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Farmers in Southwest Michigan who grew hemp over the last three years now must obtain licenses from the same agency that issues them for recreational cannabis if the handle or process. any form of cannabis.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development currently regulates hemp. In February, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an emergency order effective April 13 to turn hemp regulation over to the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, which becomes the Cannabis Regulatory Agency.

Authority over hemp processors and handlers, under the Industrial Hemp Research and Development Act, will shift to the new CRA. MDARD will continue to oversee hemp cultivation

“A pretty good number of people were growing the hemp for CBD,” said field crop specialist Eric Anderson, of Michigan State University Extension.

Anderson worked with the area hemp growers. They grow hemp for “the biomass, seeds and to extract the CBD,” the oil many claim is a pain killer and medically proven to aid those with seizures. Those plants cannot contain more than .3 percent THC, the active psychedelic in cannabis.

How many farm cannabis is a secret.

“The way the Michigan law was written originally, and these subsequent iterations passed last year, still require all that information be kept confidential,” Anderson said. “And so it’s not a matter of public record.”

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