DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Hemp farmers in Georgia say new federal regulations would severely restrict hemp-derived products, impacting thousand of jobs and millions in tax revenue.
The proposed regulations limit THC content to 0.4 percent, which hemp farmer Harry Ostaszewski says would effectively ban nearly all products currently available.
“It basically kills our industry,” Ostaszewski said.
He told Channel 2’s Tom Regan he invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in his hemp growing operation Blue 42 Organics in Dahlonega after recognizing the benefits of CBD in treating CTE, a degenerative brain disease often affecting athletes and military veterans.
He told Regan that many former athletes and teammates were affected by CTE, and CBD was shown to slow the degenerative disease down.
Ostaszewski said constant regulatory changes are unmanageable for farmers.
“There’s going to be no reason to grow. It’s been shifting regulations from day one. As a farmer, regulations shifting more than a season, we can’t keep up with that,’ he said.
He warns these regulations could lead to thousands of job losses and millions in lost tax revenue for the state.
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He also believes CBD is a safer alternative to alcohol, “Anything can be abused, but this is a much better solution for recreational products in the marketplace, than alcohol,” he said.
Supporters of the regulations contend they are necessary to remove unregulated intoxicating products that often get into the hands of minors.
Sarah Hartshorn is the Clinical Director of Eagle Overlook Recovery for Adolescents in Dahlonega. She told Regan she has witnessed severe consequences from these products.
“We have kids who had multiple overdoses. I mean it’s life or death,” Hartshorn stated.
Hartshorn told Regan that many young people seeking treatment at her facility are addicted to THC cartridges sold at gas stations, not traditional illegal drugs like meth or heroin.
“90 percent of our clients are coming in here saying that they are smoking the THC cartridges that you can get at a gas station,” Hartshorn said.
She’s concerned about the unknown contents and origins of these unregulated products,
“What’s in it? There’s no regulation,” She said.
Ostaszewski believes that instead of targeting heavily regulated domestic hemp farmers, the government should focus on unregulated THC products flooding in from overseas manufacturers.
He advocates for placing cannabis under appropriate regulatory bodies, with the USDA handling it as a commodity and other organizations managing the recreational and medical aspects.
“It’s getting cannabis under the right regulator bodies,” he said.
The new regulations are set to take effect in November.
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