A farmer, biochemist and manufacturer are teaming up to turn a 45-mile stretch of highway in Southwest Colorado into a profitable hemp corridor,
reports the Durango Herald.
The plan would be to turn plots of newly legal industrial hemp into processed CBD oil. Unlike THC, consuming CBD won't create a euphoric high. But it might help treat epilepsy, depression or other ailments.
Even so, the federal government includes hemp under the Controlled Substance Act. Farmer Scott Perez of Mancos says that has made for some major roadblocks to the new hemp corridor.
Perez has struggled to collect enough seed for a crop under the burdensome regulations, which only allow cultivation for academic research. He also says other potential hemp farmers won't get into the crop for fear of losing subsidies or even being arrested:
“A lot of farmers are waiting to see if I’m going to get marched off in handcuffs.”
