In addition to already strong sales, hemp farmers in New York are about to get another major market to sell their crops, medical marijuana companies. New rules seek to allow industrial hemp to be used to make CBD products for medicinal use. The rules will also look to lower the costs of patients using medical marijuana by thousands of dollars.
All 10 licensed medical marijuana companies in the state to buy the standard hemp and CBD oil under their Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot Program.
These companies had to previously rely on their own operations to produce CBD for their medications.
“Since its launch, the state’s hemp research program has seen tremendous interest from growers and processors, and this new regulation will provide our research partners with another market for their products,” Richard Ball, the state Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner told the press.
This is good news for the 400 growers in New York who grew 18,000 acres of hemp this year. This opportunity broadens the options for farmers to sell their crops, which is a real problem in other areas of the country. This will likely fuel a continued rise in the number of hemp growers. The number of growers has grown from 100 to 400 in just two years.
The state Department of Health jointly announced these rules. They are responsible for overseeing the medical marijuana program, and also hope to give patients better access to CBD at lower prices.
Since it’s launch in 2016, the department has boosted enrollments in New York from a few thousand to 110,000. They have also extended the list of conditions that are eligible for medical marijuana.
