Hawaii Hemp Farmers Can Start Growing on Nov 1, 2020

Hemp can start being planted in Hawaii on November 1, 2020. However, those seeds cannot be sewn until Hawaii hemp farmers have permits from the USDA. There are also new guidelines on agricultural land that may make it difficult for some farmers to plant their crop.

Hawaii regulators still want to regulate and create stricter rules for hemp farmers, causing roadblocks for some, according to Hawaii Public Radio. Industry professionals are dissatisfied with state regulators wanting to increase regulations due to the multitude of uses for the hemp plant. There is still a great deal of opposition for large scale hemp production in Hawaii.

Testing and maintaining legal THC levels is a little difficult. Hemp farmers are also now required to obtain FBI clearance and fingerprinting, which for Hawaii hemp farmers might take a bit of time since most of the processes for this permitting process has to be done on the mainland. Hemp farmers wishing to partake in this process must also quarantine for 2 weeks upon return to Hawaii.

This has discouraged several hemp farmers from wanting to plant the crop.

When it comes to testing the hemp crops for use in CBD products, what’s tested is the top (crown) of the plant and not the whole plant. The tops of the hemp plants have the most THC content. This makes it difficult. The trick in Hawaii is testing the plants before they reach that “hot” level for THC. The testing needs to be done quickly so that the plants can be harvested before they reach that “hot” level.

It’s unknown how much hemp will actually be grown in Hawaii for the remainder of 2020 because of these new regulations and additional processes. For now, many marijuana dispensaries are seeking CBD oil and products from mainland suppliers as it’s just easier and allows them to offer CBD products to their patients and customers.