COLRAIN – A recent landowner has announced plans to grow hemp on farmland on West Leyden Road, cultivating the plant for medicinal use in CBD (cannabidiol) oils and therapeutic skin products, possibly bringing more jobs to town.
Dennis DePaolo introduced himself to the Selectboard this past week to share his plans, as he seeks state approval to grown hemp. DePaolo and his family, who are from Ohio, recently purchased 107 acres in Colrain and plan to use about 25 acres for growing hemp. Although related to marijuana, hemp has only one-third of 1 percent (.03 percent) of THC, the psychoactive compound that causes people to get high. By contrast, marijuana has 5 to 25 percent THC, according to information from the state.
Because it has no psychoactive properties, hemp is considered an agricultural product in Massachusetts, although a license to grow it is required. Growers pay $100 for a non-refundable license application. DePaolo said he has applied to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), and expects to learn before January whether his application has been approved.
DePaolo said he and his family want to grow hemp for CBD to be refined into oils and therapeutical topical products. They also want to use the land and license “for a breeding project aimed at agronomic and therapeutic traits of the plant,” he said. “We plan to plant about 50,000 plants and expect a yield of 25,000 to 50,000 pounds of material for processing in 2019.”
“For the first year, we would like to use the farm to cultivate hemp, which would provide 15 to 20 jobs,” he told the Selectboard. “If we can grow it year-round, with a greenhouse, the production could bring the number of employees up to 30 to 50.”
DePaolo said he would also like to apply for an outdoor marijuana cultivation license in the future.