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SLO County promoting marijuana over hemp

June 17, 2019

By KAREN VELIE

While growing and selling marijuana is legal in San Luis Obispo County, officials are planning to place a temporary moratorium on the growing of industrial hemp in part to protect the county’s budding marijuana industry. [Cal Coast Times]

In California, 25 counties have passed temporary moratoriums on hemp, with San Luis Obispo and Imperial counties initially approving the crop. However, both marijuana cultivators and opponents of large marijuana grows near residential areas have objected to hemp production.

Even though marijuana and hemp are both members of the cannabis family, they have different properties. Marijuana plants produce THC, the intoxicant in pot. Hemp is used to produce paper, cloth and CBD, an ingredient used in supplements, extracts and oils.

In a draft of the proposed ordinance, county staff parrots the concerns of some large marijuana cultivators, that cross pollination from hemp plants could lower the THC level in marijuana crops, and their profits.

In addition, the proposed ordinance lists concerns regarding odor and public safety. County staffers also voiced concerns that growers could attempt to disguise illegal marijuana grows as hemp cultivation.

Unlike marijuana, industrial hemp is now a federally legal agriculture commodity. Marijuana has its own specific regulations and is not protected as an agricultural crop.

If the ordinance is passed on Tuesday, the 31 growers who have already applied to the SLO County Agricultural Commissioner to grow hemp will be exempted from the moratorium, for the 12 months before their registrations expire, contingent on their approval.

County officials are seeking a 45-day temporary moratorium on hemp cultivation, with a two year extension tentatively scheduled for a vote on July 16.


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How do you expect the people, such as 805 Beach Breaks, who paid perfectly good brib…money to obtain their permits to make their money back if they don’t tell their bought and paid for politicians to push out anyone who jeopardizes their cash crop.


2

Anyone who is paying attention can clearly see through this BS. It’s all about the money and now the large cannabis growers are trying to shove out a known, viable agricultural crop! Those who are making these decisions don’t know anything about this industry. Most of the hemp consumed and used in this country is imported. I’m for bringing this crop back to the US to be locally grown. It’s a burgeoning industry.


8

Hemp is the crop of the future…industrial hemp lately has made a number of headlines as an alternative energy source…energy that grows like a weed….


3

The contrived arguments against blanket prohibition of cannabis by people who only wanted to ingest it, was that we were denied the food and fiber benefits of a crop with a long American, and world, history. Growing hemp for rope was encouraged by the government during WWII as we were cut off from our Philippine supply and it was critical to the war effort. Industrial hemp with a certified THC content of no more than 0.3% was legalized at the federal level with the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill by President Donald J. Trump on December 21, 2018, so while “marijuana” remains illegal under federal law, industrial hemp is not. Industrial hemp effectively sabotages outdoor drug grows. It cannot be used as a cover for illegal recreational cannabis grows as County staff alleges as the plant looks very different and the presence of just a few of them ruins the buds intended to be THC rich. Under California law counties may establish regulations intended only to enforce the THC limit by commercial growers by requiring the use of registered seed and payment of an annual registration fee. These regulations do not apply to non-commercial growing. L.E. could investigate and test questionable home-grown hemp and if over 0.3% THC the growers could be prosecuted for not abiding by local regulations for number of plants, location, screening, required permits, etc. Will the County’s almost certain ban apply to a non-commercial homeowner would might want to grow a few plants for CBD oil? Almost certainly. We know who’s writing the checks to those who direct County staff. I would encourage anyone menaced by the County’s complete disregard for its constituents to plant a few CBD plants. I have certified seed very cheap, $1 for more than you will use, 1,000+ seeds. Put a wanted ad on slo.craiglist.org farm+garden and I’ll connect with you. What you do with it is your business. These are bred for oil-seed and you can produce an oil prized for cooking, health supplements, and skin-care. Note that hemp seed for oil has always been available but was required to be heat-sterilized prior to importation. You could press it for oil but not grow plants from it.


1

Legalize Pot! The stench in Carpinteria! Criminalize Hemp!

