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Illinois moves closer to state approving hemp production
 
By STEVE BINDER
Illinois Correspondent
 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Count Illinois among the states hopping on the hemp production bandwagon.
 
Thanks in large part to an outgrowth of the 2014 federal farm bill, Illinois is joining a growing list of states setting up the processes necessary to allow farmers to start growing industrial hemp once again.

In the 1940s, Illinois led the nation in hemp production. After World War II, though, states outlawed the product principally on fears that production could veer toward the crop’s more potent variety: Marijuana.

But industrial hemp lacks any significant concentration of tetrahydrocannibinol (THC), the psychoactive element of the drug, and the bill recently approved by the Illinois Senate limits the percentage of THC in hemp that will be grown to no more than 0.3 percent.

That bill was approved by a 55-0 vote on May 4 and was supported by the Illinois Farm Bureau, the Illinois Stewardship Alliance (ISA), the Illinois Farmers Union and the Illinois Environmental Council. The state House Rules Committee has assigned Senate Bill 1294 to its Agriculture and Conservation Committee, which is scheduled to consider it on May 26.

“This legislation gives Illinois farmers the freedom to try growing a crop that’s good for their bottom line and can keep our waterways cleaner,” said Liz Moran Stelk, executive director of the ISA. “We encourage the House to follow the Senate’s leadership and pass this bill. It’s a win-win-win for farmers, our state and our economy.”

Kentucky has been a leader in hemp production in recent years, with the  state’s agriculture department enrolling more than 135 farms and 40 processors in its state hemp program last year, with a variety of hemp products grown, processed and sold at various locations throughout the state.

llinois previously had approved legislation in 2014 that also would have allowed industrial hemp production by universities and other facilities for research purposes only, but no permits to do so were sought by any of the state’s public universities with agriculture schools.

Since then, federal agencies including the USDA, Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have signed off on new rules that would allow for hemp production as long as states already have approved legislation with guidelines for issuing permits directly to farmers.

As of May 1, there were a total of 16 states that have legalized hemp production for commercial purposes, along with another 20 that now allow it for research and pilot programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Building in restrictions to prevent growers from turning their industrial hemp fields into marijuana operations was a key to allowing hemp production in most states, just as it will be in Illinois under the Senate bill. The legislation calls for the state’s ag department to issue permits and conduct unannounced inspections, and no crop to have readings of more than 0.3 percent THC.

If signed into law, further details of a hemp program would be determined by the ag department; licenses could be available later this fall or next spring. Hemp is considered a crop that doesn’t require much chemical application and can be turned into a variety of products, from plastic alternatives to “hempcrete” and particle board, food, cosmetics, rope and clothing.

Salvador Jasso, a clothing designer in Glendale Heights, told the alliance he is excited about the chance to buy hemp locally instead of from China. “I have created a hemp clothing line to bring opportunities back home to the people who founded Illinois, our farmers,” he said.

“I want to revitalize our soil, our foundation and to rebuild our communities for a sustainable future.” 
5/25/2017