There should be no restrictions or regulations on the cultivation. This will enable the farmer to have a precious crop that they can barter or trade for other essentials that they require. It will also enable them to sustain themselves in situations of hardships and adverse conditions. Not everybody can or will take the troubles of home growing their own cannabis. The crop from the farmers will enable the larger society to meet its demands for the plant. Historically as well, when there were no curbs on cannabis cultivation, it was usually a handful of farmers in a village who cultivated the crop for the larger community's needs and not everybody. Government and law enforcement must not take legal action against these farmers. They must also not destroy the cannabis crop where they find it growing which is usually among the poorest farmers, tribals and backward communities all over the world. All infrastructural support must be provided to a cannabis farmer as is currently done for farmers of any other crop.
Mar 27, 2020, 10:51 PM

'The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Thursday that it has approved two additional state hemp regulatory plans, as well as three more tribal proposals.

Florida and Kansas are the latest states to have their plans federally accepted, raising the number of state approvals so far to 16. The Blackfeet Nation, the Cayuga Nation and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa also had their plans signed off on.

USDA has been accepting plans on a rolling basis since hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. Last month, South Carolina and West Virginia joined the list of states where proposed regulations for the crop were approved.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-approves-hemp-plans-for-florida-kansas-and-three-indian-tribes/

'The hemp industry scored a victory on Tuesday after the Senate passed a coronavirus relief bill that, for the first time, will allow farmers to access a certain federal loan program amid the pandemic.

Farmers have historically been left out of disaster relief legislation through the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) because they’re eligible for separate programs under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). But those programs are designated for natural disasters, and so industry advocates have been pushing Congress to allow farmers to be eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/hemp-industry-secures-federal-coronavirus-relief-for-farmers-in-senate-passed-bill/

'As the hemp industry develops and more resources become available for crop production, advocates of sustainable production say farmers have a choice: Hemp can be a crop that heals – or it can follow in the same footsteps of other commodities that have caused mass erosion, soil contamination and groundwater pollution.

In the spirit of Earth Day this month, Hemp Industry Daily talked with industry insiders about how hemp farmers can maintain the crop’s green reputation and function through responsible farming practices.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/3-ways-hemp-farmers-can-promote-earth-friendly-cultivation/

'Currently, 16 U.S. states have USDA-approved hemp plans, 18 states retain rules set under their 2014 pilot programs, and three states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands retain plans under review. Operators with hemp already on the market, along with those operating in state pilot programs, need not worry about being compliant with USDA regulations (though they will by October)'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/in-review-hemp-webinar-offers-insights-about-2020-interim-rules/

Looks like an interesting way to promote small businesses and grow your own initiatives..the downside is a threat to plant diversity resulting in fewer natural varieties in the long run.. there needs to be a global initiative to create a seed base of all natural varieties before many of them go extinct..protecting and promoting these natural varieties should be the major push at least at each country's national level with hybrids and genetically modified varieties as a secondary option only if there is no other natural alternative...safeguard your natural seeds..they are your precious future...

'Shearer suspects the seed market is a ripe opportunity for those smaller companies.

“I think it’s a great program for micro, and it’s a great way for us to support these small players,” he said. “They’re limited in the amount of production space, but seeds are really good because you can grow a whole lot of seeds within the space that micros are restricted to.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/ontario-cannabis-store-adding-seeds-to-catalog-to-breathe-life-into-category/

'Hemp is an attractive alternative to cotton due to its comparably low-resource cultivation. It takes about 2,600 gallons of water to produce 1 kilogram of cotton—or a pair of jeans and a shirt—compared to just 80 gallons to 130 gallons for the same amount of hemp.

According to a report by the Stockholm Environment Institute commissioned by the BioRegional Development Group and Worldwide Fund for Nature – Cymru, industrial hemp is “low maintenance.” Hemp also has a short grow cycle, about 110 days to cotton’s 150-day growing season. As there are more calls for organic agriculture, hemp also boasts the benefit of being naturally pest-free and therefore pesticide-free.'
https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-mills/hemp-jeans-agi-denim-cottonized-fibers-205190/

'Nationally, the number of producers reported to have approved hemp licenses increased from 292 in 2014 to 3,852 in 2018, although many of these producers were small, with an average cultivated area under 20 acres. Because of various legal and logistical issues, such as lack of appropriate seeds, uncertainty in production methods, and other factors, not all the licensed producers planted hemp or planted as many acres as they had licensed. However, the number of approved licenses more than doubled between 2017 and 2018, showing a growing interest in production.'
https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2020/june/hope-for-hemp-new-opportunities-and-challenges-for-an-old-crop/

0.3% or 1% THC...having a threshold for naturally growing cannabis is ridiculous and unscientific..more and more studies are emerging that concentrations of THC as high as 30% to 40% are not as much of a health hazard as it is made out to be..definitely not as much of a hazard as 30% to 40% alcohol is...

'Despite a glut in the 2019 CBD market that has left many farmers saddled with their 2019 crop, shady processors and a meager THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) threshold of .3% that led to the destruction of thousands of acres hot-hemp (hemp considered to be marijuana for going over the threshold), the major obstacles in the way of the hemp industry are the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture.'
https://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/local/national-hemp-politics-become-main-focus-of-2020-grow-season/article_4b61173d-575d-5eb9-8d11-a874dfafaf3a.html

'As Black farm ownership hits historic lows, Minnesota entrepreneur Angela Dawson thinks hemp could be part of the solution.

And she’s looking to an old-fashioned model – cooperative farming – to do it. Dawson left a career in food writing and marketing to start 40 Acre Co-op, a network of Black and socially disadvantaged farmers who share resources and profits.

Farming co-ops were once common across the U.S. as farmers pooled resources to acquire land and equipment. In the Black community, co-ops were a way out of sharecropping and tenant-farming agreements that left them mired in poverty.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/interview-how-one-entrepreneur-is-using-hemp-to-restore-black-farm-ownership/

'Unlike other plant-based drugs, for which cultivation and production is concentrated in only a limited number of countries, cannabis is produced in almost all countries worldwide. The cultivation of cannabis plants was reported by 151 countries in the period 2010–2018 – countries home to 96 per cent of the global population – and was reported through either direct indicators (such as the cultivation or eradication of cannabis plants and the eradication of cannabis-producing sites) or indirect indicators (such as seizures of cannabis plants and the origin of cannabis seizures reported by other Member States).' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'Most countries do not have a comprehensive system in place for monitoring areas under illicit cannabis cultivation. At present, the information available is insufficient to produce scientifically accurate global estimates of the area under illicit cannabis cultivation. In addition, most of the estimates of the areas under illicit cannabis cultivation reported to UNODC do not generally meet scientific standards.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'Globally, outdoor cannabis cultivation continues to be more widespread geographically than is indoor cannabis cultivation. Overall, 88 countries reported outdoor cannabis cultivation, law enforcement activities linked to outdoor cannabis cultivation (eradication, seizures of cannabis plants, seizures of cannabis-producing sites) or trends related to outdoor cannabis cultivation over the period 2012–2018, while only 64 countries reported data for those activities as linked to indoor cultivation. Some countries reported both indoor and outdoor cannabis cultivation.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The largest quantities of cannabis herb seized in 2018 were those reported in the Americas (61 per cent of the total), with South America alone accounting for 43 per cent of the global total. Of note is the marked decline in the share of seizures made in North America, which had long been the subregion reporting the largest cannabis herb seizures: on average, 50 per cent of the global total over the period 2008–2018, falling to 17 per cent of the global total in 2018, that is, to less than the total for Africa that year (19 per cent). The next largest regional reported seizure totals in 2018 were those for Asia and Europe.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'The quantity of cannabis herb seized in 2018 declined by 16 per cent compared with a year earlier, falling to 4,303 tons, the lowest level since 1999. As compared with 2010, the quantity seized fell by 34 per cent at the global level, largely due to decreases reported in North America (-84 per cent), with marked declines being reported by Mexico, the United States and Canada. Discussions and policies aimed at liberalizing the cannabis markets, including changes in the drug’s legislation in Canada and some jurisdictions of the United States, legalizing the production, distribution and the recreational use of cannabis, seem to have played a key role in this respect. By contrast, the quantities of cannabis herb seized almost doubled in the rest of the world over the period 2010–2018 (South America: +194 per cent; Oceania: +94 per cent; Europe: +73 per cent; Asia: +71 per cent; Africa: +53 per cent). The global cannabis herb trafficking index, based on qualitative information reported by Member States on trends in cannabis herb trafficking, also increased over the same period, although the trend appeared to be stabilizing in 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'In 2018, the largest quantities of cannabis herb seized worldwide continued to be those reported by Paraguay, followed by the United States and India. Cannabis herb produced in Paraguay is reported to have been mainly destined for neighbouring Brazil (77 per cent) and Argentina (20 per cent). Over the period 2008–2018, the largest cannabis herb seizures worldwide took place in the United States, followed by Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Brazil, India and Egypt' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf

'Currently, Iowa is among 12 U.S. states banning the sale of smokable hemp flower, though no other state levels criminal penalties for simple possession (in Louisiana, selling prohibited hemp can net a $300 fine for a first offense, though neither retailers nor consumers are subject to jail time).

A common reason for banning smokable hemp is the plant’s close resemblance to cannabis. Lacking a test from a certified lab, it is practically impossible for law enforcement to distinguish between hemp and cannabis flower, leading to confusion, added complexity, and time spent if seized in transport.

