Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jan 2014
Source: Western Producer (CN SN)
Copyright: 2014 The Western Producer
Contact:  http://www.producer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/740
Author: Robert Arnason

HEMP INDUSTRY ASKS FEDS FOR DEREGULATION

Not All Agree

Some Growers Argue Regulation Is Still Necessary but the Government 
Should Consider Modifying Its Rules

Canada's rules and regulations for growing hemp are burdensome, 
tedious and in need of revision, says Chris Dzisiak, a grower from 
Dauphin, Man.

Nonetheless, Dzisiak said it's unrealistic to completely deregulate 
hemp production and treat the crop the same as canola, wheat and barley.

"It is still a controlled substance.... Making it totally open, what 
are risks?" said Dzisiak, president of the Parkland Industrial Hemp 
Growers Co-op, a producer group in the Dauphin area.

The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA), which represents growers, 
processors, marketers and other hemp industry players, said in 
December that it wants hemp production deregulated because the crop's 
status is curbing industry growth.

Health Canada regulates and approves hemp production under the 
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Canadian farmers who want to 
grow hemp need a licence from Health Canada.

Producers seeded 66,671 acres of industrial hemp in Canada last year, 
which was a 50 percent increase from 2012 and up substantially from 
8,000 acres in 2008, the CHTA said. It expects that trend to 
continue, predicting Canadian acreage will exceed 100,000 in the next 
couple of years.

Shaun Crew, chief executive officer of Hemp Oil Canada, a processor 
in Ste. Agathe, Man., said the licensing process is unnecessary and costly.

"The bottom line is it's an agricultural crop. It should be (under) 
the department of agriculture.... Rather than being looked at as a 
drug, it (would be) looked at as an agricultural commodity, a food 
product," he said.

"It's basically burdening the industry with added costs.... THC 
testing is a very real cost to both producers and processors."

Dzisiak said applying for a hemp production licence is bothersome 
because it takes Health Canada months to respond to an application.

As well, the licence permits a farmer to grow a specific acreage of 
hemp on specific GPS co-ordinates. The rigidity of the rules can 
become ridiculous, he said.

"If you plant 45 acres you're technically (violating) the permit. If 
you plant 38 acres, they want to know right away what happened to the 
other acres."

Still, Dzisiak said the hemp industry benefits from the federal oversight.

"You have to know who's growing, where they're growing, so you can go 
and check," he said.

"If we regulate something and have a good process, no one can ever 
point to us and say ... 'you're trying to create something illegal.' "

Instead of deregulation, Dzisiak said Health Canada should modify its 
hemp production rules.

"Simplify the licences and get those licences out a little sooner. 
But for Health Canada to know where the crop is being grown and who 
is growing it, I think, needs to remain as fundamental."

CHTA president Russ Crawford said Health Canada assumed authority 
over hemp production in 1998 because the federal government didn't 
know how to handle the crop.

Now that the industry has matured, with dozens of established growers 
and numerous companies manufacturing hemp oil, hemp protein powder 
and hemp milk, it's time to acknowledge that hemp is distinct from marijuana.

"Over the 15 years we've been under the regulation of Health Canada, 
there hasn't been any occurrences of (high) THC (levels) in sampling 
(of hemp)," he said.

Crew said the initial fears surrounding hemp production, such as 
teenagers getting stoned on hemp plants or criminals growing pot in 
the middle of a hemp field, were unwarranted.

"People running into the hemp fields, chopping down the plants, 
bagging them up and selling them at the school yards. None of that 
ever happened."

Crawford said the public associates hemp and marijuana and it's been 
difficult to quash that perception.

As well, pot advocates like to equate hemp and marijuana, which 
further complicates matters.

"Unfortunately, there are a lot of people on the marijuana side who 
want to blur the line a little bit and say it's the same thing, hemp 
and marijuana," Crawford said.

"Just to create a comfort around it (marijuana), and that's not our 
message at all."

Crawford said the federal government shouldn't play "wait and see" 
and duplicate how other countries deal with hemp because Canada leads 
the world in hemp food production.

"We need to be a leader in this respect and demonstrate that Canada 
is the foremost producer of hemp for food and we deem it to be safe," he said.

"This is a nationwide opportunity.... There's potential here for 
another Cinderella crop in Canada and we should do all that we can to 
facilitate that."

[sidebar]

Health Canada's industrial hemp regulations, which govern the 
production and sale of hemp, took effect in 1998. The department is 
reviewing the regulations and held a public consultation on potential 
changes and amendments from Nov. 4 to Dec. 20. Health Canada is 
considering several changes:

Hemp licences are now valid for one calendar year. However, many 
growers store hemp seed past Dec. 31, either to sell the crop at a 
later date or for re-use. In such cases growers must reapply for a 
possession licence. Proposed change: Increase the licence period from 
one year to a maximum of four years. A grower must request an 
amendment to a licence if he is making changes, such as the field location.

Health Canada tests THC levels at three stages: plant breeding, seed 
production and grain production. Only three "competent" laboratories 
test hemp for THC in Canada, which means it can take three to five 
months for results, delaying licence application and approval. 
Proposed change: Eliminate THC testing for grain production but 
continue to test at plant breeding and seed production.

Health Canada will formally propose amendments to the regulations 
after reviewing input from last fall's comment period. There will be 
another 75 day comment period once the amendments are introduced.

Source: Health Canada
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom