Confusion in the regulatory framework of the UK causes a loss of $ 250 thousand only one agricultural producer

The lack of clear regulation of the regulatory framework associated with the impossibility of legal use of leaves and inflorescences of technical hemp with a therapeutic focus leads to huge losses from not only British agricultural producers. In Ukraine, a similar absurd situation is in which technical hemp located on the field, on the one hand, is not subject to control by the state, on the other hand, any commodity position made from the leaves and inflorescences of this plant is considered illegal by our law enforcement agencies and leads to criminal prosecution proceedings under articles related to illegal acts with marijuana.

Hempen management (Oxfordshire, England) claims that the ongoing confusion in the field of hemp regulation in the UK has led to the loss of $ 250,000 in the company he leads as a result of the destruction of crops at the request of government officials.

“Instead of capitalizing on and profiting from the fast-growing market for drug-free cannabinoids, the bureaucracy of the Home Office is forcing British farmers to destroy the crop. In particular, at the request of employees of the department, millions of dollars and technical hemp leaves and inflorescences rot on the fields, ”says Hempen co-founder Patrick Gillett. For example, according to Mr. Gillett, the Home Office in 2018 blocked the cultivation of technical hemp flowers in order to produce drug-free cannabinoids, but indicated that the plant can be cultivated to produce seeds and straw / trusts. After the industrial sowing of industrial hemp, officials demanded that Hempen employees completely cease all activities with the above-mentioned commercial sowing.

Being law-abiding citizens, the Hempen management decided to destroy the sowing area of ​​about 16 hectares in order to fulfill the requirement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Great Britain, at the same time contacting the courts to investigate the fact of abuse of power, as well as official authority by law enforcement officials. 

“In difficult economic times for British farmers, it is technical hemp that offers the country's agricultural producers the opportunity to grow highly profitable crops without any subsidies from the state. The activities of the country's law enforcement officials indicate that the government should transfer responsibility for regulating the cultivation of technical hemp from the hands of officials of the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFRA), ”says Mr. Gillett. In addition, the British farmer focuses on the fact that, given the rapid development of the market for drug-free cannabinoids, he decided to focus his company on the cultivation of therapeutic hemp, and the regulatory framework for this type of activity in the UK is not enough. The unresolved nature of this issue does not allow British farmers to receive significant added value during the cultivation of industrial hemp due to the fact that the possibility of using / processing leaves and inflorescences of the plant in the country is not regulated.

Comment by Ukrainian Technical Hemp Association

Hempen, a non-profit cooperative established in 2015, is licensed to cultivate industrial crops of industrial hemp in the UK.

The lack of clear regulation of the regulatory framework associated with the impossibility of legal use of leaves and inflorescences of technical hemp with a therapeutic focus leads to huge losses from not only British agricultural producers. In Ukraine, a similar absurd situation is in which technical hemp located on the field, on the one hand, is not subject to control by the state, on the other hand, any commodity position made from the leaves and inflorescences of this plant is considered illegal by our law enforcement agencies and leads to criminal proceedings on articles related to illegal marijuana activities.