A local industrial hemp advocacy group hopes to plant seeds of knowledge and awareness Saturday as an official partner with the nation\u2019s Fifth Annual Hemp History Week.<\/p>\n
Hemp Talks\/Western Slope will have an informational booth at the Dolores River Festival on Saturday, June 7, as Hemp History Week wraps up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPartnering with a national organization sort of puts us on the map as a local advocacy group,\u201d said Hemp Talks organizer Sharon Stewart. \u201cIt gives us the opportunity to tap into larger resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Hemp Talks\u2019 monthly meeting on Sunday, June 1, Stewart announced that Mancos Valley Resources had recently approved the local advocacy group to fall under its umbrella as a nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis designation is really exciting,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cIt allows us to apply for grants and accept donations. It will be very helpful, and allows us to do much more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stewart also revealed that two local farmers \u2013 approved to grow industrial hemp research and development plots this year \u2013 are expected to start planting the area\u2019s first hemp seeds this month, despite some \u201clegal gray issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese local farmers are going out on a whim, and hoping for the best,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n
A bit of good news for local farmers came last Friday, when the House of Representatives blocked the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds to interfere in state-legal industrial hemp research. Colorado legalized industrial hemp earlier this year.<\/p>\n
According to Stewart, Scott Perez of Mancos has been approved to grow a one-acre test plot, and Merle Root of Pleasant View intends to grow a 10-acre plot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese two farmers\u2019 growing research and development plots will provide some insight to those wishing to grow larger commercial crops,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cPeople want to see some numbers, and hopefully we will have that type of information for them later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stewart said other farmers had expressed interest in growing hemp, but decided to \u201cwait and see.\u201d The greatest issues are seed availability, water issues and THC levels, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana.<\/p>\n
\u201cTHC acts as a sunscreen for the hemp plant,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cOne concern is that THC levels could rise in any hemp grown locally due to our high elevation.\u201d<\/p>\n
All industrial hemp grown in Colorado must contain less 0.3 percent THC. State regulators will randomly screen research and development test plots to check THC levels of hemp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping the state will take a bigger role this summer to help determine which strains would grow best here,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n