The North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission will hold a public meeting via conference call “to review and approve research pilot program applications.” Members of the public may join the conference call, scheduled for Friday, August 2, 2019, starting at 10am.
Access the conference call at go.ncsu.edu/industrialhemp or by phone at either of these US toll numbers:
- 1.929.205.6099
- 1.669.900.6833
The meeting ID is 781-362-927. Participants will be prompted to enter their name and email address to enter the meeting via the website, or prompted for a unique participant ID for the call. Press # to access the call.
With meeting questions, contact Beth Farrell at 919.707.3014.
The NC General Assembly passed Senate Bill 313 in 2015, allowing the creation of the Industrial Hemp Commission to develop the rules and licensing structure necessary to stay within federal laws. The Industrial Hemp Commission adopted temporary rules in February 2017, setting up the application requirements and process.
NC hemp growing is under the agricultural Pilot Project, and farmers may apply to grow as long as they meet the requirements. Requirements include designation/filing with the IRS as a farmer. In addition to tracking the 1000+ state growers, the commission maintains lists of processors, seed sources, and more. See more about the state’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Project at www.ncagr.gov/hemp, which includes a link to the growers Application and Application FAQs.
Hemp, a low-THC (no “high”) cousin of marijuana, has thousands of uses from oils and medical extracts to food/animal feed and fiber to building materials and beauty products.
Source: NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Ed. Note: On July 23, 2019, the NC Industrial Hemp Commission held an emergency meeting regarding smokable hemp.