Proposed legislation threatens to undo years of lobbying to foster Hawaii’s local hemp industry, according to farmers who just last year celebrated the repeal of regulations that had been stymying progress.
Hemp is lumped into a 361-page bill to legalize recreational marijuana that was drafted by the Attorney General’s Office and released on Friday.
The final draft calls for the creation of the Hawaii Cannabis Authority and cannabis control board to be created under the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which would create rules for and then regulate medical and recreational cannabis, as well as hemp.
That authority would also have the power to amend or repeal current laws, which hemp growers think will negate the work the industry has done to remove unnecessary regulation.
Gov. Josh Green has been a vocal supporter of legalizing recreational cannabis, something the AG has generally opposed. But Attorney General Anne Lopez said last year during her Senate confirmation that she intended to find a way to help the administration create the law it wanted.
The AG’s office clarified on Friday that it still does not support recreational cannabis legalization.
The Hawaii Hemp Farmers Association, led by Gail Byrne Baber, has been firmly against the draft legislation since catching wind of its development in mid-December.
Farmers do not contest legalizing recreational marijuana use, according Byrne Baber, but they are concerned about being placed under a “cannabis tsar” with recreational and medical marijuana.
Hemp farmers are also worried about the need to be licensed by the state to make products with their crops, which Byrne Baber says is the only way the farmers can make money out of their business.
“It would be like forcing kombucha to get an alcohol license. There’s alcohol in kombucha, stimulants in coffee,” Byrne Baber said. “People who deal with intoxicating products — law enforcement and DEA — are not farmer people and we shouldn’t have to go before them.”
Same Plant, Different Uses
Cannabis and hemp are the same plant, but the level of the psychoactive compound THC — delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol — differentiates their use and legality. Hemp must remain below 0.3% THC to be considered legal under federal law.
The USDA already monitors Hawaii’s hemp crops to ensure the plants have less than 0.3% THC, though the first draft of the AG’s bill required a substantially smaller percentage of THC for hemp products.
Under an earlier draft of the bill, hemp products such as tinctures, salves and lotions would have been required to be under 5 milligrams of THC per package.
That’s almost 17 times less THC per 30 milliliter bottle than what is allowed by the federal government, according to Jared Dalgamouni, CEO and founder of Rare Cannabinoid Co.
Stripping the THC from the hemp products is labor intensive and expensive, plus the process also removes many of the characteristics that make Hawaii’s hemp unique and marketable, according to Dalgamouni. He said Hawaii’s CBD would effectively become a “stripped back commodity.”
Hawaii’s hemp market has been valued at up to $54 million, and Byrne Baber says farmers have invested close to $20 million into the industry.
-
‘Hawaii Grown’ Special Series
This ongoing series delves deep into what it would take for Hawaii to decrease its dependence on imported food and be better positioned to grow its own.
AG staffers met with concerned hemp farmers after the bill was first drafted and decided to alter the language in its final iteration to be less stringent and in keeping with federal hemp regulations over THC content.
The AG also consulted lawmakers, drug experts and various cannabis industry representatives.
Hemp remains under the Hawaii Cannabis Authority’s oversight, which an AG spokesperson says is because of the possibility of gaps and conflicts in regulation and conflicting information on what is allowed.
Current hemp regulations would “constitute such a gap in regulation and would make it more difficult … to combat the illicit cannabis market,” the AG’s report said, reiterating an argument made for regulating hemp in the past.
“We’ve been the most regulated hemp industry in the country. But they make it sound like it’s the wild west out here,” Byrne Baber said.
Rep. David Tarnas was one of three lawmakers that called on the AG to prepare the report and draft bill for legalizing recreational cannabis. Tarnas agrees that hemp be included with recreational and medicinal cannabis under a regulatory body.
“The hemp industry didn’t get everything it wanted,” he said. “It’s a much better bill. … We don’t want to make the hemp industry overburdened.”
Placing it under the same umbrellas is the right move because it’s the same plant, Tarnas said. He added that psychoactive products like Delta 8 — derived from hemp and legal under federal law — have become common in Hawaii.
Hawaii’s hemp industry does not have facilities to produce Delta 8, which is illegal in Hawaii. HHFA has also been outspoken against the product.
Sen. Tim Richards, a Big Island veterinarian and rancher, is on the hemp industry’s side.
“Do we want ag industries or not?” he said. “Agriculture has enough regulatory hurdles. We don’t need to create new ones because it makes it easier for the regulators.”
The Public Process
Last year the Legislature passed a law that removed several hemp regulations that lawmakers acknowledged were redundant, representing a hard-fought win for hemp farmers and leaving the regulation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Act 263 also established a Hawaii Hemp Task Force coordinated by the departments of agriculture and health to help the industry.
“We finally had a pro-farmer, pro-consumer bill,” Byrne Baber said.
The rule-making and rule-changing powers that the potential Hawaii Cannabis Authority might have is a serious concern for Grant Overton, cofounder and CEO of Agripelago, an Oahu business that uses hemp to make biofuel and food.
That is because it could destabilize “a discrete industry,” he says, as political will could change with each administration and influence the authority’s direction.
“Let’s say the current Legislature is in favor in hemp. That could change in a heartbeat,” Overton said. “That doesn’t give us much options other than to oppose this.”
Byrne Baber says Hawaii’s hemp farmers see Act 263 as the only way forward, which she has underscored in letters to lawmakers in both chambers over the past month.
“Your decision on this matter is not merely regulatory; it will profoundly influence the future of farmers and small business owners in Hawaii,” Byrne Baber said in one letter.
Hawaii Farmers Union United has also voiced its opposition in a letter to lawmakers.
This is all playing out behind the scenes before the legislative session has even begun. Opening Day is Jan. 17, and lawmakers have until Jan. 24 to introduce bills.
Once submitted, the bill will be subject to approval and further changes in the House and Senate.
Tarnas said it remains uncertain how the bill will be received, given that Maui wildfire recovery costs will take priority and establishing the Hawaii Cannabis Authority may require a “significant” appropriation, he said.
“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.
What stories will you help make possible?
Since 2010, Civil Beat’s reporting has painted a more complete picture of Hawaii — stories that you won’t find anywhere else.
Your donation, however big or small, will ensure that Civil Beat has the resources to provide you with thorough, unbiased reporting on the issues that matter most to Hawaii.
Make a gift to Civil Beat today and help fund our daily coverage in 2024. And if you’re able, consider a sustaining monthly gift to support our work all year-round.
H/T: www.civilbeat.org
