TOPEKA, KS – Among nearly twelve hundred bills introduced into the Kansas legislature this session, one area receiving bipartisan support from lawmakers is hemp. After mobilizing into action on House Bill 2244, which officially transfers hemp processing jurisdiction to the State Fire Marshal’s office, Planted Association of Kansas in partnership with Capitol Lobby Group successfully added crucial amendments to help expand the hemp industry’s growth.
As an appointed member of the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Board, Kelly Rippel was invited to draft amendments with the intent of helping farmers and provided testimony in multiple committee meetings. As a result of this work provisions were adopted to HB2244 allowing the sale of both full spectrum CBD products (containing .3% THC) and products made from hemp seed that are produced in Kansas.
Upon the bill being passed out of a conference committee on April 8th, Governor Kelly signed the amended bill into law on April 16, 2021.
While this change matches what is allowed at the federal level, there is more work to be done. Particularly in easing restrictions on producers and processors, clarifying jurisdictions of state agencies and allowing other forms of products to be sold while also increasing overall support for the hemp program as an important value-added crop for farmers.