Thus — though the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed a system for hemp operators to confirm their legitimacy — most states have opted instead for an outright ban of hemp flower.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/smokable-hemp-leaves-lack-of-clarity-in-the-hawkeye-state/

'To put it plainly, hemp is a bioaccumulator. It’s really good at absorbing heavy metals and can absorb a vast range of compounds from the soil – including radioactive elements, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, explosives and fuel.

These bioaccumulative properties are one of hemp’s superepowers. But they’re also a major hindrance to the industry.

Hemp is often used for phytoremediation, which is essentially nature’s way of vacuuming heavy metals and other toxins out of the soil. Hemp cleans up the mess left behind from industrial waste and poor farming practices, and it does so in three ways.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/how-to-avoid-heavy-metal-accumulation-in-your-hemp-crop/

'Here we describe stable isotope based models using hydrogen and carbon isotope ratios to predict geographic region-of-origin and growth environment for marijuana, with the intent of applying these models to analyses of marijuana trafficking in the USA. The models were developed on the basis of eradication specimens and border specimens seized throughout the USA. We tested reliability of the geographic region-of-origin and growth environment models with a “blind” set of 60 marijuana eradication specimens obtained from counties throughout the USA. The two geographic region-of-origin model predictions were 60–67% reliable and cultivation environment model predictions were 86% accurate for the blind specimens. We demonstrate here that stable isotope ratio analysis of marijuana seizures can significantly improve our understanding of marijuana distribution networks and it is for that purpose that these models were developed.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1355030609001750?via%3Dihub

'“It is hardly a surprise that those who elect to clandestinely cultivate cannabis on federal lands engage in practices that provide greater potential risks to both the environment and to the end product itself,” Paul Armentano, deputy director for the advocacy group NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “By contrast, a legal market provides regulatory oversight and demands that those engaged in these activities be licensed and utilize best practices.”

“While legalization itself will likely not entirely eliminate the illicit market, just as, for instance, broader alcohol legalization has not eliminated moonshining in its entirety,” Armentano added, “the reality is that it will continue to severely curtail these activities and the involvement of criminal entrepreneurs.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/feds-hire-hazmat-firm-for-marijuana-eradication-training/

'The agency is proposing that all fees will be 50% lower than the current fee for a Tier 1 License. That would make a special permit $1,000.

Tier 1 cultivation licenses limit canopy space to 1 acre or less.

The draft policy also proposes that applicants may apply for a waiver, deferment or payment plan if the reduced fees are too high'
https://mjbizdaily.com/jamaica-to-lower-cannabis-industry-entry-barriers-for-small-farmers/

'Results and conclusion: Through a detailed analysis of the available resources about the origins of C. sativa we found that its use by ancient civilizations as a source of food and textile fibers dates back over 10,000 years, while its therapeutic applications have been improved over the centuries, from the ancient East medicine of the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C. to the more recent introduction in the Western world after the 1st century A.D. In the 20th and 21th centuries, Cannabis and its derivatives have been considered as a menace and banned throughout the world, but nowadays they are still the most widely consumed illicit drugs all over the world. Its legalization in some jurisdictions has been accompanied by new lines of research to investigate its possible applications for medical and therapeutic purposes.'
https://www.eurekaselect.com/182145/article

The poor and labouring classes, who have been forced back to the villages by the changes in the world, must try and redefine their way of life. They must look at agriculture once again as an option for livelihood. Whoever has the means to practice agriculture, must do so. They must endeavour to become sustainable through the most important occupation in the world. The lure of the big cities, with their dreams of big money made fast, must be resisted as much as possible. If each displaced family or individual can try and become self sustainable through agriculture at the rural level, the chances of the world becoming sustainable greatly increase. Working on the land brings far greater riches in terms of the fruits of labour, health and contentment, than any other form of toil does. The push to force the migration of rural people to cities and the promise of a better life in the city, must be reduced. Sustainability must grow from the grassroots once again. Agriculture is the grassroots.

'The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Thursday that it has approved two additional state hemp regulatory plans, as well as three more tribal proposals.

Florida and Kansas are the latest states to have their plans federally accepted, raising the number of state approvals so far to 16. The Blackfeet Nation, the Cayuga Nation and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa also had their plans signed off on.

USDA has been accepting plans on a rolling basis since hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. Last month, South Carolina and West Virginia joined the list of states where proposed regulations for the crop were approved.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-approves-hemp-plans-for-florida-kansas-and-three-indian-tribes/

'The Rodale Institute received a permit for its research project in 2017 as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Project. The institute’s research will take four years and will focus on utilizing industrial hemp as a cash crop (in its Variety Trial), as well as using it as a cover crop to address weed pest issues and enhance soil health in organic agriculture (in its Weed Suppression Trial). Another goal is to help farmers benefit from hemp’s economic and environmental opportunities, the groups say.'
http://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/science/organic-hemp-research-gains-sponsors-cv-sciences-patagonia-and-dr-bronners

'And Lebanon's farmers say the change can't come too soon. As in many parts of the region, the country's farmlands have been disproportionately affected by global warming. The Bekaa Valley, nestled between Mount Lebanon and Syria, is stricken with droughts, and many wells are drying up. Growing potatoes, onions and other produce native to the region has been harder than ever before, experts and farmers say.
But cannabis is a drought-resistant crop, requiring little water and no pesticides. And it flourishes in the high altitudes of the Bekaa plains.'
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/09/middleeast/lebanon-cannabis-climate-change-intl/index.html

'When people think of cannabis production in developing countries, they tend to picture drug cartels and bandits. The truth, says Martin Jelsma of the Transnational Institute (TNI), a Dutch drug-policy research organization, is that most growers are poor farmers, often women, who cultivate marijuana on small holdings in the hills and mountains.

Now they are competing with Western corporations. And with no international institution to represent them because of the illegality of marijuana in most of the world -- even the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, whose mandate is to fight rural poverty and hunger, has no experts or policy on this cash crop -- growers risk being left behind.'
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/17/world/cannabis-developing-countries-intl/index.html

'During a meeting in September with CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture), the department was asked about the perceived delays in greenlighting commercial hemp farming.

“They just said, ‘Look … it’s something that’s never been done before with the department of agriculture,’” Serbin said, adding the agency explained it needs to regularly consult with its lawyers as it moves forward. “It’s more just internal bureaucracy as to why it’s taking so long. There’s nobody holding it back or anything.”'
https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/regulatory/hemp-farming-california-plagued-roadblocks

'Until now, we could only use seeds in Croatia, the rest had to be destroyed. Under the new law, the Agriculture Ministry will keep a record of who plants it, how much and where, and report it to the Interior Ministry. Hemp use will be possible in the auto industry, cosmetics, construction and other industries," Kujundzic said.'
https://www.total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/32071-marijuana-croatia

'Given both its size and cultural experience of centuries’ worth of cultivation of cannabis sativa for the plant’s strong fibers used to manufacture paper, fabric, and rope, it is not surprising that China is the world’s leader in hemp cultivation, processing, manufacturing, and exports. Until recently, China maintained half of the world’s total planting area for industrial hemp, along with half of the world’s cannabis-related patents. In 2017, Chinese domestic consumer sales of hemp were estimated at $1.1 billion (USD), or more than 1/3 of the global market. Already boasting such a substantial hemp-derived textile industry, the country’s growing CBD market is likewise poised to dominate as consumers become more familiar with the increasingly destigmatized product’s versatility.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/fresh-perspectives-arising-from-the-pacific-rim/

'The image of traditional farming in Oklahoma could be slowly changing to a hemp farm. The demand for hemp is growing and other farmers are seeing it and wanting a piece of it. Wheat and other crop producers from across the state, as far as Guymon, were at Thursday's harvest ceremony, to learn more about hemp.'
https://okcfox.com/news/local/first-hemp-harvest-in-decades-in-oklahoma

'“Wine and cannabis are two ancient and bounteous gifts of Mother Nature, linked by great care, terroir and temperateness,” Coppola said in a press release. “Expertise making one applies to the other.”

“As with growing grapes, location matters, and The Grower’s Series reflects California agricultural expertise creating a true blend of art and science.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/godfather-director-francis-ford-coppola-launches-luxury-marijuana-brand/

Cultivating and harvesting ganja is a more powerful, sustainable and universal way of developing a region and its people than generating power through wind farms which may benefit a few...ganja cultivation legalization and development should be pursued at least in parallel with non-conventional energy development as a minimum sustainable development strategy...

'Attappady, the bleak tribal hinterland which often hits headlines for everything from malnutrition deaths to marijuana cultivation, is now emerging as a non-conventional energy hub of Kerala.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/attappady-may-soon-turn-nonconventional-energy-hub/article7610037.ece

Legalize the ganja for the upliftment of poor farmers in rural India...

'Till about five years ago, Appalakonda (name changed), an adivasi farmer of Madimalla village in GK Veedhi mandal, used to earn just enough to feed his wife and three kids. In his small 1.5 acre farm on a hillslope, he cultivated millets and the odd paddy crop, if the rain gods were kind that year. Today he owns a Hero Honda motorcycle, watches satellite TV, and sends his children to schools and clothes them in fashionable denim.

Life has changed ever since he switched to ganja.

