Business
Hemp Groups Push Federal Agency To Include Farmers In Coronavirus Relief Effort
A coalition of hemp industry associations sent a letter to the head of the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) on Monday, urging the agency to extend access to certain coronavirus relief loans to farmers who cultivate the crop.
While SBA has touted its support for the hemp market since the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, the organizations said there is a lack of clarity surrounding which of the agency’s programs hemp businesses are eligible for, and they expressed frustration that farmers in general are excluded from participating in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) typically addresses disaster relief needs in the agriculture community, which is why farmers can’t receive help from that particular SBA loan program. However, USDA handles natural disasters, not pandemics, so the groups said SBA needs to revise its eligibility requirements so farmers don’t get left behind.
“Farmers are experiencing significant headwinds and instability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and must be able to access disaster relief programs that canĀ support them now,” the letter, which was signed by Vote Hemp, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, U.S. Hemp Growers Association, Hemp Industries Association, National Industrial Hemp Council, Midwest Hemp Council, Hemp Feed Coalition and Nebraska Hemp Industries Association, states. “We believe it was congressional intent to include in that expanded eligibility farms and other agricultural enterprises.”
“We urge SBA to clarify that agricultural enterprises are eligible for the EIDL program as well as the emergency grant program,” it continues. “We also ask that SBA issue clear guidance confirming that agricultural enterprises are eligible for other SBA programs included in the CARES Act. We request that this guidance also be provided to SBA regional and field offices where farmers will undoubtedly inquire.”
“Farmers and rural communities are essential to the food and energy security of our nation,” the groups said. “Family farm businesses are relying on SBA to help them stay afloat during this time of heightened market unpredictability and economic hardship. The families that run these businesses cannot afford the further unpredictability of uncertain SBA program access.”
Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp, told Marijuana Moment that advocates “appreciate that SBA has advocated on behalf of the hemp industry but are concerned that hemp producers are not able to access SBA relief programs including the Emergency Income Disaster Loans.”
“We urge the SBA and Congress to provide the same relief to hemp farmers that is being offered to other businesses,” he said.
Hemp businesses do qualify for SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, howeverāa benefit that specifically isn’t afforded to state-legal marijuana companies, or even businesses that work indirectly with the industry such as accounting or law firms.
That’s an issue that advocates, stakeholders and some lawmakers are attempting to address.
In a letter to state treasurers that was delivered earlier this month, a coalition of marijuana industry associations urged the officials to pressure their congressional delegations to include SBA access for cannabis firms in future coronavirus legislation. They also want the states to explore providing separate loan and lending programs for the market.
On Monday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) sent a letter asking a congressman from his state to take up the issue with his colleagues and ensure SBA access for the industry.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) are actively shoring up congressional support for a sign-on letter imploring congressional leadership to include SBA access for marijuana businesses as part of the next COVID-19 response legislation.
Eleven senators also recently wrote in a Rosen-led letter to Appropriations Committee leadership that they want the SBA issue for cannabis businesses tackled in separate annual spending legislation.
Colorado Governor Asks Congress To Let Marijuana Businesses Get Coronavirus Aid Funds
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
Say youāre a Montana farmer who has planted acres of industrial hemp. As harvest nears, youāre looking to offload it. Where do you go to find a buyer?
Montanaās Department of Agriculture says it has the answer.
The state this week announced the launch of an online āHemp Marketplace,ā unveiling an online portal meant to connect the hemp farmers with buyers in search of seeds, fiber and derivatives such as cannabidiol, or CBD.
āThe Hemp Marketplace concept originated from the same idea as the departmentās Hay Hotline,ā the Agriculture Department says on its website, āonly instead of hay and pasture, the online tool connects buyers and sellers of hemp and hemp derivatives.ā
Listings are free of charge.
Montana Department of Agriculture
Montana farmers have embraced industrial hemp since the state legalized its production under a federal pilot program. The first legal crop was planted in 2017, and in recent years the state has led the country in terms of space dedicated to the plant. In 2018, for example, licensed farmers in Montana grew more acreage of hemp than any other U.S. state. While other states have since eclipsed the state’s hemp productionāthe crop became broadly federally legal through the 2018 Farm BillāMontana remains an industry leader.
But to make revenue, farmers have to be able to sell their crop. Thatās where the new hemp marketplace comes in. The online portal is essentially a sophisticated bulletin board for buyers and sellers, split into āHemp for Saleā and āHemp to Buyā categories.
āWith hemp being a relatively new crop grown in Montana, the department recognizes that these markets are still developing,ā Department of Agriculture Director Ben Thomas said in a statement. āThe Hemp Marketplace was designed to help facilitate connections between buyers and sellers. Iām looking forward to seeing how the marketplace will continue to advance the industry.ā
Listings include what type of products are on offer (or being sought), whether a given crop is organic and even whether laboratory testing data is available. The portal also organizes products into one of four varieties based on whether the hemp seeds have been certified by regulators. None of the products may contain more than 0.3 percent THCāthe upper limit for what qualifies as hemp under both state and federal law.
Meanwhile, Montana voters are set to decide on Tuesday whether the state will legalize hemp’s more infamous cousin, high-THC marijuana. According to a poll released this week, passage looks likely: The survey, conducted by Montana State University at Billings, found that 54 percent of likely voters plan to support legal cannabis on the ballot. Another 38 percent said they were opposed, while 7 percent remained undecided.
