Wilk introduces bill for industrial hemp

Senators argue that plant is easier to grow, saves more water

As California farmers look to cultivate low water-intake crops, some lawmakers have a solution: industrial hemp.

Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, introduced Senate Bill 1409 Friday, the last day for proposed laws to be introduced in the legislative session. Wilk introduced the bill with Sens. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, and Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, and Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale.

“This is a jobs bill for my district,” Wilk said. “The bill would update current law to make it easier to grow industrial hemp.”

The senator said a recent end to a decades-long battle over water adjudication rights in the Antelope Valley sparked the creation of the bill. Farmers in the High Desert have traditionally grown alfalfa, which consumes some of the largest amount of water among crops grown in the state, whereas industrial hemp consumes under two acre-feet of water, according to Wilk.

“One of the big losers in the adjudication is the farmers,” he said.

Wilk stressed industrial

hemp is different from marijuana since it only produces trace amounts of THC, the active ingredient of cannabis. He said hemp production could be used for clothing and batteries, while its seeds can be crushed into oil and used for moisturizers.

State law regarding hemp has not changed since 2013, Wilk said, but changes in federal law and the 2016 passage of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana warranted another look at updating the law.

Councilman Cameron Smyth said last month that the cannabis industry is “very nuanced” and cited variations of the plant like industrial hemp, medical marijuana and recreational marijuana. Smyth said each variation should be dealt with individually and not lumped together.

Smyth made the comments while discussing drafting a medical marijuana ordinance in consultation with a Santa Clarita medical marijuana co-operative owner.