The application period opened Wednesday for the Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Program, opening the door for farmers throughout the state to grow the crop.
The program will accept applications until June 30, and will prove whether a commercial hemp industry can thrive in Hawaii.
Program coordinator Shelley Choy said the program has received considerable interest throughout the state, but added only time can tell whether that interest translates into applications. So far, no applications have been filed, Choy said, although each application requires a significant amount of information in order to be approved.
In addition to personal information such as names and addresses, applicants are required to provide the names of any contractors involved in their proposed hemp operation, a map of the proposed growing area, locations where hemp would be stored or sold and detailed outlines of what hemp research would be conducted on the crop and what best management practices would be used. Applicants also must request the amount of seed, in pounds, they require for their operation.
If approved, participants must comply with Department of Agriculture requirements to submit regular reports and cooperate with department inspections and sampling surveys. Failure to do so could lead to the revocation of the participant’s license.
Choy also noted applicants must submit a nonrefundable $500 application fee, as well as an annual $250 licensing fee. Applicants also must pay for additional testing of hemp seed after they are approved.
“We want applicants to be someone who can take the risk,” Choy said. “And it is a big risk.”
Currently, only three labs in the state are authorized to test cannabis potency. None of the three are on the Big Island.
The only strain of hemp available to applicants currently is Yuma, a fiber/grain varietal best cultivated in outdoor fields, flowers in between 40 and 90 days and can grow to be 10 feet tall. Additional varietals will be available in later licensing periods, which will occur quarterly.
Choy said she couldn’t say when applications will be approved — depending on when and how many applications are submitted, some applicants might not be approved until the next licensing period.
Earlier this year, the federal government proposed the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which would, if passed, remove hemp products from the federal list of controlled substances, among other things. However, Choy said shortly after the bill was introduced that it likely would not affect the pilot program significantly.
Even if the bill passes — which Choy said does not seem likely — the nature of hemp as a subspecies of cannabis means it cannot be treated like other crops unless the current administration adopts a far more liberal policy regarding marijuana than it currently has. As it stands, even if hemp was legalized, it would still need to be subjected to a litany of tests to confirm that its concentration of THC — the substance responsible for marijuana’s psychoactive properties — was below a certain threshold.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com