Similarities between pot and hemp could create headaches for law enforcement

EL CENTRO — If industrial hemp emerges, as expected, into a significant crop for Imperial Valley farmers, it may pose headaches for law enforcement, especially the U.S. Border Patrol.

Although industrial hemp was removed from the federal list of controlled substances with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, its widespread cultivation is pending regulatory protocols by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Eventually, though, the plant, which is a close cousin of marijuana without the psychoactive properties, is likely to become prevalent.

Although many states, including California, have passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use or both, it remains a controlled substance and is still illegal on the federal level.

The similarities between the two plants creates a problem for Border Patrol agents.

Calexico Border Patrol Agent in Charge Daniel Hahn II, at the request of Board of Supervisor Chairman Ryan Kelley, addressed the board Tuesday on the problems the Border Patrol and other agencies will face.

Hahn said one concern is marijuana drug traffickers will mix it with hemp to make it more difficult to determine whether cannabis is being brought across the border.

He added even the Border Patrol drug detection dogs are not able to distinguish cannabis from hemp.

Supervisor Ray Castillo said this issue is not a county problem, as it is really a Border Patrol problem.

Castillo said the Border Patrol needs to find a way to quickly test the THC content of what is being brought to and across the border, but he added there is no testing available at this time.

Kelley said any commodity in Imperial County can be moved across the border.

“This is really a border issue,” Kelley said. “We do not know how it will play out.”

Hahn reiterated that the primary problem is hemp being mixed with marijuana.

“We are playing it by ear on the federal level,” he said. “We will do our best to make sure this is a legal transport.

He said the test kits can’t tell what the THC content is.

“Our dogs can’t tell the difference, either,” Hahn reiterated.

Castillo agreed that technology is lacking in finding a better way to differentiate between the two, as there is only a slight difference in smell.

“I would imagine they would be able to come up with a testing device,” he said. “You have to be able to test it.”

Supervisor Mike Kelley said he would like the hemp to be processed in the county before shipping it out, which would help.

Imperial County Sheriff Chief Deputy Scott Sheppeard said his department’s concern is how the crop is going to be compromised and used by drug traffickers.

He said the Sheriff’s Office right now has 2,000 pounds of baled hemp.

Farm Bureau Executive Director Brea Mohammad said she and her board know hemp has a bright future in the county.

She said transportation of the crop is one of the issues the bureau has discussed and is disappointed in not being allowed to provide feedback to the county on the policy.

“I do wish our growers would have been more involved in the transportation policy,” she said.

Castillo said there will always be a few people who will try to smuggle marijuana across the border by mixing it in with hemp.

“It’s a federal issue,” he said.