By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
With the passage of a new hemp cultivation law, Arizona is the latest state to welcome in the production of the versatile and lucrative crop.
On Monday, governor, Doug Ducey signed SB1098 into law, a bill that will allocate funds for an industrial hemp pilot program under the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA). The measure will allow universities and others with AZDA licenses to cultivate hemp.
“This bill opens Arizona to the possibility of a new agricultural product,” said Governor Ducey in a press release. “I’m glad to sign a bill that could have a positive economic impact for the state.”
Other measures to legalize hemp in Arizona were introduced into the state legislature in the 2000s, but none of them successfully passed. Now, under the 2014 Farm Bill, which allows states and universities to cultivate and study industrial hemp if they pass the necessary laws, SB1098 will permit hemp cultivation product manufacturing.
A 2015 law also exempts hemp from the federal list of controlled substances if the THC content is below .03 percent.
“At least 35 states passed legislation related to industrial hemp,” the National Conference of State Legislatures stated on their website last month. “State policymakers have taken action to address various policy issues—the definition of hemp, licensure of growers, regulation and certification of seeds, state-wide commissions and legal protection of growers.”
Having secured the governor Ducey’s signature, SB1098 will go into effect this summer.
