Industrial hemp will be controlled by IFAP, PJ, GNR and PSP

After almost two years of uncertainty, the cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes in Portugal has finally seen light at the end of the tunnel. The varieties of Cannabis sativa for industrial purposes, including food, will be controlled by the Institute for Financing Agriculture and Fisheries (IFAP)By Judicial Police (PJ), Republican National Guard (GNR) e Public Security Police (PSP), announced today the Lusa Agency.

CannaCasa – Associação do Cânhamo Industrial welcomes the new legislation, albeit late, and regrets the loss of another year of cultivation.

According to a draft regulatory decree to which Lusa had access, “in the case of hemp cultivation for industrial purposes, including for food use, animal feed or the manufacture of food or compound feed for animals, the varieties of c for the production of fibers and seeds not intended for sowing, the control functions are carried out by the IFAP, jointly with the PJ, the GNR and the PSP”. However, authorization for the cultivation of industrial hemp will have to continue to be requested from the Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Medicine (DGAV).

This is the fifth amendment to regulatory decree no. 61/94 of 12 October, which establishes the rules for controlling the licit market in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and other chemicals that can be used in the manufacture of drugs.

Farmers: another year of lost cultivation
Speaking to CannaReporter, Miguel Negrão, President of CannaCasa – Industrial Hemp Association – said that “the information published so far is still limited and we do not know in detail the content, neither the project nor the regulatory decree that will be published”. According to what appears in the press release from Agência Lusa, CannaCasa “celebrates this new legislation for industrial hemp, although it comes late, since another season of industrial hemp cultivation is already compromised. However, it is always good for the sector to be regulated so that it is possible to start work in time for the new sowing and next year's harvest.

Asked whether farmers have grown hemp for industrial purposes this year or not, Miguel Negrão says that “farmers who are growing hemp for industrial purposes are farmers who decided, at their own risk, that they did not agree with the state’s stance. Portuguese, but it is a relatively small fraction in relation to the number of farmers interested in cultivating”.

Fees and fines applicable to Hemp
The fees relating to authorization applications for the cultivation of industrial hemp are set at 50 euros, value added, when applicable, “of the cost of laboratory control analyses”. As for plant species for medical or research purposes, the fees are set at €1.200 for cultivation, production or wholesale trade, €XNUMX for imports or exports and €XNUMX for transit.

The imposition of fines and sanctions for using the authorization for a purpose other than that established is the responsibility of Infarmed – National Authority for Medicines and Health Products, excluding those resulting from powers attributed to the DGAV.
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Featured Image: Industrial Hemp Plantation, by Ricardo Rocha