The lifestyle change is stark in nine out of the 11 mandals in the Agency areas of Visakhapatnam district. In about 150 villages across these nine mandals, ganja cultivation has replaced traditional crops and brought about a sea change in the local economy.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/marijuana-cultivation-in-vizag-where-grass-is-greener/article7638104.ece

Legalize ganja cultivation to provide a sustainable form of livelihood and an alternate crop for tribal communities. By preventing the legal cultivation of a priceless medicinal herb, we play right into the hands of undesirable elements and push tribal communities to the brink...we are talking about a crop which has the potential of trillions of dollars worldwide in trade revenue here...

'Until 20 years ago, ganja cultivation was not heard of in the Agency villages of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. With a heritage of podu cultivation, tribal farmers in the some of the more remote villages scratched about on the hill slopes to raise millets and coarse cereals and teetered on the edge of food security. Ganja cultivation as an alternative to conventional cropping was practised in the Lambada tandas of Warangal and Nalgonda districts in the then undivided Andhra Pradesh.

... As with the Lambada tribals of Telangana, they found the tribals of the Agency hills easy to persuade to switch to ganja, a plant that needs little tending.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/How-the-seeds-of-weed-were-sown/article10358103.ece

'The Post Crescent reports that while this year's harvest doesn't look the best because of wet weather and inexperienced growers, interest in the crop is strong after legislative action this year lifted the state's decades-old ban on industrial hemp.'
https://www.wsaw.com/content/news/Wisconsin-sees-increasing-interest-in-hemp-production-500755431.html

'Research by Dixon’s team is focused on controlled environment production of medical marijuana, with proprietary plant-growing technology using chambers to monitor and regulate all variables throughout the growth, including nutrient demands.

The research involves attaching sensors to the plants to see how they respond to different types of management strategies.

This approach and the systems in place allow his team to produce organically grown and pesticide-free, high-yielding strains of cannabis, which, in turn, can generate high-quality products that are consistent from batch to batch.'
http://www.atimes.com/article/canadian-lab-helps-mission-to-mars-grows-better-cannabis/

'Besides benefiting the town (and themselves), the founders have another goal: ensuring that Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand — who make up 95 percent of Ruatoria’s population — share in the economic gains from the medicinal cannabis industry.

“Our indigenous people here are the masters of growing marijuana,” said Robin Thomson, 54, a grower for Hikurangi, referring to flourishing illegal operations in the area.'
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/18/world/asia/new-zealand-cannabis.html

'The number of farmers who registered with the state of Vermont to grow hemp rose more than 400 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to the state Agency of Agriculture. The amount of acreage reported to be under cultivation increased 450 percent, with growth spread fairly evenly around the state.'
https://vtdigger.org/2018/11/18/enthusiasm-over-cbd-helps-fuel-growing-hemp-market-in-vermont/

'“More than twenty industrial hemp-producing countries worldwide each generate millions of dollars in revenue selling everything from fabrics to personal care products made from one of the world’s oldest crops,” said Pinkin (D-Middlesex). “Allowing our farmers to grow hemp will be an economic engine for our agribusiness and a way to preserve more farm space in our state.”'
http://www.assemblydems.com/Article.asp?ArticleID=14743

'The state cultivates the most hemp out of any state with 30,825 registered acres, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Historically, between 60-70 percent of the registered acres are cultivated.

The state’s mix of a robust agricultural economy, hemp-friendly technology and scientific research on the plant are the key factors for Colorado’s success, said Hunter Buffington, executive director of the Colorado Hemp Industries Association.

“We are leading the country,” she said.'
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/11/20/hemp-taking-off-as-viable-product-and-colorado-entrepreneurs-at-the-forefront-of-industry/

'Hemp is a growing commodity for states across the nation, as both the stalk and seed from hemp can be used in the production of a variety of goods, including clothing, building materials, fuel, paper, and consumer products. Industrial hemp is defined by .3 percent THC or less, and nationally, industrial hemp products generate nearly $600 million per year in sales. New York has an opportunity to lead industry growth by creating more opportunities for businesses to produce and manufacture the product.

This year, with the addition of more than 100 new research partners, approximately 3,500 acres of New York farmland are approved for industrial hemp research, compared to 2,000 acres in 2017. The New York State Industrial Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot Program now has over 29 processors registered.'
https://www.agriculture.ny.gov/AD/release.asp?ReleaseID=3848

'“I may grow some hemp on my farm. I’m looking at it,” Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) told Minnesota Public Radio on Monday. “There’s a big market for this stuff that we’ve been ceding to Canada and other places.”

Paterson, who is expected to take over the chairmanship of the agriculture panel when Democrats seat their majority in the next Congress beginning in January, also told ABC affiliate WDAY that he recently received a visit from a Colorado hemp farmer who explained “how they plant it, how they harvest it.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/next-house-agriculture-committee-chair-might-grow-hemp-on-his-farm/

It's a victory for agriculture across the world in the worldwide action against climate change...here's wishing the bill safe passage through the House...

'Perhaps no one is more pleased than Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who fought for the provision over months of debate on the wide-ranging agriculture legislation. He even signed the conference report finalizing the bill language with a hemp pen on Monday.

In opening remarks from the Senate floor on Tuesday, McConnell said the inclusion of hemp legalization is “a victory for farmers and consumers throughout our country.”

It builds on the progress of the hemp pilot program he helped put in the 2014 Farm Bill, the results of which he said “have been nothing short of extraordinary.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/lawmakers-from-both-parties-celebrate-hemp-legalization-in-the-farm-bill/

'More broadly, the passage of the Farm Bill represents a sweeping change in the balance of power in global hemp markets. The United States has historically been an importer of hemp products from Canada, Europe, and China. Now, with the Farm Bill as its tailwind, the U.S. hemp market will expand to lead the global hemp industry by 2020, representing 32% of a 5.7 billion global market in 2020.

As the U.S. hemp industry matures, it will transition from being a seed, textile, and industrial product importer to a global exporter. Until now, the U.S. has lagged behind countries like Canada and France with hemp legislation. With final passage, the Farm Bill aims the industry to accelerate and establish itself as a global hemp powerhouse led by hemp-derived CBD.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/the-farm-bill-effect-impacts-on-global-hemp-markets-and-hemp-company-revenues/

In a place where ganja cultivation was practiced traditionally, farmers are forced to now cultivate it in forests or in hiding, in spite of the failure of other crops to sustain their livelihood. The farmers face prosecution, the forests get damaged and the black market thrives.

'A major contributing factor to this shift towards the illegal cultivation is the drought. The past two monsoons have seen a rainfall deficit ranging from 26% to 37%, leading to over 530 hectares of areca plantations drying up.

Ganja cultivation is also high-risk, high-return. Paddy was being cultivated under rain-fed method, however, and the prices do not justify the input costs. According to the Karnataka Agriculture Prices Commission, the cost of cultivation of 100 kg of paddy here is Rs. 2,800. The prevailing market rate is around Rs. 1,500. Even ginger, which saw an eight-fold rise in acreage after prices hit Rs. 15,000 per 100 kg, has now slumped to barely Rs. 2,200.

In comparison, a kilo of ganja powder — from barely 20 plants — can give around Rs. 20,000, according to sources.'
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/ganja-attracts-shivamogga-farmers-as-drought-wilts-paddy-and-ginger-hopes/article17450816.ece

'Several major hurdles undermining hemp cultivators’ ability to run successful, profitable businesses are set to crumble once President Donald Trump signs the 2018 Farm Bill.

Challenges such as finding processors or accessing banking services – problems attributable to the patchwork of state laws and regulations that have so far underpinned the industry – will be directly addressed by the legislation.

In addition, issues such as finding adequate harvesting equipment or qualified management could be resolved over time as a result of hemp and CBD’s new federally legal status.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-2018-farm-bill-addresses-major-pain-points-for-hemp-industry/

'The Government will in the first quarter of this year, unveil a development programme for farmers in the ganja sector. I have spoken with the Agriculture Minister to ensure the small farmers in the sector are protected as the global marijuana industry expands. #NewJamaica'
https://twitter.com/AndrewHolnessJM/status/1082689764380368896

'Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet and is great opportunity for farmers who are looking for variety in their crop production #TexasAgricutureMatters'
https://twitter.com/TexasDeptofAg/status/1081584904067002368

'“With our world class universities like Colorado State and Adams State, which are at the forefront of hemp innovation with the leading hemp manufacturers and cultivators already here, we want to seize on this opportunity under the most recent national Farm Bill to help make Colorado the national leader in industrial hemp production,” Polis said, referencing the wide-ranging agriculture legislation that federally legalized the crop.

The governor also mentioned that the programs for his inauguration on Wednesday were “printed on hemp paper.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/colorado-governor-touts-marijuana-and-industrial-hemp-in-state-of-the-state-address/

' - What exactly is hemp used for? The better question is what can't it be used for. Hemp is a durable material that can be fashioned into everything from food and beer to clothing to beauty products. Hemp can also be used to make plastic, an alternative biofuel, cars, and an estimated 25,000 other products.
- Is it difficult to grow? Nope, hemp is a farmer's best friend. It's good for the soil, helping to remove toxins. It grows well with little fertilizer, no pesticides, and less water than many other crops. It's also extremely dense, which means it takes less valuable farmland. It's relatively profitable (Canadian farmers are reporting $300 per/acre profits). And it grows fast—that's where the name weed came from.
- So I've heard it's good for combating climate change. Why's that? While not a silver bullet for climate, hemp is one of many possible agricultural solutions for a variety of reasons. Hemp actually absorbs more CO2 than trees, needs less water than plants like cotton, and can also be used to make a sustainable biofuel.'
https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2019/01/whats-fuss-about-hemp

'Indiana farmers have shown an "extreme amount of interest" in growing hemp, according to Marty Mahan, president of the Indiana Farmers Union hemp chapter. And it keeps "growing more and more," he said.

