The Florida Legislature passed a bill during the 2019 session that will create an industrial hemp industry in the state. It is still awaiting Governor Ron DeSantis’s signature, and he is expected to sign it. It will automatically take effect on July 1st if he does not veto it.
Once signed by Governor DeSantis, the new law would create a hemp program in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which is led by Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is a major cannabis advocate herself. It will provide a regulatory framework that includes requiring licenses for people or businesses that want to grow hemp, and requiring them to provide detailed information about where hemp is being cultivated.
We explore the world of industrial hemp during this hour, starting with an update on the University of Florida’s industrial hemp pilot project, which kicked off about a year ago. We're joined by Dr. Zachary Brym, he’s an assistant professor of agronomy at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, and he’s Program Coordinator for the university’s hemp pilot project.
And we meet Josh Hendrix, he is founder of Kentucky Hemp Industries Association, and he serves on the Board of Directors for the US Hemp Roundtable, the National Hemp Association, and Friends of Hemp. Also serves as the Director of Business Development Domestic Production for CV Sciences, which makes products containing CBD, which is extracted from industrial hemp.
