Marijuana Legalization and Hemp Farming in North Carolina

Hemp has many uses, whether that be for rope, paper, skincare products, or a number of other things. It is commonly believed that early settlers in North America grew hemp on their farms, even British colonies had periods of making it a mandatory crop for farmers to grow. Thomas Jefferson grew hemp for its personal use and as a source of income for being a staple cash crop among the colonies.

Marijuana, commonly referred to as “cannabis,” also has many uses and benefits whether those be medical, mental, or recreational. The only difference between ‘hemp’ and ‘marijuana’ is the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Delta-9 specifically for legal purposes– the main psychoactive constituent in cannabis, i.e. it’s like what gets you high, dude.), where hemp has less than .3% (yes, only point three percent). Other than the near arbitrary difference in THC percentages, hemp and marijuana are the same plant, in fact they are the same genome of cannabis (hence the name) and of the same species.

To put this simply: marijuana is hemp. Marijuana and hemp, no matter what you call them, are both cannabis. The products, “marijuana” and “hemp,” are called different things, socially and legally, depending on their supposed intended purposes. Nevertheless, although this plant has a plethora of uses and benefits, due to the near impossibility of testing every plant to determine which has .3% +/- THC, and all of the other hysterical propaganda against the plant, cannabis of all sort was eventually made illegal in the US. This was a total disposal of a versatile crop that aided the US throughout WW2.

The social and legal battles that cannabis has faced in the US really began alongside the swell of the Prohibition Era, anti-immigrant and xenophobic sentiments, and with the growth of government interventionism and overreach. Laws restricting cannabis began in the US as early as 1906 and became more restrictive throughout the years. In 1937, the US passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which was introduced and pushed by North Carolina’s Rep. Robert L. Doughton, taxing the selling and transferring of cannabis as a narcotic.

Decades later, the Controlled Substance Act began in 1970, and by 1971 the War on Drugs had begun. The Nixon administration claimed narcotics to be “public enemy number one” while spawning the Drug Enforcement Administration to help lead that charge by 1973. Laws became stricter and punishments became even harsher.

Yet, after many trials and hardships, medical marijuana eventually became legalized in most areas of the country. In 2014 and 2018, the farm bills helped lessen the restrictions on growing hemp for select groups. In North Carolina, the Industrial Hemp Bill passed in 2015, allowing NC farmers to start cultivating hemp by 2017. The 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act (a farm bill) stipulated farmers were federally allowed to grow hemp with far fewer restrictions on hemp for product production like paper, rope, cloth, oils, etc. By 2019, the US was already the third largest hemp-producing country in the world.

From the start of 2017 to 2022, there went from 0 to 1500+ licensed hemp growers in North Carolina. That is tremendous growth! In 2021 the NC Industrial Hemp Bill ended, which now leaves hemp growers

subject to federal regulation as opposed to the state. NC hemp farmers will be under the USDA Domestic Hemp Production Program which means hemp will be tested by federal level agencies to determine if the THC levels are above the .3% marker, along with other rules.

With marijuana’s increasing popularity throughout the US, federal agencies do not have small-scale marijuana farming high on their radar. This would leave the policing up to local and state level police. Although, traditionally, North Carolina policing against marijuana and related products has been extremely restrictive to the point of invasive, many North Carolinians have become tolerant of cannabis overall. This has left local and state police to be somewhat less aggressive towards cannabis related crimes.

North Carolina has a window of opportunity for growth and the possibility of an actual win for the pro-cannabis majority. Poll after poll, survey after survey, conversation after conversation, suggests North Carolinians are overwhelmingly ready for medical marijuana and the vast majority are open to recreational legalization. Unfortunately, however, most of the cannabis related bills presented to North Carolinians are either extremely restrictive for rarer medical conditions or they offer more barriers. If North Carolina is to seek cannabis legalization or decriminalization, voters need to remain vigilant and be cautious of bills that have stacks of other agendas and limitations buried within these bills. Do not vote for a bill just because it suggests “legalizing” without sifting through the bill with a fine comb. It is better to put off the vote for a better bill than to get a bill passed that will be counter to the actual legalization of cannabis.

Just as Californians found CA Proposition 64 was passed largely because the public saw it say marijuana

for recreational use would be “legalized,” they also found the bill to have significantly increased the cost of cannabis inadvertently helping to encourage the success of the illicit market, put more restrictions on growing cannabis, increased the number of people to be fined, increased government scope and reach with new departments and objectives, and put more limits on sells. Democrats and Republicans, alike, are still pushing against aspects of this bill.

Once marijuana is federally legalized, and it will be, NC laws and stances will loosen tremendously. In the meantime, the window of opportunity that remains is for those in the hemp growing industry in North Carolina. In fact, in any state that recreational marijuana is not yet legal being in the hemp industry is the best position. The reason is that once marijuana is federally legalized, the hemp farms (whether indoor or outdoor) will immediately begin marijuana production through very easy steps, increasing the Delta-9 THC count well above .3%, and will be ready for distribution and sells. These NC hemp facilities will already have many of the license requirements fulfilled once federal legalization occurs. Prior to that, NC is making it easier with the state being more hands-off when it comes to hemp farming while simultaneously taking a more decriminalized approach to possession of small quantities of recreational marijuana.