"It's pretty tough to make a decent living off of corn and soy with grain prices what they are right now," the fifth-generation farmer said.

Industrial hemp was fetching prices that were about $100 to $300 more per acre compared to corn or soy beans, according to Mahan. Hemp is not expected to replace either crop, he added, but it offers farmers a way to diversify.

"I think a lot of farmers would get on board with it," he said. "To get another crop that provides more income than traditional row crops will keep family farms and smaller farmers afloat a little longer." '
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/environment/2019/01/21/farm-bill-2018-means-hemp-could-soon-grow-in-indiana-for-cbd-oil-fibers/2514915002/

'Hickey added that in order to meet growing demand for hemp, Atalo Holdings has had to dramatically increase its production capacity. Last year, before the Farm Bill’s passage, the company had roughly 60 farmers in its grower group that cultivated about 700 acres of hemp. For the 2019 growing season, however, the company is looking to increase its grower group to between 250 and 300 farmers, seeking to cultivate between 8,000 to 12,000 acres.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/an-early-mover-in-the-industry-seeks-helpful-answers-for-hemp-farmers/

'“With the approval of the export of medical cannabis, a new department will be opened for Israeli farmers, which will strengthen the whole of agriculture, thereby creating a winning combination of agro-medical and high-tech,” Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel tweeted, saying it was a “historic day.”'
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ministers-approve-exports-of-medical-marijuana/

'More companies than ever are lining up to be licensed cannabis cultivators in Canada despite an increasingly competitive market outlook, according to new data from the country’s regulatory body for cannabis producers.

As of Dec. 31, 2018, almost 840 site applications were in the licensing pipeline, Health Canada told Marijuana Business Daily.

That’s a 30% increase from August, when 588 applicants were in the queue.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/reckoning-coming-cannabis-licensed-cultivators-applicants-near-1000-in-canada/

Seems like a good move...

'Washington state will consider allowing small cannabis farmers to sell directly to consumers, similar to what’s allowed for wineries, breweries and distilleries, according to the state’s top marijuana regulator.

The move, if approved by regulators, would give smaller growers a financial shot in the arm through increased sales – and could spur other states to follow suit.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/washington-state-may-allow-small-marijuana-growers-to-sell-direct-to-consumers/

'Industrial hemp production significantly increased in the U.S. in 2018, with farmers cultivating three times as many acres of the crop as compared to the pervious year, according to a report released on Monday.

Farmers grew more than 78,000 acres of legal hemp last year, the advocacy group VoteHemp reported. In 2017, they grew about 26,000 acres and in 2016, the total was just under 10,000 acres.

But while those are impressive gains—the product of a growing number of state-level reform policies that expanded the pool of farmers licensed to grow hemp and universities authorized to research it under a previous Farm Bill passed in 2014—expect another massive surge in 2019 thanks to hemp’s outright legalization through the new Farm Bill signed by President Trump last month.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/industrial-hemp-cultivation-exploded-in-the-u-s-last-year-report-shows/

'According to the KDA, out of the 1,115 hemp applications, 1,035 were granted grower status. That's up from the 210 licensed growers in 2018.

"It exceeded expectations," said Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles about the number of applications his office received. "... The enthusiasm for the crop continues to grow. And I'm proud of our hemp staff for wading through all of those hemp applications in a very timely manner so that we can position Kentucky to be the epicenter of industrial hemp in 2019."'
http://www.the-messenger.com/news/local/article_58bdb6d8-658b-5062-b2d9-c0869b167669.html

'The igniting of new growth from the Farm Bill passage is expected to be somewhat tempered this year by the fact that some new growers are in wait-and-see mode. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has yet to issue standards for hemp. With the federal government shutdown, those new regulations may be slow in coming.

Given the lack of federal guidelines, Sinning said he foresees the real explosion in hemp to come next year. Even with that growth, the Farm Bill passage is anticipated to change the tenor of what had been a kind of rush to make a buck from humankind’s oldest domesticated crop. Hemp growing is expected to settle into a more mainstream endeavor.
https://coloradosun.com/2019/02/01/hemp-has-arrived-colorado-crops-double-after-farm-bill-makes-growing-more-legit/

'Historically, hemp has been an agricultural product that has graced many a farmer’s field, including famous farmers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Most recently, the 2018 Farm Bill has classified hemp that contains less than 0.3% of THC as a commodity crow. So what’s your role in hemp growth today?'
https://www.agweb.com/article/whats-the-farmers-role-in-growing-hemp-/

'“[Animal] Feed, it possibly could be involved in there. That has not been one of the primary uses we’ve heard of. We hear a lot of industrial uses for it, but I think it remains to be seen if part of the product could be used in animal agriculture. Happy cows,” he jokes.'
https://www.agweb.com/article/perdue-answers-buzz-on-hemp-in-animal-feed/

'“I had always known about this legendary region and that trip changed my life. I saw the plant for the very first time in its rightful place under the sun and in the soil and growing in harmony with fruits and vegetables.”

Through networking with “a real community of real farmers” he met “a visionary partner” in Casey O’Neill, who Steinmez credits with “planting a seed in my mind that cannabis for this community is a cash crop that subsidizes the production of everything else. So many small farms were getting pushed off of the land by big agriculture and cannabis could be the tool to enable them to get back to being shepherds of their land."'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/katieshapiro/2019/02/14/californias-largest-sun-grown-cannabis-company-raises-record-breaking-125-million-financing-round/

'Earlier, wandering around, I had asked why there were so few men to be seen. I was told they were busy preparing the fields for the cannabis crop, to be harvested in September-October. Only one crop is raised in a year, but it has become the all-important one. Cannabis traders and backpacker stoners have changed the village forever. The outside world has permanently elbowed itself into this once veritable Shangri-La.'
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/in-the-valley-of-cannabis/article24125710.ece

Legalize it India...

'Here's the dope on a big business: Nearly 1,000 villages devote 10,000 acres to a plant used to make a product that commands a price of Rs 40,000 per kg in major urban markets. The plant is cannabis. The place is Paderu in Andhra Pradesh, the centre of eight mandals that cultivate the plant. Tune in as ET's Shantanu Nandan Sharma takes you inside the cannabis capital of India.'
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/paderu-inside-indias-cannabis-capital/videoshow/65546994.cms

'Each acre of illegal marijuana plantation has around 1,000 plants and each of these plants produce around Rs. 1000 worth of marijuana. So, the total value of destroyed cultivation is worth more than Rs. 71 crore, Mr Sethi said.

Marijuana is cultivated in remote hilly jungle areas. Outsiders finance the cultivation and use the local tribals for the purpose. Most of it is forest land. But modern irrigation system through pipelines and pumps is used for these plantations.'
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/odisha-crackdown-on-marijuana-cultivation/article25593953.ece

'The Farm Journal survey – targeted to both crop producers and those raising livestock – asked respondents to rate their level of agreement with statements relating to whether farmers should grow various forms of cannabis and whether they would use these types of cannabis.

Products ranged from high-CBD, low-THC medical cannabis to high-THC recreational marijuana.

Although 98% of respondents were not currently involved in growing cannabis, 48% said they would consider it in the future.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-farmer-and-rancher-perceptions-of-cannabis-reflect-growing-acceptance-nationwide/

Legalize ganja cultivation and consumption in both Odisha and Kerala to support farmers, distributors, retailers and consumers. Legalize it so that Excise officials can focus on dangerous chemical drugs and serious crimes. Legalize it to free the burden on the legal system and on society.

'Biju, according to senior Excise officials, was just one among the many from Idukki who had moved to the inaccessible stretches of the Andhra-Odisha belt with a veritable boom of the marijuana crop there. “Sourced in huge quantities through the local agents there, the contraband is invariably brought to Idukki for redistribution as home gown variety at double the price,’’ said a senior official.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/ganja-from-odisha-flows-to-idukki/article24268895.ece

'Approximately 65% of sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural land is degraded, according to data collected in 2015, resulting in food insecurity and a declining economy in a region where the agricultural industry employs more than half of the total labor force. Hemp’s soil nutrient replenishing properties could be the key to reviving crop production, providing a novel food source (hemp seeds) and boosting the agro-based economies of South Africa and other hemp-cultivating sub-Saharan countries.'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/10/23/the-age-of-hemp-global-advanced-industrial-applications/

' - Hemp could challenge fossil-fuel-based products in a range of areas: Innovations in hemp-based bioplastics and biofuels (spurred by falling production costs) will lead to hemp-based products’ challenging petroleum-based products, including (as is already being done) BMW vehicle interiors. Ever since TV host and comedian Jay Leno posted an online video of himself test-driving a 2017 Renew sports car (with a chassis fashioned from 100 pounds of woven hemp), fewer potential participants have been willing to get left behind;
- Hemp cultivation in less-developed countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America will provide a high-volume, low-cost source for CBD, posing a considerable challenge to higher-cost producers in North America and Europe. Nevertheless, given the nascent hemp production in the developing markets, need will persist for the transfer of significant knowledge, technology, and capital for such emerging nations to develop the requisite processes and quality standards to sufficiently serve international markets.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/global-hemp-poised-to-make-its-impact-with-a-post-industrial-heyday/

'HB 581, the Hemp Manufacturing Act, UNANIMOUSLY approved by the Senate! This first of its kind legislation creates an important framework to encourage hemp business in New Mexico and partner with Native nations, tribes and pueblos in this promising industry.'
https://twitter.com/GovMLG/status/1104924022326812672

'Amid all this confusion, hemp scientists are trying to unravel the intricacies of farming the plant. Most are starting with two key strains that are used to make fiber and seed. For these strains, some of the groundwork is set, thanks to relevant research in Europe and Canada. Scientists also know that fiber and seed hemp behave like other major U.S. crops—farmers sow individual seeds and machine-harvest the plants. And since fiber hemp was the only version previously farmed on an industrial scale in the U.S., Post also tapped into the limited academic literature for a sense of the plant’s basic qualities.'
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-race-to-relearn-hemp-farming/

'In the meantime the boom in demand for hemp is good news for the US environment because the fast-growing and hardy plant needs little water, and therefore requires far less irrigation than corn, wheat or soybeans in dry areas.

