Today Colorado’s Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, & Energy Committee approved Senate Bill 241 with a unanimous vote. The bill, which is sponsored by Senator Gail Schwartz, would enable farmers to register for 10-acre plots in order to study the viability of different hemp varieties.

In addition, the measure would explicitly allow larger, full-scale farms to operate, as long as they register with the Department of Agriculture. Advocates, however, feel it could be a while before someone takes that risk, given that is has a larger possibility of drawing federal attention.

With the recent passage of Amendment 64, which legalized small amounts of marijuana for adults, hemp was pseudo-legalized, though the provision states that hemp cultivation is contingent on legislative action, hence, the introduction, and necessity, of this measure.

Recent congressional research indicates that we import over $400,000,000 worth of hemp from other countries. The same congressional research states that the hemp market may consist of over 25,000 various products.

Senate Bill 241 now moves towards a full Senate vote, where it’s expected to pass.

– TheJointBlog