When Marcus Luce set up his hemp farm in Sussex County in 2019, New Jersey was on the verge of legalizing adult-use cannabis for adults. His picturesque small farm in Wantage has rows and rows of hemp alongside quiet barns and a winding trail where horses meander through the caked mud.
The hemp farm, called Country High, helps retired racehorses who can end up as dog food — literally. Although horse slaughter is banned in the United States, some retired racehorses are shipped overseas, where they are processed for pet food. Luce's farm grows and sells hemp to support the horses and treat their ailments, including cancer.
As Gov. Phil Murphy's administration moved to legalize weed in 2020, Luce expected his hemp farm would be welcomed into New Jersey's growing cannabis market too. Hemp and weed are both cannabis plants, but hemp is non-intoxicating. Hemp is harvested by farmers and used for fiber, seeds and other materials — including the growing market of nonintoxicating CBD oils and products.
"As farmers, we thought this was the future of farming," Luce said. But the transition to welcoming hemp farmers that Luce and others in New Jersey expected five years ago never materialized. While neighboring New York integrated local hemp farmers into its cannabis laws and market, New Jersey's laws focused on large corporate medical cannabis companies.
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