Hemp plants can also be planted very close together, making it high yielding. And unlike marijuana, whose plants are typically half as tall and have bigger leaves, hemp isn't fussy about temperature and humidity.

China is currently the world's largest exporter of hemp products, but the US industry wants to change that.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-47400789

Legalize marijuana federally to simplify the process of hemp cultivation across the US.

'On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave stakeholders in the nation’s hemp economy an opportunity to provide input on rules to legally regulate the crop that are currently being developed.

Hemp, which was federally legalized as part of the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Trump in December, had previously been restricted by the Justice Department as a controlled substance. Now USDA has primary responsibility for overseeing legal cultivation of marijuana’s non-psychoactive cannabis cousin.

But the agency is still in the process of establishing a set of regulations covering areas such as land use, certification, product testing and disposal of hemp containing excess THC.

After those federal rules are in place, USDA will begin reviewing proposed hemp plans submitted by state agriculture departments.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-receives-hemp-legalization-feedback-from-states-and-stakeholders/

Legalize the recreational use and farming of the plant of paradise in Lebanon so that small farmers can grow and sell the crop to earn revenue, so that the people of Lebanon and the people of the world can enjoy Lebanese hashish like French wine or Cuban cigars or Swiss chocolates...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t13qTmAP7c0

Legalize ganja in Swaziland/Eswatini to give the people a source of revenue that they badly need to escape from poverty. Legalize it to protect a precious strain of ganja from extinction. Legalize it so that the people of the world can enjoy the herb that nature created in Swaziland/Eswatini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM7ZBT9SO1M

Legalize ganja in Swaziland to give the people a source of revenue that they badly need to escape from poverty. Legalize it to protect a precious strain of ganja from extinction. Legalize it so that the people of the world can enjoy the herb that nature created in Swaziland/Eswatini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M5Ok8a6o1g

Legalize ganja in Congo to give the farmers the right to grow a crop that will bring them revenue, the people a healthy medicine and natural recreational drug. Legalize it to protect precious local strains that can be of great benefit to the world's population.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwciNb-BZIk

Europeans funding Indian politicians and police to destroy the precious plant in Himachal, say the Strain Hunters. Legalize ganja in India. We are out on a limb and chopping it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqFiucWKo-8

There is no alternative crop to ganja in this situation so let us not fool the farmer and ourselves. It is the best suited for cultivation in these areas and we are lucky that there are farmers with the knowledge and expertise to cultivate the valuable crop. Please legalize the plant to support these farmers, to stop the destruction of the plant, to stop wastage of time and resources by law enforcement agencies and to stop the supply of crop to illegal traders to name just a few reasons.

'Ganja crop spread across thousands of acres in more than a 1,000 villages of six mandals in Visakha agency area is now ready for harvesting, with locals blaming ineffective measures by enforcement agencies to address cultivation and and transportation of the crop.

A new crop of this size gives ample room for growers to sell the contraband in different parts of the country. Though the joint forces – prohibition and excise, police, forest and revenue - destroy 1.35 crore ganja plants in more than 3,000 acres in Visakha agency last year, they reportedly were not proactive in providing tribals an alternative crop which they could take up for cultivation, sources said, adding that this left a vacuum which was again filled by the ganja crop.'
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/bumper-ganja-crop-waiting-to-be-harvested-in-agency-areas/articleshow/66516899.cms

Legalize ganja to protect the farmer from unjust law enforcement and to provide the farmer with an additional crop.

'“Ranparia had done the cultivation of ganja among the crops of cotton and tuvar dal (split pigeon peas). We recovered 53 plants of ganja from the farm,” said J V Dhola, inspector of Gir Somnath special operation group.'
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/73kg-ganja-seized-ganja-cultivation-found/articleshow/66871859.cms

'Unfortunately for all of us, opportunities for this sort of thing to happen are legion. A few years ago a team of Food and Drug Administration scientists discovered that when malathion and certain other organic phosphates are administered simultaneously a massive poisoning results - up to 50 times as severe as would be predicted on the basis of adding the toxicities of the two. In other words, 1/100 of the lethal dose of each compound may be fatal when the two are combined.

The discovery led to the testing of other combinations. It is now known that many pairs of organic phosphate insecticides are highly dangerous, the toxicity being stepped up or 'potentiated' through the combined action. Potentiation seems to take place when one compound destroys the liver enzyme responsible for detoxifying the other. The two need not be given simultaneously. The hazard exists not only for the man who must spray this week with one insecticide and the next week with another; it exists also for the consumer of sprayed products. The common salad bowl may easily present a combination of organic phosphate insecticides. Residues well within the legally permissible limits may interact.'
- Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'Pate declined to identify any hemp farmers by name. But clearly, hemp will be coming to farms across the state soon.

“They’ll be planted in mid-to-late April, harvested after about 90 days or 100 days,” Pate said.

So, by late summer, Alabama will have its first legal hemp crop in decades.'
https://www.al.com/life/2019/03/hemp-comes-to-alabama-state-approves-180-hemp-farmers.html

'Quarles also said Monday that more than 50,000 acres (20,234 hectares) have been approved for Kentucky hemp production in 2019, more than triple the approved acreage in 2018. The number of approved hemp grower applicants for 2019 is set to be 1,047, nearly five times higher than in 2018.

Last year, 210 Kentucky farmers planted more than 6,700 acres (2,710 hectares) of hemp.

A mere 33 acres (13 hectares) were planted in 2014, the first year the crop was allowed to be grown on an experimental basis.'
https://www.apnews.com/e904895b187a40fcad2ac0f853cbea56

Growers, distributors and retailers in the Indian ganja business need to support its legalization. Even if its current illegal status fetches a high price for the plant, the risks involved are huge. Some risks are crop destruction by law enforcement; operating under cover to avoid detection; lack of access to the majority of the population; bribing law enforcement; arrests and imprisonment; plant contamination due to unsuitable growing conditions and use of non-optimal storage, packing and distribution; exposure to dangerous and violent criminals; risk of theft, etc. With legalization, ganja farmers can avail the benefits that traditional farmers get, farm under proper conditions using the right methods, without fear of harassment and crop destruction by law enforcement. Distributors can move the crop to a larger national and global market using efficient storage and transportation. Retailers can sell the produce at various outlets, ranging from vegetable carts to high end retail outlets, catering to physical laborers, housewives, neurosurgeons, software engineers, musicians, judges, army personnel, sports persons, grandmothers, government employees and businessmen instead of to students. Profits post taxation could be enjoyed without fear.

Legalize recreational marijuana in Colombia. Offer the cultivation and sales of marijuana to farmers as an alternative to farming for the cocaine industry. Legalize marijuana worldwide to reduce the demand for cocaine and to provide an alternative to users.

'In Colombia, cultivation of coca, the main ingredient of cocaine, has nearly tripled over the past five years. As part of the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country has embarked on a unique experiment to try to end coca farming and production, but freeing Colombia from its cocaine problem is proving difficult. Charlet Duboc travels to the remote towns where coca farming is a way of life to examine the struggle for a cocaine-free Colombia.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJzdrdVOfW0

'New Frontier Data recently presented preliminary findings to the Zimbabwean government while working in collaboration with other regulators in the region to finalize what will be the first rigorous assessments of both risks and opportunities of hemp cultivation in Africa. Aguirre de Carcer commented, “We are honored to be collaborating on this leading-edge endeavor with key nations in Africa, especially given the potentially massive geo-economic impact the cultivation of this new crop could have across sub-Saharan Africa."'
https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/19/03/13405088/africa-symposium-to-assess-socio-economic-impact-of-hemp-cultivation

'For example, the program does not distinguish between imported hemp versus that cultivated domestically in the United States. The program also does not explicitly ban synthetic, or non-hemp-derived CBD from receiving a certification seal. It also excludes ISO 17025 requirements, which govern the general requirements for the competence to carry out laboratory tests and calibrations.

The final issue raised in the letter is that the USHA failed to consult industry experts when crafting the program. Though the USHA invited public commentary, critics allege that its requests for input were primarily circulated within the organization itself and that guidance from the USHA’s board of directors formed the basis of the program.

Responding to the issues raised, the USHA asserts that it is new, revised Guidance Plan 2.0 “will take into account input from farmers and certified companies to further improve the certification.” The USHA added that it is including participation from many of the opponents who spoke out against the original program.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/sealed-with-a-curse-uproar-over-usha-certification-prompts-a-do-over/

'The following information about the USDA Hemp Production Program and Frequently Asked Questions about USDA NIFA research has been updated since passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.'
https://nifa.usda.gov/industrial-hemp

Hemp should be well suited for Indian farmers as well most of whom own small pieces of land.

