Pubdate: Fri, 09 Jun 2017
Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA)
Copyright: 2017 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
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Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339
Author: Sam Wood

HEMP TAKES ROOT IN PA. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 80 YEARS

It marked the first time in 80 years that the cousin of cannabis, once
a common cash crop in the state of Pennsylvania, had been legally sown
in the state.

"We would have like to have planted it a few weeks ago, but the seeds
- from Italy and Canada - were held up in customs," said Diana Martin,
spokeswoman for the Rodale Institute in Berks County.

Research scientist Emmanuel Mondi oversees planting near Kutztown on
June 9, 2017. It marked the first time the plant has been legally sown
in 80 years.

The Rodale Institute, a hotbed of organic farming studies, was one of
16 organizations granted permits by the state earlier this year for
industrial hemp research. Rodale agronomists hope to develop ways of
using the plant to manage weeds and enhance soil quality.

Unlike medical marijuana, which will be grown in warehouses under
lights when production begins in Pennsylvania next year, industrial
hemp will be allowed to flourish under the natural light of the sun.

The Rodale Institute, a hotbed of organic farming studies, was one of
16 organizations granted permits by the state earlier this year for
industrial hemp research.

Rodale's first hemp harvest should be ready in early September.

"It can grow 10 feet tall in about 100 days," Martin said. "So, in a
few months we'll have a sizable hemp crop."

The hemp research at Rodale is being largely funded by Dr. Bronner's,
the manufacture of organic peppermint soaps.

Hemp, a variety of cannabis that has no discernible psychoactive
properties, was outlawed in 1933 when the federal government banned
its close cousin, marijuana.

In 1970, the Food and Drug Administration ruled that both hemp and
marijuana had a high potential for abuse, grouped them with heroin,
peyote, and LSD, and declared they had no acceptable medical use.