Martin Smith of the Kentucky Hemp Farmers Association is on a mission to see an increase in the allowable tetrahydrocannabinol levels in industrial hemp.
THC is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects but is at a much lower level in industrial hemp.
Currently, industrial hemp is allowed to contain .3 percent THC. Hemp growers are asking that the allowable level of THC be increased to 1 percent, still well below the 13-15 percent levels that are the lowest contained in recreational or medicinal marijuana, Smith said.
With such a low level of tolerance for THC, some farmers are seeing their crops destroyed if the THC levels rise about .399 percent, Smith said.
What causes THC levels to rise has been blamed on several factors including geography and environment but a recent study for Cornell University suggest that plant genetics may be more to blame.
The .3 percent level was established as a base line for the industrial hemp pilot program established about five years ago, Smith said. What started as 210 farmers in Kentucky growing hemp has ballooned to 1,046, Smith said.
What ever the reason, increasing the allowable levels would be a “win,win,win” for all concerned including banks and insurance companies who wouldn’t see crops move into “at risk” territory so easily and farmers who have an investment in growing the hemp, Smith said.
Growing hemp for industrial uses is a growing national movement that began in Kentucky, Smith said.
Smith asked Mason County Commissioners to support a resolution asking for the increased THC tolerance.
Mason County was, at one time, the second largest hemp exporting location in the world, Mason County Judge-Executive Joe Pfeffer said. He said he would be in favor of the court showing its support for the issue.
The court voted unanimously to support the resolution which asks for the increase and urges state and federal legislators to revise the allowable THC levels from .3 percent to 1 percent.
Bracken County magistrates also approved the resolution at its meeting Wednesday.