'Agriculture professionals say the high-value crop can be particularly well-suited to black landowners, who typically have smaller farms and less overall sales than white farmers.

Black farmland accounts for 0.4 percent of U.S. farmland, and sales account for 0.2 percent of total U.S. agriculture sales, according to the USDA. Hemp can be cultivated in tight spaces, especially when harvested for fiber and seed, which are planted in narrow rows. '
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2019/04/01/where-are-the-black-hemp-farmers

'Thus, through the circumstances of their lives, and the nature of our own wants, all these have been our allies in keeping the balance of nature tilted in our favor. Yet we have turned our artillery against our friends. The terrible danger is that we have grossly underestimated their value in keeping at bay a dark tide of enemies that, without their help, can overrun us.

The prospect of a general and permanent lowering of environmental resistance becomes grimly and increasingly real with each passing year as the number, variety, and destructiveness of insecticides grows. With the passing of time we may expect progressively more serious outbreaks of insects, both disease-carrying and crop-destroying species, in excess of anything we have ever known.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'Despite such significant economic opportunities, it may take more time for Wyoming farmers start growing hemp: Under the Farm Bill, states looking to cultivate industrial hemp must submit a regulatory plan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the department has 60 days to approve the plan.

While state officials are working towards submitting their regulatory plan to the USDA, they doubt that it will be approved. The USDA’s rejection has less to do with the plan per se, and more to do with the USDA itself.

According to McDonald, the USDA has told Wyoming agriculture officials that it has no intention on approving the state’s plan until the federal agency has its own hemp regulations in place. Regardless of how quickly the USDA might establish its own rules, the end result will be that farmers will not have enough time to obtain their licenses and still start planting for the 2019 season.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/why-oh-why-is-wyoming-waiting-to-grow-hemp/

'The 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized hemp, shifting regulatory responsibility for the crop from the Justice Department to USDA. But it will still take time before USDA is able to approve state regulatory plans and develop its own standards. Perdue said he expected the rules to be completed with “plenty of time for the 2020 planting season.”

“States will still have a primary responsibility in the regulation of that,” he said. “They are submitting their applications to USDA now.”

“Our goal is to have them out with plenty of time for the 2020 planting season, where we approve the state lands and the states will provide fees for participating, and they will be the primary regulator of the federal rules in that regard,” he said.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-secretary-says-cbd-oil-and-marijuana-are-driving-interest-in-industrial-hemp/

'Representing the world’s fifth largest economy, California stands poised to become a dominant force in the legal hemp industry; especially pending current versions of Congress’ 2018 Farm Bill. Included in that draft is an amendment to fully legalize hemp cultivation at the federal level.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/passage-of-legalization-puts-california-out-front-for-hemp/8

'Up until late last year, Wisconsin prohibited the growth of hemp even though in the early 1900s the state was a leading producer. About four years ago, the federal government reopened the door to the hemp industry by legalizing growth of the crop, as long as it was part of a pilot program overseen by a university or state agriculture department.'
http://www.wuwm.com/post/law-change-creates-market-hemp-wisconsin#stream/0

'Golden State growers have had to deal with a number of expensive and hard-to-navigate obstacles in 2018, including: unfamiliar testing requirements and long lab wait times, new packaging regulations and pricey compliance costs, evolving regulations, price fluctuations and unlicensed operators who can undercut legal businesses.

Despite those hurdles, many California cultivators are optimistic about the future and believe they’ve positioned themselves to succeed.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/california-marijuana-cultivators-are-optimistic-but-wide-range-of-obstacles-remain/

Legalize it?

'The officials told journalists that both tribal and non-tribal farmers had taken to cultivating marijuana plants. Though the plants were periodically destroyed, the farmers continued to indulge in this lucrative business as the interior fields and high mountains were not easily accessible to officials.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/contraband-drugs-destroyed-in-public/article2876208.ece

'According to the Agricultural Research Council, hemp can be used to make more than 25,000 consumer products, from hemp apparel and accessories to houseware and cosmetics.'
https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2018-09-18-sa-forges-ahead-with-guidelines-to-regulate-hemp-cultivation-and-manufacturing/

'Mathiasen said the increase in coca crops also has much to do with the lack of economic alternatives for 119,000 farm families estimated to be growing the illicit crop, and he urged international assistance to help Colombia bear the high cost of such alternatives. The U.N. has long held that crop substitution is the only effective method of combating coca farming.'
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-colombia-coca-20180919-story.html

'Measured by the standards established by Warburg, most pesticides meet the criterion of the perfect carcinogen too well for comfort. As we have seen in the preceding chapter, many of the chlorinated hydrocarbons, the phenols, and some herbicides interfere with oxidation and energy production within the cell. By this means they may be creating sleeping cancer cells, in which an irreversible malignancy will slumber undetected until finally - its cause long forgotten and even unsuspected - it flares into the open as recognizable cancer.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'Allen said he has “big goals,” including making cultivation cooperatives into a Golden State marijuana powerhouse that command 30% of the cannabis flower market by 2023. And he says he already knows 600 cultivators in Northern California who are interested and eligible.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/longtime-head-of-california-cannabis-growers-group-steps-down-to-head-new-mj-venture/

'The Delaware Industrial Hemp Farming bill, Senate Bill 266, permits the Delaware Department of Agriculture to classify hemp as a grain and gives farmers the ability to immediately start cultivating the crop once the federal government passes the 2018 Farm Bill. Wording in the federal bill removes the ban on the production of industrial hemp.'
https://www.capegazette.com/article/bill-allowing-industrial-hemp-farming-now-law/164536

'Evo Hemp’s mission is to use industrial hemp to empower small U.S. farmers and revitalize poor farming communities, according to information supplied by the company. Partnering with the Pine Ridge Reservation, where 90 percent of Lakota residents live below the federal poverty level, is part of that effort.'
https://bizwest.com/2018/09/10/evo-hemp-partners-with-pine-ridge-farmers/

'It has become readily apparent that Indiana needs an additional cash crop to help usher the farming community into more prosperous times. Advocates for the state's agriculture trade believe industrial hemp could be the most beneficial option for the plant and pick economy – and rightfully so. The United States imported more than $67 million of hemp seed and fiber in 2017, according to the Hemp Industries Association, all of which could have been grown right here in America if not for the fact that this plant, a non-intoxicating cousin to marijuana, remains illegal at the federal level.'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeadams/2018/09/09/indiana-farmers-need-industrial-hemp-or-legal-marijuana-to-prosper/

'In particular, the state requirement that all growers use licensed distributors as intermediaries to get their product to market has resulted in a bottleneck in many rural marijuana farming areas, especially Trinity County, which is famously remote and therefore was a perfect stomping ground for illicit cannabis growers for decades.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/how-thousands-of-pounds-of-cannabis-in-california-may-be-left-out-of-the-legal-supply-chain/

Nice...

'“We have to start taking care of our weed (Igbo), such that we can also contribute to the GDP of the world,” he said.

“Some of the best weeds in the world are grown in Ekiti state. I’m very serious. People are making billions out of that particular plant that is very potent in Nigeria. We should be focusing on it.'
http://www.africanews.com/2018/09/07/presidential-aspirant-to-make-nigeria-marijuana-exporting-giant

'There are three weeks before the current farm bill is due to expire on September 30, and while negotiations for the Farm Bill 2018 continue in fine-tuning the new 1,000-plus-page legislative piece, the prognosis is positive for the industrial hemp industry. The timeliness of its passage, however, is another matter.
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/industrial-hemp-looks-secure-farm-bill-despite-looming-delay/

'Three years ago the farm bill allowed pilot programs to grow industrial hemp for research purposes. Scott Erickson, deputy commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food said now anyone over the age of 18 who purchases a license from the state can grow the plant. The regulations for growers, processors and labeling were released this week.'
http://www.upr.org/post/utah-officials-give-green-light-industrial-hemp-production

'Over the past decade these problems have cast long shadows, but we have been slow to recognize them. Most of those best fitted to develop natural controls and assist in putting them into effect have been too busy laboring in the exciting vineyards of chemical control. It was reported in 1950 that only 2 per cent of all the economic entomologists in the country were then working in the field of biological controls. A substantial number of the remaining 98 per cent were engaged in research on chemical insecticides.

Why should this be? The major chemical companies are pouring money into the universities to support research on insecticides. This creates attractive fellowships for graduate students and attractive staff positions. Biological control studies, on the other hand, are never so endowed - for the simple reason that they do not promise anyone the fortunes that are to be made in the chemical industry. These are left to state and federal agencies, where the salaries paid are far less.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'“Making money from farming has gotten harder and harder every year and it’s just another crop that gives me something else to grow,” said Jeff Williams, a West Texas rancher who raises alfalfa, corn and winter cereal grains near Fort Stockton. He envisions not only growing hemp but also investing in a co-op to process it.'
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Texas-farmers-see-new-source-of-green-in-legal-13191299.php

'As Oregon cannabis prices continue to sink to new lows amid a product glut, outdoor growers are applying what they know about marijuana and cultivating hemp for both smokable CBD flower and biomass that can be extracted into CBD oil. The hemp pivot allows growers to diversify their revenue stream and capitalize on a crop that could soon become legal at the federal level – thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill pending before Congress.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/why-a-saturated-marijuana-market-is-leading-some-oregon-growers-to-pivot-to-hemp/

With too much focus on breeding to increase the potency of THC (and CBD recently) in the different strains of marijuana, most of the other compounds in the plant remain unknown as does the 'entourage effect' of the entire plant. There is the risk that we may lose the full benefits of the plant with unbalanced breeding based purely on our current limited knowledge. Countries should look to conserve the biodiversity of the plant by protecting their naturally available strains (hopefully some still remain) and giving them the same kind of attention as is done for other endangered indigenous flora and fauna. Instead what happens now is that the plant is destroyed wherever it is found in nature, not unlike the extermination of many species of animals, birds, insects and reptiles that has happened over the years before we realized their importance in the web of life.

