Bid to Expand Medical Marijuana Business Faces Federal Hurdles
By DAVE PHILIPPS AUG. 23, 2014
The New York Times
WRAY, Colo. — Behind a tall curtain of corn that hides their real cash crop from prying eyes, the Stanley family is undertaking an audacious effort to expand their medical marijuana business to a national market. For years, the five Stanley brothers, who sell a nonintoxicating strain of cannabis that has gained national attention as a treatment for epilepsy, have grown medical marijuana in greenhouses, under tight state and federal regulations. But this year, they are not only growing marijuana outdoors by the acre, they also plan to ship an oil extracted from their plants to other states.
The plan would seem to defy a federal prohibition on the sale of marijuana products across state lines. But the Stanleys have justified it with a simple semantic swap: They now call their crop industrial hemp, based on its low levels of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in pot. "The jump to industrial hemp means we can serve thousands of people instead of hundreds," said Jared Stanley, 27, who wore muddy Carhartts and a rainbow friendship bracelet as he knelt down to prune his plants.
Colorado, which has legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational and medical use, has accepted the new designation. But the real question is whether the federal government will go along. If it does, the impact would be significant, opening the door to interstate sales not just by the Stanleys, but possibly by scores of other medical cannabis growers across the country. But if it does not, the Stanley brothers could be shut down by federal agents.
So far, the Drug Enforcement Administration is offering few clues, insisting in public statements that while it is willing to allow marijuana sales in states that have legalized the drug, it might step in if growers try to sell beyond state borders. "Any chemical that comes from the plant is still a controlled substance,"said Dawn Dearden, an agency spokeswoman. "When we get into hemp, it gets a little squishy, but it still is illegal."
(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/24/us/bid-to-expand medical-marijuana-business-faces-federal-hurdles.html)
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