The governor of leading U.S. hemp state Colorado, Jared Polis, will unveil a “roadmap” to strengthen relations between the state’s cannabis industries and financial institutions during opening remarks at this year’s NoCo Hemp Expo. Polis said the program aims to provide clarity and guidance to state-chartered banks and other financial services firms that work with cannabis and hemp-related companies.
“As the first state to establish a legal marijuana industry and one of the first to implement an industrial hemp program, Colorado has become a national economic leader in the cannabis industry,” Polis said in a statement. “We are excited to release a bold, forward-thinking roadmap to provide much-needed guidance, clarity, and support.”
Expo & business seminars
Polis launched the “Colorado Hemp Advancement and Management Plan” (CHAMP), and has been a strong supporter of state hemp efforts.
The 2-day Expo (March 27-28), in its 7th year, expects as many as 400 exhibitors, while three days of seminars (March 26-28) include an Investor Forum, a Business Conference, a Farm Symposium, and the Let’s Talk Hemp Education Stage. The event is set for Denver’s National Western Complex.
The Expo’s Farm Symposium will feature other state and federal officials who will summarize hemp regulations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), talk about new opportunities in the sector, and offer an outlook for hemp farmers in 2020.
Rapid change
This year’s Symposium comes on the heels of one full year of federally legal hemp growing under changes to the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, and following a recent announcement that USDA will delay a requirement that THC tests on hemp crops be carried out at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) approved labs — just the latest indicator of how fast things are changing in the USA.
Speakers for the Farm Symposium include: Bill Richmond, Chief, U.S. Domestic Hemp Program, USDA; Kate Greenberg, Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture; and Sunny Sommers, of Oregon Department of Agriculture.