'Domestication of the crop has limited the genetic variability in the crop and the impact on crop diversity, physiology and metabolism is not fully understood.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-31120-2

'Cannabis should be added to the North American Free Trade Agreement just like any other form of produce, says former Mexican President Vicente Fox.'
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-30/pot-should-be-added-to-nafta-former-mexico-president-fox-says

""Hemp is the only resource on earth that can feed you, clothe you, house you and heal you, however due to legislation in New Zealand at the moment we can only harvest the seed and the stalk and there's rules around how we can sell that."
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018659858/plant-culture-s-cameron-sims-hemp-superfood-recipes-and-push-to-legalise

'“Our Government is working hard to support this exciting fledgling agricultural industry,” said Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan. “These amendments will reduce risk for hemp growers and open up new opportunities in hemp seed as a food and drink product.”'
https://www.hempgazette.com/news/wa-industrial-hemp-thc-hg0726/

'The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has recently updated the list of pesticides that are allowed for use in marijuana production in Washington State, based on criteria previously established by WSDA. '
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WALCB/bulletins/2074a94

'“For years, these types of events have been lifelines for small growers,” he said. “For the smallest licensed growers, these are life or death.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/marijuana-farmers-markets-wont-happen-in-california-yet-after-bills-failure/

'Louisiana’s first legal crop of medical marijuana can be planted this week.

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, whose agency regulates the state’s burgeoning industry, loosened a regulatory logjam that created a monthslong delay'
https://mjbizdaily.com/louisiana-expected-to-begin-growing-medical-cannabis-aug-17/

'But it was the advent of DDT, and all its many relatives that ushered in the true Age of Resistance. It need have surprised no one with even the simplest knowledge of insects or of the dynamics of animal populations that within a matter of a very few years an ugly and dangerous problem had clearly defined itself. Yet awareness of the fact that insects possess an effective counterweapon to aggressive chemical attack seems to have dawned slowly. Only those concerned with disease-carrying insects seem by now to have been thoroughly aroused to the alarming nature of the situation; the agriculturists still for the most part blightly put their faith in the development of new and even more toxic chemicals, although the present difficulties have been born of just such specious reasoning.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'“Ironically these issues usually lead to an increase in awareness which only helps grow this new and exciting category, and we look forward to working with the appropriate authorities in Wyoming to ensure a positive resolution for the hemp industry and the state like we’ve seen everywhere else,” said Hendrix.'
https://www.hempbizjournal.com/wyoming-removes-cbd-products/

'Unlike legalization measures approved in a number of other states, the North Dakota proposal would set no limit on how much cannabis people could possess or cultivate. It would also allow a system of legal marijuana production and sales.'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/08/13/north-dakota-marijuana-legalization-measure-qualifies-for-november-ballot/#3bed6ff63b6c

Also the replacement of opium cultivation with legalized marijuana cultivation as a key harm reduction strategy...
'Opium production may be curtailed in the Golden Crescent countries through different approaches. Financial incentives may be offered to encourage the farmers to cultivate alternative crops, such as saffron, pomegranate, grapes, and almonds, that may bring financial returns comparable to revenues generated from poppy cultivation. Farmers can be convinced that such crops will provide a more steady income compared to opium, particularly as opium may be seized and destroyed by the law enforcement agencies. Governments should assist farmers in doing so by providing better irrigation, disseminating education about agriculture, distributing seeds, and setting up agriculture markets.'
https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-017-0170-1

'Agriculture remains one of the state's biggest industries, but falling demand for tobacco and uncertainty over commodity prices in the face of global competition have forced farmers to look for alternatives to traditional crops. The exploding demand for CBD oil derived from hemp flowers makes it a promising "next big thing" for farmers and rural communities — particularly if the government decides to stop classifying it as an illegal drug.'
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article213445289.html

Competing with China in the areas of hemp and cannabis cultivation will be healthier competition for India than competing in the areas of military power, economic growth and population size...

'In this study, hemp shiv was fully characterized by examining cell wall microstructure, porosity and density using different approaches. The microstructure of hemp shiv was studied by SEM and confocal microscopy (CM). The porosity of hemp shiv was fully studied and characterized by employing MIP. The cell wall density was evaluated by helium pycnometry, MIP and the Archimedes’ method.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5936917/

'One of the biggest misconceptions is that all cannabis gets you high. This couldn't be further from the truth. Agricultural hemp is produced for textiles, CBD oil extracts, paper and a number of other uses. The plant most commonly used in the hemp industry is Cannabis Sativa, growing between 10 and 15 feet tall before harvesting. Industrial hemp plants also have little to no THC, meaning that they have no psychoactive properties. '
https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/agricultural-hemp-vs-marijuana-cultivation-techniques/Content?oid=13009424

'Our results showed that 100 hemp varieties from China could be classified into 3 distinct clusters, and that the 3 clusters were consistent with the cool temperate, warm temperate, and subtropical zones in China, respectively. These indicated that the climate, created by latitude, temperature, and day length, is a key factor affecting the germplasm diversity of hemp. Although the three clusters from China were physically closer, hemp in Northern China had a greater similarity coefficient with European hemp than with the other two clusters. This is most likely because these two regions are at similar latitudes, and thus have similar climatic conditions... Our results provide a new insight into the study on germplasm resources and systematic classification in hemp, which may be helpful for the introduction, germplasm development, and utilization in different climates, countries, or continents.'
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0110638

Traditionally, hemp is grown for either seed or fiber. Hemp seeds contain approximately 30% protein, 25% starch, and 30% oil. Pressed seeds release an oil that contains >90% polyunsaturated fatty acids. With a desirable ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 lipids, hemp seed oil is a valuable addition to human and animal diets. Additionally, the oil can be used for cooking or processed into cosmetics and fuels. The residual seed cake can be used for protein rich animal feed. Bast fibers are primarily used to make high quality papers, whereas most hurd goes into animal beddings. Recent technological advances have expanded the use of hemp fiber and hurd to include the production of carbon nanosheets, plastics, 3D-printer filaments, oil absorbent materials, and construction concrete. Additionally, hemp produces over 100 known cannabinoids, most notably CBD. In the USA, clinical trials are investigating CBD for treatment of 26 medical conditions. Furthermore, CBD has been granted orphan drug status for eleven conditions.
https://www.cell.com/trends/plant-science/fulltext/S1360-1385(17)30177-2

'Agencies concerned with vector-borne disease are at present coping with their problems by switching from one insecticide to another as resistance develops. But this cannot go on indefinitely, despite the ingenuity of the chemists in supplying new materials. Dr. Brown has pointed out that we are traveling 'a one-way street. No one knows how long the street is. If the dead end is reached before control of disease-carrying insects is achieved, our situation will indeed be critical.

With insects that infest crops the story is the same.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

In fields near Castiglione d'Otranto, in Apulia, Bastianelli met young farmers who said they preferred to live off their land by growing cannabis rather than seeking higher-paying jobs in cities. Bastianelli met with farmers and with patients using marijuana to cure their illness. He met with local associations advocating less regulations and followed police officers as they hunted traffickers. Every stakeholder seemed to have distinct goals.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/06/italy-cannabis-marijuana/

Even with the price lower than in previous years, farmers can still get a sizeable return from hemp, which Shwaluk said is comparable pricewise to growing canola.
https://www.producer.com/2018/04/canadian-hemp-acres-and-prices-down-for-18/

Natural varieties of ganja grow to maturity in harmony with the seasons and flower in spring. They are one of nature's aids for living beings to remain calm and not destroy or self destruct in the approaching summer heat...

'“The odds are you are not making as much selling extracts as you would flower,” Morse explained, since “it takes 10x the plant material or weight out of it in converting from flowers to extracts. But it allows people to preserve the product that they invested in, and grew, are storing, and are poised to sell. I don’t think that they will make as much off the oil as the flower. But we do see grows setting up strictly for oil, and processing the leaves, the buds, everything.”'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/in-an-oversaturated-market-growers-are-turning-from-flower-to-oil/

'In yet another sign that cannabis-related business opportunities are cropping up across the world, the state of Uttarakhand in northern India has announced that it will allow local farmers to begin growing hemp.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/state-in-india-legalizes-hemp-cultivation/

'Portugal on the Atlantic coast has a warm temperate subtropical climate, with mild winters, warm summers and lots of sunny days, which is often compared to that of California and makes it an ideal place for cannabis cultivation.'

http://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/marijuana-update-growers-staying-in-the-black-market/article_a20daf5c-23af-11e8-9a53-af29aa9ed91d.html

'As ground and surface waters are contaminated with pesticides and other chemicals, there is danger that not only poisonous but also cancer-producing substances are being introduced into public water supplies. Dr. W. C. Hueper of the National Cancer Institute has warned that 'the danger of cancer hazards from the consumption of contaminated drinking water will grow considerably within the foreseeable future.' And indeed a study made in Holland in the early 1950s provides support for the view that polluted waterways may carry a cancer hazard. Cities recieving their drinking water from rivers had a higher death rate from cancer than did those whose water came from sources presumably less susceptible to pollution such as wells.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'Marijuana Business Daily surveyed several indoor and outdoor growers in Alaska, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state to find out: how prices compare to last year, how the harvest is progressing, whether they’re facing any major challenges during the harvest, how yields are coming in, what it’s like selling in the current market.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/growers-western-marijuana-prices-are-down-despite-strong-harvest-high-demand/

'iHemp (industrial hemp) oil is an anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, skin regenerative, and cardioprotective properties.'
http://iihaindia.org/iiha/ihemp-oil-a-gift-to-mankind/

Industrial hemp - rich in fats that boost brain and cardiovascular health, a complete protein source for vegetarians , anti-fatigue and immune-boosting properties, packed with fiber, excellent source of iron, magnesium and zinc
http://iihaindia.org/hemp/benefits-of-ihemp/

'Two of the businesses licensed by Arkansas to grow medical cannabis say they expect to have product available for dispensaries as soon as April.

Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana in 2016, but the state’s MMJ industry has been beset by legal challenges and licensing delays.

Officials with the five licensed cultivation facilities updated the state Medical Marijuana Commission this week about their construction and growing timelines.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/arkansas-medical-marijuana-growers-aim-to-have-product-ready-by-spring/

'CannTrust estimates it will add 100,000-200,000 kilograms (220,462-440,925 pounds) of production in late 2020, which will be used “100%” for extraction.

The company expects outdoor yields to be about 1,000 kilograms per acre from one crop per season, though that total may rise.

“The capital requirements for outdoor growing are substantially lower than what we would have incurred for any of our greenhouse investments,” Aceto told analysts.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/canntrust-plans-massive-outdoor-cannabis-grow-in-canada-explores-us-expansion/

'Three companies were chosen to cultivate medical marijuana in Germany – the result of a long-delayed application process to provide product for one of the largest medical cannabis markets in the world.

Canada’s Aphria received five of the 13 lots that were up for grabs, according to Hendrik Knopp, managing director of Aphria Deutschland.

The result “is a very important footstep toward our twofold strategy of establishing a high-quality, in-country cultivation in Germany and importing additional flowers and oil from Canada and Denmark to provide the German market with complete cannabis medicine offering,” Knopp told Marijuana Business Daily'
https://mjbizdaily.com/aphria-aurora-demecan-german-medical-cannabis-cultivation/

'If New Jersey legalizes recreational marijuana, a move that’s been discussed for months and has a new deadline, roughly 100 new cannabis cultivators would be needed, according to an estimate from state officials.

That’s in addition to the 35 or so growers needed to supply the expected expansion of the medical cannabis program.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/new-jersey-will-need-100-marijuana-growers-if-adult-use-is-legalized-regulators-say

'In each of these situations one turns away to ponder the question: Who has made the decision that sets in motion these chains of poisonings, this ever-widening wave of death that spreads out, like ripples when a pebble is dropped into a still pond? Who has placed in one pan of the scales the leaves that might have been eaten by the beetles and in the other the pitiful heaps of many-hued feathers, the lifeless remains of the birds that fell before the unselective bludgeon of insecticidal poisons? Who has decided - who has the right to decide - for the countless legions of people who were not consulted that the supreme value is a world without insects, even though it be also a sterile world ungraced by the curving wing of a bird in flight? The decision is that of the authoritarian temporarily entrusted with power; he has made it during a period of inattention by millions to whom beauty and the ordered world of nature still have a meaning that is deep and imperative.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

'Many of Washington state’s recreational cannabis cultivators are using half or less of their licensed canopy, driven in part by low wholesale prices and a dearth of available capital investment, according to a report conducted by the state’s regulators.

Over the course of a year, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) surveyed 1,155 licensees to determine capacity utilization – and why the results were so low.

Three reasons were repeatedly cited: 1. Concerns about overproduction. 2. Access to capital is problematic. 3. The prohibitive cost of expanding cultivation facilities.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/low-prices-lack-investment-washington-cannabis-growing-capacity/

'Up until very recently, Village Farms International (TSX:VFF)(NASDAQ:VFF) was simply one of the largest and longest-operating vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America, not to mention the only publicly traded greenhouse produce company in Canada.

Yet thanks to the company’s recently announced joint venture (JV) project with Emerald Health Therapeutics, this small-ish company, which, in 2017, only generated US$158 million in annual sales, now says it has plans to be Canada’s high-quality, low-cost cannabis producer.

With VFF stock already up 378% since the start of the year, it certainly appears as though the market has bought into the story.'
https://www.fool.ca/2019/04/06/up-378-this-year-how-a-cannabis-producer-is-planning-to-tap-into-the-22-billion-global-cbd-market/

Bitcoins? this is so much better...
“It’s a hypothesis that requires more evidence to test,” says Long, but he points out that the high value of cannabis would have made it an ideal exchangeable good at the time – a “cash crop before cash”

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/lessons-californ rt-3-growing-supply-challenges/

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/suddenly-season-industrial-hemp-spring-forward/

Patents for plants...bizarre..

'Smaller breeders, scientists who alter naturally occuring marijuana plants for medicinal purposes, fear that bioagricultural companies like Monsanto and Syngenta will arm themselves with cannabis-based patents and deploy their considerable economic power to position themselves as dominant forces in a promising market.'
https://www.livescience.com/59813-marijuana-patents-and-legal-battles.html

'And who or what is Vermont? It's the Green Mountain State, dotted with picturesque small towns, food co-ops, farmers markets and some of the best craft breweries in the country. And now, fields once used for hay are now filled with lush, green hemp plants 10-feet tall. - Jon Kalish in Vermont For NPR News'
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/19/640077917/vermont-looks-to-booming-hemp-business

'As the more than 30 states that operate hemp pilot programs have discovered, it’s not easy to oversee a plant that’s used to make everything from car parts to hand cream and that, except for the chemical that produces a high, is identical to marijuana — which the federal government still classifies as a dangerous drug.'
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/09/26/hemp-on-the-brink-of-being-legal-still-faces-challenges

'For now, we can delight in the fact that hemp is back and back in a huge way. Legal hemp created a new economy, revealed awe-inspiring medical potential, and makes use of otherwise unused land.

'Let’s all hope the federal government does the right thing and legalizes industrial hemp for every possible use imaginable, and for everyone to grow!'
https://ministryofhemp.com/blog/state-hemp-programs/

'When thinking of the booming legal cannabis industry, the majority of analysts are following the developments in the United States, Canada and Israel. It makes sense, since these world superpowers are already bringing in billions of dollars annually on both medical and recreational pot.

But there is another cannabis powerhouse quietly developing that you may not expect—China.

According to a recent report from the South China Morning Post, a small number of Chinese provinces, including Heilongjiang, near the Russian border, and Yunnan to the south, now make up nearly half of the world’s legal hemp cultivation.'
https://hightimes.com/news/how-china-quietly-became-a-legal-hemp-powerhouse/

'A new report predicts Illinois’ 16 licensed marijuana cultivators would be able to supply just 35%-54% of demand if recreational marijuana is legalized, underscoring the potential size of the state’s adult-use market.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/demand-could-overwhelm-licensed-growers-if-illinois-legalizes-adult-use-marijuana/

Have we considered the possibility that the adivasis may be wiser than us, our politicians and the law enforcement in the area regarding the plant and its economics? These people are doing a priceless service to the nation and the world cultivating and keeping the plant alive. They need to be supported not punished through our backward laws.

'The inhabitants of these villages are adivasis who have very little knowledge of the repercussions of this trade or the global economics economics behind it. Most importantly, the crop is grown in areas where the influence of Maoists is strong, although there have been periods of it waxing and waning. Most of the villages in the nine ganja-growing mandals are located close to the Andhra Odisha Border where the Maoists hold sway. Police, excise and revenue officials have very little access or presence in these areas. With the police reluctant to challenge the Maoists in these hills, where the uncharted heights may be commanded by guerrillas, this has become the middle ground between the state and the insurgents.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/out-of-reach-of-the-law/article7646850.ece

'The fisheries of fresh and salt water are a resource of great importance, involving the interests and the welfare of a very large number of people. That they are now seriously threatened by the chemicals entering our waters can no longer be doubted. If we could divert to constructive research even a small fraction of the money spent each year on the development of even more toxic sprays, we could find ways to use less dangerous materials and to keep poisons out of our waterways. When will the public become sufficiently aware of the facts to demand such action? - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962

Then obviously, Odisha should be the most likely state to start with ganja legalization. This will support rural communities, boost the state economy, save costs of drug enforcement and reintroduce the valuable medicinal herb back into society.

'Rural communities see the weed as a route to survival

Hemp grows illegally in vast stretches of Odisha’s inaccessible forested regions, making it one of the top marijuana-producing States in the country.

The plant is luxuriant in highly-suited climatic conditions, and its growth is aided by low police movement in Maoist-affected hilly regions as well as pervasive rural poverty.

Out of over 8,500 acres of cannabis crop destroyed across the country during 2016-17, Odisha accounted for 47% with 4,028 acres'
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/odisha-is-ganjas-ground-zero/article18662820.ece

'The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) notes the ruling by the Constitutional Court today on the decriminalization of the cultivation and private use of cannabis. This ruling took further forward the Western Cape High Court ruling by Judge Dennis Davis on his ruling to decriminalise its use and cultivation.'
https://www.gov.za/speeches/agriculture-forestry-and-fisheries-constitutional-court-ruling-decriminalisation

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