September 2024

Colorado Department of Agriculture welcomes 6 new members to the Hemp Advisory Committee (HAC):

• Cannabinoid Industry: Alex Seleznov, Sunflower Wellness
• Hemp Regulation: Aaron Furman, Control Union
• Citizen Advocate: Sasha Kalcheff-Korn, Realm of Caring
• Hemp Manufacturing Industry: Derek Wolf, Hemp and Block, LLC
• Hemp Small Business: Lathan Scoggins, Root151 Farm
• Certified Seed Industry: Jon Salo, JNC Industries, LLC

As Colorado’s hemp industry continues to evolve, so does its ability to access critical banking and lending services.

Financial institutions that provide services to hemp clients must be able to navigate a complex regulatory compliance landscape. To address many of these challenges, the state of Colorado issued two Roadmaps to highlight the importance of access to banking and financial services for the state's cannabis (hemp and marijuana) industries. 

The Roadmaps were issued by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), which houses the Division of Banking and the Division of Financial Services. These divisions are responsible for regulating state-chartered banks, credit unions and savings and loans associations, as well as licensed money transmitters.

For businesses seeking a list of hemp-friendly financial institutions, a national organization releases an annual Cannabis Banking Directory.

Remember that as hemp registrants you need to submit your harvest report at least 30 days prior to harvest. For your convenience, you can enter that information yourself into your Hemp Online Portal account.

Before you harvest your hemp lot(s), it needs to be sampled. You must contact an authorized sampler within 30 days of your harvest date to have samples collected from each lot. Review the list of certified labs to send your samples for analysis.

If the hemp sample results are within the acceptable THC level, registrants can allow hemp to leave the registered land area and enter the stream of commerce. If your sample results are not within the acceptable THC level, the hemp program will email you instructions on what to do next, including any remediation or disposal options.    

Additionally, CDA inspectors will be conducting random inspections of registered land areas throughout the year. For your random inspection, please ensure to have the following documents available for inspection:

• Planting and harvest reports
• Regulatory THC results
• FSA-578 form
• Receipts for buying or selling hemp seeds or clones
• Petition, if applicable
• Crop off-site storage form, if applicable and
• Remediation/disposal form, if applicable.

Do you have any questions? Contact the Hemp program via our online hemp question form.