President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law Dec. 20, 2018, officially legalizing the nationwide cultivation and sale of industrial hemp, which is defined as cannabis containing less than 0.3-percent THC. Congress passed the legislation Dec. 12 after months of preparation and debate.

The new law removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and allows farmers to pursue federal hemp cultivation permits. Individual states can regulate the industry within their borders as they see fit, and several states, including Florida and Texas, have passed laws to legalize and regulate hemp and CBD. Each state can submit a plan for a state program that follows USDA rules. The state program can be more restrictive than the USDA program.

What is hemp?

Industrial hemp is an agricultural commodity that is cultivated for use in the production of a wide range of products, including foods and beverages, cosmetics and personal care products, nutritional supplements, fabrics and textiles, yarns and spun fibers, paper, construction and insulation materials, and other manufactured goods, according to the Congressional Research Service. Hemp can be grown as a fiber, seed, or other dual-purpose crop.

Hemp regulations

Several federal agencies have taken up hemp regulations. In late December 2018, just after the Farm Bill was signed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner at the time, Scott Gottlieb, said the agency was looking for “pathways” that would legalize CBD in food, beverages and supplements, but quickly followed that announcement with a statement clarifying that the FDA considers CBD as a drug ingredient, and that it is therefore illegal to add the compound to food or health products without FDA approval. In April, the USDA issued its first official guidance on the legal hemp industry by authorizing hemp seed imports. The department rolled out additional guidance in June with a memo indicating that hemp can legally be transported across state lines. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) updated its cannabis policy in May to allow travelers to bring certain CBD products on flights. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) quickly followed suit on June 6 when it provided new mailing standards that allow certain products derived from cannabis and industrial hemp to be shipped under specific conditions.

Hemp production

Cultivated industrial hemp plants usually consist of a spindly main stalk covered with leaves. Considered a low-maintenance crop, hemp plants typically reach between 6 to 15 feet high. Depending on the purpose, variety and climatic conditions, the period between planting and harvesting ranges from 70 to 140 days. One acre of hemp can yield an average of 700 pounds of grain, which in turn can be pressed into about 22 gallons of oil and 530 pounds of meal. The same acre will also produce an average of 5,300 pounds of straw, which can be transformed into approximately 1,300 pounds of fiber.

Industrial hemp may be an excellent rotation crop for traditional crops, because it suppresses weeds and decreases outbreaks of insect and disease problems. Hemp may also rebuild and condition soils by replacing organic matter and providing aeration through its extensive root system.

Hemp can be certified as organic by the USDA.

Hemp is dioecious, meaning plants can be male or female, and there are differences between male and female plants in growth rate and development. Male plants tend to flower and die earlier. To minimize the impact of this on production, many cultivars are bred to be monoecious, resulting in plants that are mostly females (a small percentage of males plants are included for pollination), to harvest more seed (since male plants do not set seed) and greater fiber productions (since male plants die after flowering).

The retail market

The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) has reported total U.S. retail sales of hemp products of nearly $700 million in 2016, which includes food and body products, dietary supplements, clothing, auto parts, building materials and other consumer products. HIA has also reported that U.S. hemp retail sales have increased by about 10% to more than 20% annually since 2011. Much of this growth is attributable to sales of hemp-based body products, supplements, and foods.

The structures are within walking distance of a major hospital, but nestled in the forest with views of trees, moss-covered rocks, ponds and wildlife.

"Nature provides spontaneous joy and helps patients relax. Being in natural surroundings brings them a renewed calm that they can bring back with them into the hospital. In this sense, the Outdoor Care Retreat helps motivate patients to get through treatment and contribute to better disease management," says child psychologist Maren Østvold Lindheim at the Oslo University Hospital, one of the initiators of the project.

The cabin consists of a main room, a smaller room for conversation and treatment and a bathroom. Large glass windows can be fully opened, allowing patients to hear the wind through the trees, the bird songs and the water trickling into the pond. The space can be used for treatment and meditation, and for spending time with family and friends away from the hospital. The cabins are open to every patient no matter what they’re being treated for.

