Hemp farmers hope for a bumper market

Global Business

It’s been a year of firsts in state of Colorado. Recreational marijuana and hemp both became legal. Hemp farmers in the state are now busy harvesting a product they say could have unlimited uses. CCTV America’s Hendrik Sybrandy reports.

It’s picking time in the fields near Boulder, Colorado. On this plot of land, Veronica Carpio and her crew are chopping down plants that look like marijuana but are actually quite different.

Although hemp and marijuana come from the same plant, hemp contains virtually no THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Its supports say it’s has a lot of other attributes.

“You know it’s really healthy for foods. It can be integrated into existing businesses or help new businesses be created. There’s also wellness and health benefits from it,” Caprio says.

Now that industrial hemp is legal to grow and market in Colorado and seven other states, many say the sky is the limit for this plant. A recent hemp festival celebrated this hardy plant.

Hemp can be used to make concrete and added to beverages. It is also added to energy drinks and even burgers. Hemp seeds are the biggest challenge in this field they’re still illegal to import, which is why harvesting them is so important.

Hemp advocates say this new economy has great potential to flourish.