The NFU has urged the Home Office to back down over proposed changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act that will unfairly penalise industrial hemp growers.
It says new licence fees, due to be introduced on 15 November, threaten the survival of a re-emerging industry.
Under the 1971 Act all cannabis varieties are controlled as a Class B drug and no distinction is made between those with high levels of the psychoactive compound Tetrahydrocannabinol, and varieties with negligible levels used for industrial hemp.
The licence fee to cultivate hemp has been set at £580 for first-time applicants, £326 for renewals if a compliance visit is not needed and £1,371 if the Home Office decides a visit is required. It is estimated 90% of renewal applicants would be processed without the need for a visit.
“These licence fees are potentially the bale of straw that will break the industry’s back,” NFU Vice President Gwyn Jones said. “We are urging the Home Office to review this situation and to remove industrial hemp from the MDA as the regulation is not only costly to government and farmers but is doubling up on existing controls with no clear justification for its existence.”
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Why can't the government just take time to understand hemp? I don't mind regulation and taxation, just be fair in your judgements on the growing and use of it.