Cultivating Industrial Hemp In Sonoma County: Supes Consider Ban

SANTA ROSA, CA — The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider
approving an urgency ordinance banning the cultivation of industrial hemp in the unincorporated areas of the county. The cultivation of industrial hemp poses a risk to the current legal cannabis in the county, according to a report by the county's Department of Agriculture, Weights & Measures.

The unregulated cultivation of industrial hemp presents a potential for unintended pollination of cannabis plants if the hemp is being grown for seed, the county department said.

Some farmers in the county are interested in growing industrial hemp and cannabis farmers are concerned about its impact on their crop.

The urgency ordinance would prohibit industrial hemp cultivation until local controls are in place to ensure the hemp cultivation is compatible in the county.

The proposed ordinance would pass if approved by a four-fifths vote of the board on first reading.

Recent changes in federal and state laws will soon allow growing of industrial hemp in California, officials with the Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures said. Industrial hemp is no longer considered a controlled substance.

— Bay City News Service