#hemp hawaii

“These bills address urgent health needs in our community — from mental health to medical cannabis access, and care for those with disabilities,” said House Committee on Health Chair Gregg Takayama.

These updates aim to bolster Hawaiʻi’s hemp farmers and industry by enhancing processing capabilities and expanding the range of hemp-derived products available to consumers, while maintaining strict safety and quality standards.

Senator Mike Gabbard, Chair of the Agriculture and Environment Committee, applauded the final passage of a bill in the House of Representatives today to legalize the growing, processing, and sale of industrial hemp in Hawai‘i.

Governor Ige called the Hemp Pilot Program a “strong and prudent step” in helping to determine the crop’s viability in Hawaiʻi.

With the passing of recent hemp legislation in Hawaiʻi, Maui Hemp Fest 2016 celebrates hemp as a future agricultural crop and spark to the local economy.

A bill to allow private farmers to grow and sell industrial hemp through permits from the State Department of Agriculture (HB2555) has unanimously passed the Hawaii State House of Representatives and will crossover to the Senate.

Alexander and Baldwin’s recent announcement that it will end sugar production at Maui’s Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. will free about 36,000 acres of agriculturally zoned land at the end of 2016, prompting question over what crop would replace sugar.

Representative Ing said that while industrial hemp is not a “magic bullet” for Hawaiʻi’s agriculture, he said it deserves consideration, especially with the closing of sugar operations by Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company on Maui.

“Hemp is a crop that will keep our agricultural land in active production, yields high profit margins, provide hundreds of job opportunities and provide a product for entrepreneurs.”

On Wednesday, April 1, the final two committees of the Hawaiʻi Senate approved a new agricultural bill (HB 508 SD1) that would allow farmers to grow industrial hemp for animal feed research, a press release by ihempHI.com said.