Launch of an initiative to consolidate the global hemp industry

Organizations from around the world are joining forces to form an international association dedicated to advocating for the interests of the hemp industry.

The new organization, which does not yet have a name, will work to establish the industry’s development priorities and will officially represent hemp stakeholders before global intergovernmental agencies, with the primary goal of having the hemp and hemp extracts under the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, said Daniel Kruse, president of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) and one of the initiators of this global effort.

The group intends to collaborate with the World Health Organization, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on issues related to the agency’s Codex Alimentarius, which sets internationally recognized standards for food production and safety.

The association will also work on environmental issues and represent the hemp industry before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which operates under the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization.

Defending Hemp

The new organization will serve as the «representative of a diversified and robust hemp industry that benefits all stakeholders in the value chain,» according to a launch document outlining the group’s mission.

«This international association can foster engagement in multilateral relations and advance the industry’s agenda, statistical programs, partnerships, trade, and global regulation,» said Daniel Kruse. «It will enhance engagement within the hemp sector and, as a result, benefit everyone, both globally and nationally.»

The new association could also address a wide range of issues and challenges, including the the potential of hemp "in mitigating climate change or its contribution to sustainable development," Kruse said.

Advocacy, Co-creation

»There is an urgent need to develop a new international hemp organization to enable industries around the world to speak with one voice," said Ted Haney, president and CEO of the Trade Alliance Canadian Hemp, another of the main organizers. «The new organization will also create a space where stakeholders in the hemp industry can cooperate, coordinate, share information, advocate, and collaborate.»

Product and process standards, crop protection, standards for maximum chemical residue levels, seed registration standards, and international standards for maximum THC levels in hemp flowers and finished products are among the many pressing issues identified by the initiative.

Kruse said that the new global association is also considering creating a parallel technical association that would publish an international research journal on hemp and would establish a peer-review network. This would help fill a current gap, namely that research conducted on hemp and its many applications "They are not compiled exhaustively," Mr. Kruse said.

Representative organizations

»The organizations that have come together to form this new global initiative are made up of some of the industry's most experienced and high-level professionals," said Lorenzo Rolim da Silva, president of the Latin American Association of the industrial hemp.

«Our goal is to create a world where hemp is truly integrated into many other industries and into agriculture around the world,» said Rolim da Silva.

»We look forward to joining this visionary mission to consolidate and strengthen cooperation for the development of the hemp industry worldwide," said said Anar Artur of the Mongolian Hemp Association. «Mongolian farmers and manufacturers are actively showing interest and joining our local association. They recognize the potential of hemp. We welcome hemp entrepreneurs to Mongolia.»

The working group behind the project includes representatives from:

Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance ; Mongolian Hemp Association; Australian Hemp Association; European Industrial Hemp Association; Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association; China Hemp Alliance; Latin American Industrial Hemp Association; Friends of Hemp (South Africa); Chamber of Industrial Hemp of Paraguay (CCIP); Uttarakhand Hemp Association (India); and Indian Industrial Hemp Association.

And for the United States: American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp; Texas Hemp Growers Association; Oregon Hemp Association; National Hemp Association; Hemp Industries Association; National Industrial Hemp Council; Kentucky Hemp Industries Association; Hemp Feed Coalition.