Arizona Bill Could Accelerate Hemp Farming in Arizona

Arizona’s lawmakers pumped the brakes on launching the state’s hemp cultivation pilot program until August 2019, but Senator Sonny Borrelli is working to put the pedal to the metal now that the Farm Bill has legalized hemp federally. Borrelli has introduced legislation that would allow Arizona farmers to begin planting hemp seeds by June 1, 2019.

Hemp could be a major cash crop for Arizona, Fox 10 News notes.

“You only can get one planting a year for cotton,” said Borrelli. “With hemp, you can plant it once, and get up to four cuttings per year. That’s a huge yield for a farmer.”

Hemp can be used to make hundreds of products – everything from medicine and food to clothing and building materials.

Hemp has “a thousand different uses, from CBD oils to shampoos, lotions, all kinds of things,” noted Borrelli. “Clothing, hemp paper, our founding documents were written on hemp paper.”

Unlike marijuana, hemp is nonpsychoactive. Hemp contains less than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive substance found in marijuana.

Borrelli said, “They’re going to be very disappointed if they try to smoke hemp, because I like to equate it to if you expect to get high on hemp is like expecting to get drunk on a case of O’Doul’s.”

Arizona’s new legislative session starts in just a few week, but it’s unknown when Borrelli’s bill will be heard.