The Rodman Law Group: Industrial Hemp Attorneys

The Rodman Law Group has been providing legal counsel to the industrial hemp industry since 2014. During that time, we’ve assisted clients to grow their businesses, apply for licensing, and assisted with regulatory compliance for all of their business endeavors.

Industrial Hemp

If marijuana is Colorado’s modern-day gold rush, then industrial hemp is its modern silver boom. Just as gold drew the first prospectors to Colorado in 1858, Colorado’s progressive stance on cannabis captured the attention of the nation. However, as many Coloradans know, it wasn’t gold that made the state famous and prosperous, it was the Silver Boom. At The Rodman Law Group, it is our belief that the cutting edge of the cannabis industry (not just Colorado but across the country) is industrial hemp, and like the silver boom that followed the gold rush in Colorado, it is in industrial hemp that the largest fortunes will be made.

Thanks to many years of misinformation, there are many falsehoods and untruths surrounding industrial hemp. One of our core goals is to shatter these myths and facilitate education and disseminate the truth about this amazing crop. We are striving to accomplish these goals by providing the most up to date information on the subject to our clients and by speaking and writing about the subject as frequently as possible.

What’s the Difference Between Marijuana and Hemp?

The first question most people usually ask when discussing industrial hemp for the first time is “How is it different from marijuana?”

The answer is simple: while both industrial hemp and marijuana come from the cannabis plant, if the plant contains less than three-tenths of one percent (.3%) of the psychoactive molecule delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (or “THC“), that plant is considered industrial hemp. In other words, the psychoactive properties that many traditionally associate with marijuana use (i.e. getting “high”) are not present in industrial hemp.

What are the Applications of Industrial Hemp?

Some of the things that you can do with industrial hemp are:

• produce high tensile strength rope (as the US Government paid farmers to do during World War II)
• extract lifesaving, non-psychoactive cannabinoids such as cannabidiol or (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabinol (CBN) for pharmaceutical purposes
• produce environmentally safe, highly efficient, and easy to use building materials
• produce plastics for use in everything from automobile manufacturing to residential plumbing
• produce fabric for clothes, hats, and containers
• produce biofuel
• produce a wide range of food products including ice cream, tea, and cereal.
• and of course, make paper through a process that is significantly more environmentally friendly and more productive than our current logging based paper industry

Legal Status of Industrial Hemp:

• In 2014, the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment (now known as the Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment) was attached as a rider to an omnibus spending bill and designates any Cannabis Sativa L.  plant that does not contain more than .3% THC on a dry weight basis as being hemp
• The Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment prohibits the federal government from expending any resources to interfere with any state that has enacted legislation to regulate or otherwise permit the cultivation of industrial hemp, and it must be passed every year to remain in effect (it has passed every year since 2014)
• 35 out of 50 US states draw a distinction between hemp and marijuana — and have legalized the production of hemp
• Industrial Hemp is not recognized by the FDA as a supplement or food additive, although Colorado permits its use in food manufacturing
• Marijuana (including any extracts derived therefrom) is still considered a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act

Colorado

• Industrial hemp cultivation in Colorado requires registration with the Colorado Department of Agriculture (“CDA“)
• The CDA does not have jurisdiction over the sale or distribution of industrial hemp, they only regulate cultivation

California

• The California Department of Food and Agriculture (“CDFA“) is the agency in California which administers the state’s Industrial Hemp program
• All growers of industrial hemp for commercial purposes must register with the county agricultural commissioner prior to cultivation, although at this time registration is not yet available

Why Choose RLG?

There has never been a crop as versatile as hemp, and with Colorado leading the shift towards legality at a nationwide level, industrial hemp is poised to revolutionize industries as diverse as medicine, energy, and heavy manufacturing. The Rodman Law Group has the regulatory know-how, the requisite legal skill, and the unbridled passion for the industry to help those with the vision make a significant impact in industrial hemp, an impact that could change the world. We can provide your business with the insight and knowledge that you need to be successful in the industry while providing focus on compliance with all state and local laws.