By Jean Lotus Published on July 7, 2021
The state of Colorado is taking steps to deal with cross-pollination of cannabis plants in a way that may provide a roadmap for the emerging industrial hemp and marijuana industries going forward. A new cannabis bill, signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis in June, aims to address the problems of pollen drift which can interfere with the final production of both crops. A new working group, convening in November for seven months, will come up with recommendations to curb pollen spread among cannabis plants. The recommendations have the potential to provide a blueprint for hemp and cannabis growers nationwide. Colorado has a multi-million dollar marijuana industry, bringing in $2.2 billion into the statelast year. Many outdoor growers in the southern part of the state around the city of Pueblo, for example, fear that pollen from male hemp plants will destroy the cannabinoid content of their flower crop. Meanwhile, Colorado’s hemp farmers registered more than 40,000 acres of cultivation last year. Cannabinoid hemp farmers growing for CBD worry that industrial hemp, grown for fiber or grain, will generate pollen that will ruin their crops.