SCHUMER STATEMENT ON CANOPY’S OFFICIAL DECISION TO SITE $125 MILLION INDUSTRIAL HEMP PROCESSING PARK IN THE HEART OF BROOME COUNTY; SCHUMER SAYS THE MOVE WILL SPUR GROWTH OF MAJOR NEW AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY IN THE REGION
Schumer Led Federal Effort To Pass Farm Bill That Created A Pathway For The Commercial Cultivation Of Industrial Hemp As An Agricultural Commodity
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today released the following statement after Canopy Growth officially announced the location of its new $125 million industrial hemp industrial park in Broome County:
“I am absolutely thrilled that Canopy believes as I do, that the Southern Tier—and specifically Broome County—is the perfect place to seed and grow the rapidly expanding industrial hemp industry. This is why I fought tooth and nail to get the Hemp Farming Act in the recently-passed bipartisan Farm Bill—something that has unshackled the industrial hemp industry. Canopy’s massive investment will create hundreds of good paying jobs, be a boon for area farmers, and will be a magnet to attract even more industry-related enterprises. I look forward to nurturing the Southern Tier as a hotbed for this burgeoning industry,” said United States Senator Charles E. Schumer.
Schumer has been a leader at the federal level in creating a permissible pathway for the commercial cultivation of industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity, paving the way for major economic development projects like the hemp industrial park to take root while also working closely with agricultural and industry stakeholders to pass his bipartisan legislation the Hemp Farming Act of 2018.
On the heels of the passage of this landmark legislation, Schumer called on industrial hemp leaders to consider the Southern Tier as an ideal spot for expansion into the industrial hemp industry. And earlier this year he announced they heeded his call—announcing that Canopy Growth was poised to make a $125-$150M investment into the Southern Tier. Schumer explained that this project will bring hundreds of good-paying jobs to Broome County, with the potential to add many more as more industry-oriented businesses locate in the area, as well as position the Southern Tier at the forefront of the industrial hemp revolution.
The Schumer-backed Hemp Farming Act of 2018 was introduced by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), passed and signed into law as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, and does the following:
- Removes industrial hemp from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act
- Empowers states to be the principal regulators of hemp
- Allows hemp researchers to apply for competitive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Makes hemp farmers eligible to apply for crop insurance
Industrial hemp is a type of cannabis plant that is grown largely for industrial uses, but it can also be utilized for food, oil, and cosmetic products. Hemp contains a very small amount, typically between 0.2 and 0.3 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and while from the same species of plant as marijuana, it has varied widely in use. However, due to the existence of THC in hemp, Schumer explained, both plants were considered “controlled substances” under federal law, meaning the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was the primary regulator for hemp production. Schumer argued that this narrow view has undermined the crop’s agricultural and economic potential. With the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 passed by Congress and signed into law last year, this unnecessary roadblock has been lifted, and industrial hemp’s significant potential to become a cash crop in Upstate New York’s will be unleashed.
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