As first crop of SC hemp nears harvest, scores of farmers line up for scarce permits

Off a dusty dirt road in northern Sumter County, an experiment unprecedented in South Carolina is taking place.

In between rows of okra and corn, small hemp plants struggle to stay alive among encroaching weeds in the sandy Midlands soil. Most are losing the fight.

But in one section, 4-foot-tall plants stretch above the weeds, spreading their many-fingered leaves to the heavens. And farmer Nat Bradford, famous for his organic collards and watermelons, has begun to nurse these survivors to greater heights.

“This year, it’s all about genetics,” Bradford said. “What we are doing is natural selection. We stress (the plants) first to see which survive, then cultivate the best.”

Bradford last year was one of the first 20 farmers to receive permits to cultivate the state’s first hemp crop since the General Assembly approved a pilot program last year. Those farmers can grow up to 20 acres of the crop.

This year, 162 farmers have signed up to try to land one of an additional 20 permits the state is making available. This time the permits, to be awarded in mid-September, allow 40 acres to be cultivated.

That could become unlimited in 2020 — in both permits and acreage — under the state’s pilot program. But the U.S. Congress is considering legalizing hemp across the board.

Which is good news, said S.C. Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers.

“From the outset, we’re always looking for a profitable opportunity to add to the crop mix in South Carolina,” he said. “Hemp appears to have very good potential. The oil and fiber possibilities long term are intriguing. We want South Carolina to be in the mix. And at least 162 South Carolina farmers see it the same.”

Hemp won’t get you high

Marijuana and hemp are both cousins in the cannabis sativa species, but hemp won’t get you high.

Hemp has seemingly infinite uses, from medicines to textiles to biofuel. For almost three and a half centuries in America, all of the rope used by the sailing industry was made from hemp, among many other uses.

The prohibition of hemp began in 1939 when the federal Marijuana Tax Act strictly regulated the cultivation and sale of all cannabis varieties. Then, in 1970, the federal government classified all cannabis as a controlled substance drug, lumping it together with its trippy cousin marijuana.

As a result, the industrial uses for hemp evaporated and largely were forgotten.

Although marijuana and industrial hemp both contain the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC — hemp contains 0.3 percent or less of THC. Marijuana can contain up to 40 percent.

“You could smoke a whole field and not get high,” Bradford said.

One of the concerns about sanctioning hemp cultivation was that large hemp fields could be used to mask the cultivation of marijuana. But hemp is the dominant of the two species and would neutralize the psychoactive compounds in marijuana.

Bradford is testing four seed varieties to see how they react to South Carolina’s soil, climate, pests and weeds. He will then market the “grain” or seeds to other farmers in the future.

It could be a lucrative business, as hemp seeds today sell for about $1 apiece.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” Bradford said. “I’m looking for vigor. I’m looking for grain producers.”

Fake CBD

The other 19 farmers, however, are growing bulky plants in greenhouses and cultivated fields, most for cannabidoil, or CBD oil.

One of those producers is Janel Ralph of Conway.

The founder of Palmetto Harmony in Conway is growing 4,000 plants in greenhouses and outdoor containers to produce CBD oil, which has therapeutic and medicinal benefits. The company is named after Ralph’s daughter, Harmony, who takes CBD oil to control her seizures from intractable epilepsy.

She said much of the stigma against hemp has been caused by misinformation and shady characters.

Much of the so-called CBD oil sold in novelty shops and convenience stores — an increasing problem along Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach — is actually synthetic marijuana called “spice” or “K2.” These products have higher, synthetic THC levels and can be harmful.

The majority of the fake CDB oil is shipped in from overseas, particularly China, Ralph said.

“So nobody is regulating what they are labeling it,” she said. “Nobody knows what they are getting.”

Ralph has recently opened a bricks-and-mortar store to sell her locally produced products, which include oils, gelcaps, pain patches, vaporizers and even pet products.

“It makes (the pets) feel young again,” she said. “It’s so strange.”

‘A lot to do’

The growth of the hemp industry in the Palmetto State is just one branch of the cannabis tree in South Carolina. Medical marijuana is also making gains in the General Assembly and in public opinion.

During this year’s legislative session, the legalization of medical marijuana made it out of key committees and onto to the floor of both the House and the Senate. This despite opposition by the state’s top law enforcement officer, SLED chief Mark Keel.

The session expired, however, before either chamber could debate the issue.

Thirty-eight states have legalized medical marijuana. And although the process in South Carolina will have to begin anew in January, backers say the path will be easier in 2019 because of this year’s committee debates.

“It’s never gotten this far before,” said former U.S Attorney for South Carolina Bill Nettles, a Democrat appointed by former President Barack Obama.

“When you start looking at the dynamics of it, the Legislature is way behind the populace on this,” he said. “There are only a few people that are standing in front of the majority, and that can’t last. It’s a really solid issue. It’s a bipartisan issue with wide public support that is trending upward.”

Also, a nonbinding advisory vote on the Democratic ballot asking whether medical marijuana should be legalized passed by a whopping 82 percent.

“It’s not the bogeyman anymore,” said Ralph, who is also executive director of Compassionate SC, a group lobbying for legalized medical marijuana. “Legislators are becoming much more educated on the issue.”

Hemp, however, is already going strong.

The Agriculture Department views it as a boon to S.C. farmers both as a rotation crop that will add nutrients to fields, and as a cash crop. Weathers said he might even consider the crop.

“We’re no different than any other farmers,” he said. “We’ll look at the downside potential, the upside potential.”

But the state is playing catch-up. Thirty-one states have laws that provide for hemp production or that allow pilot programs under the auspices of the federal 2014 Farm Bill.

The states include North Carolina and Tennessee. Colorado and Kentucky lead the nation in hemp production, growing the crop on more than 10,000 acres each.

Even Alabama, home of the very anti-marijuana U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has a pilot hemp program.

“Hemp is a hot crop throughout the country and the world,” said Sally McKay, a spokeswoman for the S.C. Department of Agriculture “South Carolina farmers want to be a part of that.”

In addition to medical purposes, hemp can be used for biofuel or burned in power plants. It can also be made into clothing, rope, textiles, even car doors.

But for Bradford, whose passion is locally produced, organic plants and vegetables, the fun is in the newness of it all.

“If you’re a plant person, you always want to work with something new,” he said. “And with hemp, we’ve got a lot to do.”

This story was originally published August 3, 2018 at 11:32 AM.