The North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission will hold a public meeting to review and approve applications for the research pilot program and to begin making permanent rules.
The meeting is Friday, July 28, 2017, starting at 10am. The meeting location is the Martin Building, NC State Fairgrounds, 1025 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh NC.
This is the first in-person Commission meeting since March 29. Online meetings were conducted April 19, throughout May, and June 9.
This meeting at the Martin Building is open to the public. Industrial Hemp Commission meetings are generally open to the public, though during meetings the commission members sometimes move in to brief, non-public discussions, and then return to the public meeting.
Industrial hemp is currently growing across the state. Farmers approved to grow were hampered in planting by DEA “hold up” of seed shipments into the state. Farmers working with the Commission organized seed and clone plant transportation into the state so that some of the approved farms were able to plant in June — a little later than planned.
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, setting up the application requirements and process.
For meeting questions, contact Lori Pfister at 919.707.3236. The North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission is online at www.ncagr.gov/hemp.
Source: Sandy Stewart, NCDA&CS
