Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Budding hemp industry leads to battle of advisory boards
It’s a battle of advisory boards, pitting a single Democrat against a powerful pair of Republicans, with the future of what could become a multibillion dollar cash crop hanging in the balance.
Who will get to hash out the rules for Florida’s new hemp industry?
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat, has appointed a 20-member advisory board. But Republican leaders in the Legislature say Fried’s board will undermine another 15-member Industrial Hemp Advisory Council created by a new state law.
Hemp, a strain of cannabis, has a variety of applications from CBD oil to a more environmentally friendly replacement for plastic and Styrofoam. The strain contains extremely low levels of THC and is not intoxicating.
Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, and House Speaker José Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, sent a letter to Fried this week that her advisory board is “duplicative and may undermine” the new hemp law. The measure signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in June established an Industrial Hemp Advisory Council and directed Fried’s agency to develop rules for hemp production.
Galvano has appointed to two members to the Industrial Hemp Advisory Council — state Sen. Rob Bradley and former Sen. Denise Grimsley, both Republicans. Bradley sponsored the hemp bill (SB 1020), which established the advisory council. The board is charged with providing expertise on the development of plans, policies and procedures for the state hemp program that will be operated within Fried’s department.
The council will include representatives from the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Sheriffs Association, the Florida Police Chiefs Association, the Florida Farm Bureau Federation and the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, along with additional members appointed by Fried, the governor and the Speaker of the House.
Fried fired back this week that she thinks her committee will complement the Industrial Hemp Advisory Council. She wrote that her council will examine banking, finance, retail operations, consumer safety and hemp research, including issues that will be beyond the scope of the Industrial Hemp Advisory Council.