SOURCES & ARTICLES:
TNHIA – Latest Press Release, September 5, 2016
POLITICO – A-MAZE-ING INDUSTRIAL HEMP: Forget corn mazes — this fall, a farmer just south of Nashville is trying to make a statement and bring awareness to a long-forgotten crop by opening what is said to be the state’s first hemp maze. Clint Palmer and Paige Thompson have carved a path, with a few twists and turns and dead ends, through their hemp field in Chapel Hill, Tenn., which is just under an acre. It will open to the public this week. But the two farmers, and the Tennessee Hemp Industry Association to which they belong, are hoping the attraction will help to normalize the crop to a weary public that has long associated it with its psychedelic cousin, marijuana.
Tennessee is one of two dozen states to legalize cultivation of industrial hemp and set up research programs that were allowed under the 2014 farm bill. Many hope the crop — which must contain less than .3 percent THC, the mind-bending chemical in marijuana — could be a replacement for tobacco and bring in big money for farmers. While the government has cleared the way for research on hemp, Palmer says officials in Washington need to get the plant off the Controlled Dangerous Substances list in order for farmers to really adopt it. Industrial hemp was put on the list in the 1970s due to its affiliation with marijuana. The designation, which requires states to get permits from the Justice Department to import seed, gives the crop a negative connotation with farmers and the public.
“If it’s perceived by the farmers as being illicit because of the government, they aren’t going to touch it,” Palmer said. Getting hemp off the list would also open the door to federal grant funding. The USDA, in its “Statement of Principles on Industrial Hemp,” said that organizations that are authorized to grow the crop “may be able to participate in USDA research or other programs to the extent otherwise eligible for participation in those programs.” But Palmer said that money has been tough to find.
So was the maze hard? Yes. MA’s Jenny Hopkinson got lost more than once, and probably would still be wandering around it if not for some subtle pointing from Palmer. A glimpse of the maze is here. Details, in case you’re in the Nashville area, are here. And brush up on the industrial hemp fight with POLITICO’s primer on the issue. Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook
WKRN – Channel 2 – Life-size hemp maze to open soon in Middle Tennessee
NOBLE NASHVILLE – There’s A Hemp Maze And Here’s How You Can Get Lost in It
TNHIA – PRESS RELEASE