Good Lord, does anybody ever do long range planning, or just vote with the Mob of the Month?…


5

After all these years of being imprisoned, lives ruined, families destroyed over Pot being a criminalize activity, now the pot morons are trying to ban hemp. Really? No, REALLY?


5

I thought that San Luis Obispo was a right to farm county.


If the County puts a moratorium or ban on growing hemp, a legal agricultural crop, what’s to stop them from putting a moratorium or ban on growing grapes, broccoli, strawberries or any other legal agricultural crop?


16

Do the THC farmers not understand that the CBD farmers want the same thing, seed free end product they can process and sell? The hemp farmers don’t want male plants/pollen as much as the THC farmers, so what is the problem? Plus, THC percentages are not the end all be all of what makes it good. It is the entourage effect of all the cannabinoids (THC, THC-V, CBD, CBN, CBG, etc) along with the terpene profile that gives the effects. One can consume 100% THC isolate and potentially won’t get as high (many call it an empty high) as consuming something with 10% THC + many other cannabinoids and a bunch of terpenes.


There are 3 types of cannabis, sativa (tall), indica (medium), and ruderalis (short & autoflowering). Hemp farmers use the Cannabis sativa because they want the largest plants. Many other sativa plants contain THC and is known for an energetic high. With hemp, the THC has been bred out of the plant through selective breeding, but it is still the same sativa plant. Today, everything has been crossed with each other so much that you can get anything you want out of any species (hybrids). You can get an indica that only makes CBD (good for indoor growers) and you can get a sativa that only makes THC and every possible variation in between.


Also, there is no such thing as marijuana, it is a made up racist term by the government.

https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/where-did-the-word-marijuana-come-from-anyway-01fb


6

Mystic, don’t they want to process the seed for oil it contains? More oil per seed than; corn, safflower, sunflower etc., is what I have heard. So depending on the market these farmers wish to pursue you may be incorrect with your assumptions of coexistence.


But isn’t this what greenhouses are for—a controlled environment? Let the pot growers figure it out—they have they money to do so.


The plant, Hemp, is also a soil reconditioner, leaving behind more fertile soil than it started with. Unlike corn or industrial pot; hemp production doesn’t need to rely on artificially “fixed” nitrogen fertilizers.


The Gulf of Mexico would benefit greatly if the corn belt converted to the Hemp belt as millions of tons of fertilizers would not be dumped into it—creating oxygen depleted dead zones larger than most states.


Zoned for Agricultural use is the only hoop these Hemp growers should have to jump through. No different than alfalfa.


2

I am a huge supporter of all the great things that hemp can do but why would a farmer grow seed at nearly break even profits when you can use the same plant to grow CBD and make a ton of profit or even fiber and make more profit than seed in much less time? There are some farmers that have tried to grow seed but realized there was no money to be made and stopped until the market is profitable. You want a crop that will make a ton of oil, google ‘vertical algae farm’. Cannabis is actually very difficult to grow and harvest compared to other crops. As for your fertilizer question:


https://www.agprofessional.com/article/growing-hemp-cbd-seed-or-fiber


“Located in western Kentucky’s Christian County, Sisk, 45, grows 5,000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat. For the last three years, alongside farming partner Todd Harton, Sisk has grown hemp exclusively for CBD, a highly desired extract of cannabis and present darling of the hemp industry. By 2022, the overall CBD market value is projected to approach $2 billion, according to New Frontier Data, with $646 million of the total exclusive to hemp-derived CBD.


The Kentucky duo grew 200 acres of hemp for CBD in 2018, and typically apply 125 to 200 lb. nitrogen, spread prior to planting and through an over-the-top application in July. “We’ve seen hemp’s fertilizer needs parallel corn, but I have to emphasize three years of data is not solid,” Sisk says. “Murray State University and the University of Kentucky are both looking hot and heavy at fertilizer use. Who knows the right amount? Nobody, yet.”


2

And “Dope” is a pragmatic term made up by the sober population. Then there was the racist mocking bird ranting at the wood pecker. This is what is great about free speech, even erroneous topics can be discussed.


2