‘CANNECTICUT’
CALLING
The Connecticut hemp pilot program was a long time
coming. Full cannabis legalization could be next
A report by market research company the Brightfi eld
Group estimates that domestic CBD sales will reach
a staggering $23.7 billion a year by 2023. Tinctures,
gummies, cosmetics, pet products – the once-humble
cannabinoid has come out of the shadow of THC to
become of the biggest talking points of the past decade.
And it’s all thanks to hemp.
The hemp plant can be traced back to Asia in 8000
BCE and was a legal crop in the US in the 18th and 19th
centuries, with George Washington himself known to
have cultivated the plant.
But in the 1970s, the War of Drugs effectively banned
all hemp production, with the DEA treating all forms of
cannabis as Schedule I, be it marijuana that gets you
high or hemp used to make rope.
Connecticut set on the path to more liberal cannabis
laws in 2011, when Governor Dannel Malloy signed
legislation decriminalizing possession of the plant. A
medical cannabis program was signed into law the
following year.
Things looked fi nally set to change for hemp farming in
Connecticut in 2015 with the passage of House Bill 5780
in 2015, which legalized the production and consumption
of industrial hemp and excluded hemp-derived CBD
from controlled substances under state law. But a bill
to set up a pilot program in 2017 failed to make it to the
voting stage.
In was only in May 2019 following the passage of the
Farm Bill that Governor Ned Lamont signed a pilot
program into law to allow the cultivation, processing,
harvesting and manufacturing of hemp and its products,
such as CBD.
The legislation was unanimously approved by both
chambers of the General Assembly in time for the hemp-
growing season.
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The 2019 growing season operated as a Research
Program. This required each grower to provide
marketing and research plans with their applications.
The Department of Agriculture (DoAG) was required to
study the growth, cultivation and marketing of hemp by
licensed entities.
Once the State Plan is approved by the USDA, the DoAG
will regulate commercial hemp production in accordance
with the Farm Bill. DoAG is also responsible for ensuring
that hemp production is restricted to registered and
certifi ed farms.
By September 2019, the state had licensed 82 hemp
growers, two processors and 21 manufacturers, creating a
huge opportunity for the state’s agricultural industry.
Governor Lamont said in a press release:
“Since we launched this hemp program, we've developed
great partnerships with these farmers – some of
whom have been in the industry for many years and
are diversifying their agricultural opportunities with
hemp, and other who are fi rst-timers and have become
attracted to this new and growing market.
“I'm excited about the opportunities this program is
creating."
With the ban on hemp production fi nally lifted, cannabis
advocates are hoping recreational cannabis will soon
follow.
The General Assembly is to build on provisions put in
place last year to draft a legalization bill, according to
Senate President Pro-Tem Martin Looney (D), who told CT
Insider:
“We are revisiting legalizing recreational cannabis
because we see that most of our neighboring states have
already done it or want to do it this year.
“We had three very detailed bills on this last year, so I think
we’re well prepared to do that when the time comes.”