KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Oregon’s Douglas County attempted to restrict hemp production under rules for growing marijuana before being warned the policy violated the state’s “right to farm” law.
Hemp is considered a crop under Oregon’s land use law, which means it can be grown outright in farm zones.
Medical and recreational marijuana, meanwhile, can be subject to reasonable “time, place and manner” regulations by local governments.
Before planting hemp, farmers must first obtain a permit from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
As part of its hemp policy, Douglas County requested that ODA not approve hemp licenses unless county officials issued a “land use compatibility statement” to the growers.
The ODA refused because such regulation of hemp would violate Oregon’s “right to farm” law, which prohibits local ordinances restricting common farming practices as nuisance or trespass activities.
Douglas County and ODA have now agreed that hemp production isn’t subject to restrictions, though county officials can still ask to inspect a grower’s state hemp license, said Jim Johnson, ODA’s land use specialist, during a Sept. 19 meeting of the Oregon Board of Agriculture in Klamath Falls.
However, Johnson said other counties — including Jackson, Josephine and Clackamas — may be considering similar regulatory approaches to hemp as had Douglas County.
“All these counties have vocal rural residential populations that don’t like cannabis,” he said.
While hemp doesn’t contain enough of a psychoactive substance to cause similar mind-altering effects as marijuana, some residents nonetheless worry about strong odors and potential “criminal elements,” he said.