HB 2028 which will remove all restrictions on production Industrial hemp appeared in the General Assembly House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
Sub-Committee. Eastern Shore Delegate Robert S. Bloxom, Jr. (R) – House District 100 will vote on the measure that will allow farmers in Virginia to begin to cultivate and sell industrial hemp. The Bill was introduced by Delegate Nicholas J. Freitas(R) of Culpeper.
Industrial hemp is from the plant species Cannabis sativa and has been used to produce industrial and consumer products such as paper, fabric and rope. Hemp is a source of fiber and oilseed grown in more than 30 nations. On an annual basis, 1 acre of hemp will produce as much fiber as 2 to 3 acres of cotton and as much paper as 2 to 4 acres of trees.
Here is the prologue to the Bill: § 3.2-4113. Production of industrial hemp lawful.
A. It is lawful for a person licensed pursuant to § 3.2-4115 or 3.2-4117 to cultivate, produce, or otherwise grow industrial hemp in the Commonwealth for any lawful purpose, including the manufacture of industrial hemp products or scientific, agricultural, or other research related to other lawful applications for industrial hemp. No person licensed pursuant to § 3.2-4115 or 3.2-4117 shall be prosecuted under § 18.2-247, 18.2-248, 18.2-248.01, 18.2-248.1, 18.2-250, or 18.2-250.1 for the possession, cultivation, or manufacture of industrial hemp plant material and seeds or industrial hemp products. In any complaint, information, or indictment, and in any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of any provision of Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 or the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.), it shall not be necessary to negate any exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption contained in this chapter or the Drug Control Act, and the burden of proof of any such exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption shall be on the defendant.
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