I’ve previously shared what the forest and mountains do for my psyche. While the hospitals in your community may not be adjacent to a forest and unable to recreate the SnØhetta cabins, imagine what our industry can do for patients across the country with just a little bit of space and a truck load of trees, shrubs and flowers. Let’s help our neighbors heal.

It is a beautiful drive from Carolina Native Nursery to Lake Lure through the mountains of Western North Carolina. Takes about one and a half hours. Lake Lure, home of Chimney Rock State Park, is the location where Dirty Dancing was filmed, as well as the final scenes from Last of the Mohicans. It is a truly spectacular place. The only drawback is the obscene amount of exotic invasive plants along the drive. I know that many people only notice the kudzu but most of you would recognize much more.

The list of exotic invasive plants abundant in North Carolina is very long. Many of them were introduced before the American Revolution, while others like kudzu and miscanthus were introduced much later and Bradford pears not long ago. But on this drive, more than half of the plants listed on N.C. State’s Invasive, Exotic Plants of the Southeast are in full force. In fact, throughout my drive, Japanese knotweed, tree of heaven and multiflora rose can be found in dozens of occurrences. For over 10 minutes straight at 60 miles per hour, miscanthus is in view and for over 18 minutes kudzu is continually seen. It bums me out every time I go to the lake and I go as often as I can in the summer.

It’s upsetting because of all the awesome native plants that I see where these invasives aren’t. There are incredible stands of Mt. Laurel and rhododendron, both R. maximum and the lesser known R. carolinianum. Mayapple and painted trillium appear so early in the spring I see them in the dormant kudzu patches and wonder what would be there if the massed vines were gone. Fragrant sweetshrub highlights the route in early summer, bloodroot in early spring, along with cucumber magnolias, and much more.

The economic and social impacts of invasive species include effects on property values, agricultural productivity, utility operations, native fisheries, tourism, outdoor recreation, and the costs associated with invasive species control efforts. A 2005 study estimated that the economic damages associated with invasive species in the United States reached approximately $120 billion a year. That’s real money. Consider that in 2013 the federal government spent $53 billion to cover the medical expenses for those 73 million Americans that do not have health care insurance. Just some perspective.

It is very easy for everyone to search for what’s invasive in your area. Many of these plants were introduced by the horticulture industry. We also know that some of these plants are sadly still in production. Many are available at your local garden centers or big-box stores. Is it irresponsible to grow and sell them? The thoughtful and rational answer is yes. There are substitutes for all of them. There may be sterile alternatives. These plants are ecological nightmares, displacing native plants and ecosystems, and in many cases aesthetically ugly.

What should be done about them in our industry? Is it better to self-regulate or wait until laws and regulations are passed? Of course, the responsible thing to stop the spread is to stop growing and selling them. We could prohibit them from being on display at trade shows, associations can work to educate members (some are, or have), and actively promote alternatives. No one seems to like regulations handed down in the form of new laws and ordinances. Staying ahead of them is always preferable. Hopefully you have read what is going on in California. The collaboration between Plant Right and the Plant California Alliance are working to get exotic, invasive plants off the market through education from the consumer, to the garden centers and nurseries. And they are successful.

Should we be doing everything we can to prevent the next exotic invasive? Who is liable to clean up the mess when a new one is introduced? Would you like to be liable to clean up the mess that the Bradford pear is causing? Is it plant pollution? Taking the right approach now is reasonable. The Plant Risk Evaluator tool, a method for determining a plant’s potential for becoming invasive in any specific region, is being utilized now. This tool is an adaptation of a broader weed risk assessment screening tool and allows for highly accurate (95%) predictions specifically tailored to horticultural plants. Is it too much to ask that all newly introduced plants are assessed through a tool such as this before they enter the marketplace? Could a tool such as this limit someone’s liability if a newly introduced plant is found to be highly invasive and disruptive?

There are many questions to ask. We have all seen natural areas and ecosystems destroyed by patches of exotic invasive plants. And most of us think these natural areas need to be preserved and protected. A proactive and preventive approach in new plant introduction by our industry is one of the smartest things we can do.