Hemp bill to set up registration process for would-be farmers making progress

A bill to register hemp farmers with the state Department of Agriculture has been introduced at the State Capitol. As explained in our cover story, "Green Acres," the marijuana-centric Amendment 64 also made it lawful to grow hemp, weed's sober stepsister. The bill, known as SB 241, creates a process...

By Melanie Asmar

April 16, 2013

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A bill to register hemp farmers with the state Department of Agriculture has been introduced at the State Capitol. As explained in our cover story, "Green Acres," the marijuana-centric Amendment 64 also made it lawful to grow hemp, weed's sober stepsister.

The bill, known as SB 241, creates a process by which the state can register people to grow the fibrous plant, which can be made into food, body care products, textiles and more. Read the text of the bill below.

In short, the bill would create a committee to assist the state agriculture commissioner in developing a registration process for hemp farmers, who would be required to submit an application that includes the GPS coordinates and a map of the land on which they plan to grow. They would also be required to pay a fee. The bill specifies that "the commissioner shall adopt rules by March 1, 2014."

The bill's main sponsor is state Senator Gail Schwartz, a Democrat from Snowmass Village and the chair of the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee. The bill was introduced on April 1, and on April 10, it passed in the committee that Schwartz chairs with a few minor amendments. Its next stop is the Appropriations Committee, which is scheduled to address the legislation this morning.

Read the bill below.

SB 241

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Melanie Asmar is a staff writer for Westword. She joined the paper in 2009 and has won awards for her stories about education, immigration and epic legal battles. Got a tip? She'd love to hear it.

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