A constantly shifting legal landscape, however, has largely prevented the realization of that dream.
Local hemp farmers and processors feel rather like a dented, discarded ball in that game.
In December, as part of the state budget, Massachusetts legislators passed a measure intended to fix that incongruity: It allows MDAR-licensed hemp firms to sell flower and CBD oil derived from the outdoor-grown plants to marijuana companies regulated by the Cannabis Control Commission for use in pot edibles.
Unfortunately for local farmers, the complexities of implementing the seemingly simple idea have frayed what should have been a lifeline.
Officials at both agencies insist they understand the urgency of implementing the law, and the rough road hemp companies have had to walk so far.
Regardless of state officials’ good intentions, some hemp farmers are running out of patience.
Three years after it issued the first hemp permits in 2018, the agency has yet to draft formal regulations for the sector or hold public hearings on its rules.