At the federal level, officials at the Drug Enforcement Administration are still working to revise rules around marijuana and hemp to reflect Congress’s move to legalize hemp broadly in 2018. While the public comment on the proposals closed earlier this month, nine members of Congress cautioned the agency against adopting its proposed changes, warning some could put hemp producers at risk of criminal liability. Already a number of arrests and seizures have been made by law enforcement officers confused whether products were legal hemp or illicit marijuana.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), meanwhile, has faced separate criticism over its own proposed hemp rules, though it has been more proactive in addressing them. Following significant pushback from the industry over certain regulations it views as excessively restrictive, the agency reopened a public comment period, which closed again this month.
USDA is also planning to distribute a national survey to gain insights from thousands of hemp businesses that could inform its approach to regulating the market.
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Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak
Less than two years after Missouri voters approved a ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana, dispensaries made the state’s first cannabis sales to patients on Saturday.
NāBliss Cannabis opened the doors of two separate St. Louis County locations, in Ellisville and Manchester.
I was honored to watch Larry, a cancer survivor, and his wife Sue, an RN, make the stateās first legal medical cannabis purchase this morning in St Louis. @mocanntrade @NewApproachMO pic.twitter.com/rCudrkdbfI
— Jack Cardetti (@jackcardetti) October 17, 2020
āMissouri patients have always been our north star as we work to implement the stateās medical marijuana program,ā Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said in a press release. āWe greatly appreciate how hard everyone has worked so that patients can begin accessing a safe and well-regulated program.ā
Officials have touted the speed with which they have gotten the voter-approved cannabis program off the ground, saying it is “one of the fastest implementations of a medical marijuana program in the United States.”
Via Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
āA tremendous amount of work has occurred by the licensed facilities and our team to get us to this point, and we continue to hear from more facilities that they are ready or almost ready for their commencement inspection,ā Lyndall Fraker, director of the Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation, said in a press release. āWe look forward to seeing these facilities open their doors to serve patients and caregivers.ā
First #medicalmarijuana sales to patients in #MO take place today.
DHSS interactive facility map: https://t.co/Os2yc0jBdU pic.twitter.com/tpzztI9sOh
— Mo Health & Sr Srvcs (@HealthyLivingMo) October 17, 2020
The impending launch of sales on Saturday was first announced by the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association on Friday and reported by The Springfield News-Leader.
The wait is finally over! Tomorrow morning at 9am @NBlissCannabis will open the doors to their Ellisville and Manchester locations for the first medical marijuana sales in Missouri! Congrats to the whole N'Bliss team! The #MOMMJ industry is up and running! pic.twitter.com/wyZIcoyLBv
— MoCannTrade (@mocanntrade) October 16, 2020
The state, which has so far licensed 192 dispensaries and expects most of them to open their doors by the end of the year, posted an interactive map that tracks the status of approved medical marijuana businesses.
For months, regulators have been caught up in lawsuits and appeals challenging their licensing decisions, with revenues that would otherwise go to supporting veteran services instead being allocated to covering legal costs.
Missouri isn’t the only state to see medical cannabis sales launch this weekend. Virginia’s first medical marijuana dispensary also held its grand opening on Saturday.
Meanwhile, recreational sales of marijuana rolled out in Maine last weekāfour years after voters there approved a legalization ballot measure.
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Business
Illinois Continues Record-Breaking Marijuana Sales Streak, New State Data For September Shows
For the fifth month in a row, Illinois is again reporting record-breaking marijuana sales, the state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced on Monday.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois has seen escalating cannabis sales month-over-month. In September, consumers purchased more than 1.4 million marijuana products worth a total of nearly $67 million. Almost $18 million of those sales came from out-of-state visitors.
In August, the total sales reached about $64 millionāthe previous monthly record.Ā The new adult-use sales figures donāt include data about purchases made through the stateās medical cannabis program.
This latestĀ dataĀ seems to support the notion that the stateāsĀ marijuana market is ārecession-proofā and āpandemic-proof,ā as a top regulator said in August.
Via IDFPR.
State officials have emphasized that while the strong sales trend is positive economic news, theyāre primarily interested in using tax revenue to reinvest in communities most impacted by the drug war. Illinois brought inĀ $52 million in cannabis tax revenue in the first six months since retail sales started in January, the state announced in July, 25 percent of which will go toward a social equity program.
āWe were not doing this to make as much money as fast as we possibly could,ā Toi Hutchinson, senior cannabis advisor to Gov. J.B Pritzker (D), said. āWe were actually doing this for people,ā with a focus on supporting communities most impacted by the drug war.
In May, the state also announced that it was making availableĀ $31.5 million in restorative justice grants funded by marijuana tax revenue.
That said, ensuring an equitable market as promised hasnāt been easy. Regulators have recently faced lawsuits after dozens of would-be social equity licensees were denied an opportunity to participate in a licensing lottery over alleged problems with their applications. The state said it would approve 75, but only 21 ultimately qualifiedāand critics complain that the resources it takes to submit an acceptable application creates barriers for the exact people the special licenses are supposed to help.
The governor announced last month that new procedures would be implemented allowing rejected applicants to submit corrected forms. But on Monday, three investors who are finalists from the initial round filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that the administration’s decision to permit resubmissions was politically motivated and illegal.
For now, the out-of-state sales data seems to support Pritzkerās prediction during his State of the State address in January thatĀ cannabis tourism would bolster the stateās coffers.
Prior to implementation, theĀ pardoned more than 11,000 people with prior marijuana convictions.
Over in Oregon, officials have been witnessing a similar sales trend amid the global health crisis. Data released in August reveals that the state saw about $106 million in medical and recreational cannabis sales, marking the third month in a row that sales exceeded $100 million.
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