“Our goal is to have a 2017 industrial hemp crop, but there are many, many steps we must work through before we can even put seed in the ground,” said Dr. Sandy Stewart, vice chairman of the commission and director of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Research Stations Division. Before May 2017, when planting would begin, the commission must navigate many obstacles, including import protocols to obtain seeds, which would likely come from outside the United States. 

Interest in the crop has grown due to industrial hemp’s numerous uses as a fiber and food crop, as well as the pharmaceutical benefits of plant extracts. Industrial hemp has less than 0.3 percent of the psychoactive chemical THC, compared to 3 to 15 percent in marijuana. In North Carolina, hemp was cultivated through the early 1900s for its fiber. 

A 2015 state statute created the Industrial Hemp Commission following changes to federal policies that allowed institutions of higher education and state departments of agriculture to participate in research-focused pilot programs for industrial hemp production.

To pave the way for obtaining seeds, the NCDA&CS has registered as an importer with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The commission will next focus on drafting rules for a system to permit growers for the pilot program.