Arcadia Biosciences receives its first industrial hemp program license in Hawaii
The company's new cannabis-dedicated operating unit, Arcadia Specialty Genomics, will commence research this April with a new 10-acre hemp cultivation facility.
Building on last week’s launch of Arcadia Specialty Genomics, a new cannabis-dedicated division of the agricultural food ingredient company, Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA), has announced that it has been granted an Industrial Hemp Pilot Program (“HIHPP”) License by Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture. The license allows for the cultivation of industrial hemp in Hawaii for the purposes of agricultural and academic research. Hemp and hemp products produced under the program may be commercially sold.
With this license, Hawaii becomes the first state where Arcadia Specialty Genomics will commence its research and cultivation of hemp, planting on ten acres of recently-leased land next month. Hawaii was one of 23 states to launch a government-sanctioned hemp pilot program following the 2014 Farm Bill, which partially legalized hemp under state-based research programs. While the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the agricultural cultivation of hemp nationwide, its regulation now falls under the USDA, which has not yet set national policies for the crop. The new Farm Bill also allows states to set more restrictive regulations, including banning hemp growing.