St. Paul, Minn. – Minnesota’s hemp producers would be able to sell their products to the state’s medical cannabis industry thanks to bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Karla Bigham (DFL-Cottage Grove), providing increased economic opportunity for this growing industry.
“Since the beginning of the state’s industrial hemp pilot program, and now after the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp production has increased and is now a vital part of our state’s economy – something we’ve seen ourselves in Hastings with Minnesota Hemp Farms,” said Senator Bigham. “We should find every way to support this industry, which is why it makes sense to let our industrial hemp producers and our medical cannabis dispensaries work together to find new ways to use these products.”
The bill, SF 1447, allows Minnesota Hemp growers licensed with the commissioner of agriculture to sell Minnesota hemp to manufacturers of the medical cannabis program. It requires hemp acquired for the medical cannabis program to be subject to the same requirements that cannabis is subject to, except that hemp does not have to be grown in a manufacturer’s enclosed cultivation location. Additionally, the state’s Task Force on Medical Cannabis Therapeutic Research will now include hemp in its evaluation of the medical cannabis program.
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