On this week’s podcast, we talk to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman about his signature issue of cannabis reform in Pennsylvania and what kind of effect legal recreational marijuana would have on the hemp industry in the state.

The hemp program is not without its challenges, most notably, the arbitrary THC limits that force farmers to skirt the edge of criminality through no fault of their own, something which Fetterman describes as simple "Reefer Madness," a reference to the federal government’s propaganda campaign in the 1930s that did much to turn public sentiment against the cannabis plant, which had until that time many uses in society, from fiber to rope to medicine.

“Whether you're with me politically or not, we should have one thing absolutely in common and that’s the government should be out of your business on how much THC is in your hemp, and we should never be criminalizing what could be just simple, random errors in nature and the fact that you would just have to destroy a crop and waste that is, like I said, reefer madness,” Fetterman said.

How would legal recreational cannabis affect the hemp industry?

“I think they're going to complement each other, because, as you know, hemp has a lot of other uses too. We've legalized hemp and medical marijuana, has the world spun off its axis because of that?” he said.

But there is opposition in the state House to any sort of cannabis reform. Does the opposition present a well-reasoned, fact-based argument? Fetterman says it’s just plain party politics, but he says that hemp and cannabis are bipartisan issues that can benefit Pennsylvania and could create billions of dollars in revenue.

“You don't have to agree with me politically across the board, you know, what I am saying though is: be open to this idea that this is a whole brand-new industry and it could be a cash crop for Pennsylvania’s farmers in a way that, you know, would only come along once every generation or two, and why would we want to turn our backs on that?”

He says Pennsylvania hemp farmers should get first option for recreational cannabis growing licenses. “Agriculture is Pennsylvania’s number one and most important industry, and any cannabis bill should be ag-centered in Pennsylvania, because Pennsylvania farmers take care of us and we need to make sure we take care of them,’ he said.

Read a lightly edited transcript of the entire conversation here: www.bit.ly/LFpodcast109

Hemp News Nuggets

2020 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit

https://pahempsummit.com/

2020: a Year to Forget for Many in Hemp Industry

https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/2020-a-year-to-forget-for-many-in-hemp-industry/article_5d556e04-29a1-11eb-80d3-efedfc677e69.html

South Dakota’s Rules for Industrial Hemp

https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/south-dakotas-rules-for-industrial-hemp/

State Lawmakers Consider Tightening Restrictions on Hemp Products

https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/state-lawmakers-consider-tightening-restrictions-on-hemp-products/article_2c4bc2d1-da7d-5539-b986-bb97d0f937fb.html