CORVALLIS Ore. (KPTV) – A provision in the federal funding bill that reopened the government is raising concerns among Oregon’s hemp industry after closing a loophole that allowed products made from parts of the cannabis plant known as hemp.

The bill reclassifies cannabis and hemp products as Schedule I controlled substances, potentially affecting research at Oregon State University, where nine of 11 colleges study hemp applications.

Since the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp has become a popular research topic at OSU. 75 faculty members work on hemp-related products, focusing on industrial applications beyond the CBD and THC production common in Oregon.

Research focuses on industrial uses

“Using it in packaging material, building insulation, this has really good value for to use something like hemp,” said Islam Hafez, assistant professor of wood science.

Bob Zentra, professor of plant breeding and genetics, showed fiber hemp plants grown in university greenhouses. John Simonsen, professor of wood science and engineering, demonstrated hemp-crete or hemp-lime insulation used in standard wall construction.

With multiple research projects going on across the OSU campus, the federal reclassification caught many off guard.

“I actually read about that and it did not make sense to me,” Zentra said. “This hemp we grew at the university greenhouse has no THC, it didn’t even flower. We are focused on the stalk.”

Simonsen said the industrial hemp products pose no psychoactive risk.

“None of these use THC in it. Besides, this is not going to make you high, no matter what you do. Put it in brownies, smoke it, you are not going to get high on this,” he said.

Regulation concerns

The federal crackdown aims to limit production of Delta-8 THC and other cannabinoids with psychoactive effects, but the reclassification could have broader impacts on research.

“There is going to be so much regulation that it will become a problem to grow and test. That’s my concern,” Zentra said.

OSU officials have been working with lawyers and legal experts to ensure research can continue.

Jeff Steiner, director of OSU’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, said he hopes for regulatory exceptions.

“Hopefully, there will be a carve out for hemp grown for fiber, hemp grown for food and beverage, being separated from how it’s being looked at from the standpoint of it being grown for chemicals like CBD,” Steiner said.

Steiner and his colleagues remain confident that the research, especially industrial applications of hemp, will continue.

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