Salem, OR: Democrat Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed legislation into law this week that seeks to license farmers to cultivate hemp as an agricultural commodity. Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa that contains only trace (less than one percent) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana.
As approved by the legislature, Senate Bill 676 authorizes the state Department of Agriculture to regulate the commercial production of cannabis containing levels of THC under 0.3 percent THC.
Similar legislation was also signed into law in June in Maine.
A handful of states – including North Dakota, Montana, and Vermont – have enacted regulations to allow for the licensing of industrial hemp production under state law. However, such production remains criminally prohibited under federal law, which defines all varieties of cannabis as illegal under the Controlled Substances Act.
Legislation pending in Congress, HR 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009, seeks to amend federal law to allow for the state-licensed production of hemp, free from federal interference.
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