No. Submitting your fingerprints, the waiver and the fee for your background check must be done at the time you submit your application. You can, however, acquire fingerprint cards and the waiver form and get your fingerprints taken at a local law enforcement office, and have them ready to send with your application.

The application fee is $200 and was due with the application by Nov. 30, 2019. The background check fee is $47 per person and was due with the fingerprint card and waiver form on Nov. 30, 2019. The license fees will vary depending on the license and will be due 15 days after you have been notified of your conditional approval.

All applications for a license with the Industrial Hemp Research Program were due November 30, 2019. Applications must have been postmarked by Nov. 30, 2019, to be considered for a license, including all required elements: the application fee, the fingerprint card, the waiver form, and the background check fee. No part of the applications materials can be turned in later than Nov. 30, 2019. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. 

Senate Substitute for House Bill 2167 establishes the Commercial Industrial Hemp Program. It requires KDA to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture outlining how Kansas will monitor and regulate the commercial production of industrial hemp in Kansas. This was made possible as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The next step is development of regulations and the state plan. It is important to note that licenses for commercial production of industrial hemp will not be available in Kansas until that state plan is approved by USDA.

No. Commercial production of industrial hemp will not be allowed until after regulations are developed and a state plan is submitted to USDA and that state plan is approved. At this time, the only way to grow industrial hemp is with a license through the Industrial Hemp Research Program.

There are slight changes to the current Industrial Hemp Research Program. The most notable change is the application window was reopened, accepting applications through June 1, 2019. Other changes in the bill which apply to the Industrial Hemp Research Program include some small regulatory and administrative program changes that took effect July 1, 2019. These include a decrease in the fee to modify a license, changes to the guidelines for vehicles transporting hemp, and adjusted guidelines for approved seed. All licensees were notified of these changes.

All active licenses are listed at the Active Licenses page, and you can search for a particular license at  https://portal.kda.ks.gov/ihrp/ihrpreport/individualsearch. 

Although the 2018 Farm Bill allows for the creation of federal and state plans for the commercial production of industrial hemp, new legal authority and regulations will need to be adopted before Kansas can create a commercial program. The current regulations that are in place to govern the industrial hemp research program are still the only way that industrial hemp may be produced in Kansas. New legislation was passed in the 2019 legislative session that allows for development of a commercial industrial hemp program; however, that state plan will need to be created and then approved by USDA before that commercial industrial hemp program takes effect.

When SB 263 was published in the Kansas Register, industrial hemp was no longer categorized as a controlled substance in Kansas. However, the cultivation, growth, research, transportation, processing or distribution of industrial hemp or industrial hemp seed is only allowed with a license as part of the research program. The regulations to acquire a license and otherwise carry out the provisions of the alternative crop research act were published in the Kansas Register on Jan. 24, 2019, and applications for licenses were due on June 1, 2019.  Applications for the 2020 Industrial Hemp Research Program are due November 30, 2019.

Regulations for the Industrial Hemp Research Program became effective on Feb. 8, 2019. Applications for 2020 Industrial Hemp Research Licenses were due November 30, 2019, and KDA is in the process of developing administrative rules and regulations for a commercial industrial hemp program.  

Those wishing to participate in the Industrial Hemp Research Program will need to have an annual license, demonstrating the research plan subject to approval by the program. In addition, applicants need to submit to fingerprinting and a fingerprint-based background check. Anyone with a drug-related felony on their record will not be granted a license to grow industrial hemp. Applications for the 2020 Industrial Hemp Research Program were due November 30, 2019.

Yes, the Kansas Department of Agriculture will oversee and annually license all those participating in the cultivation, growth, research, oversight, study, analysis, transportation, processing or distribution of certified seed or industrial hemp. Applications to get a 2020 Industrial Hemp Research License were due November 30, 2019. 

The new deadline for a 2020 Industrial Hemp Resarch Program License was November 30, 2019.

Until receive your license from the Kansas Department of Agriculture, it remains unlawful to grow industrial hemp in Kansas.

The makeup and duties of the Industrial Hemp Advisory Board are outlined in the regulations for the Industrial Hemp Research Program (K.A.R. 4-34-11). The board was named in February 2019, and can be found here: Industrial Hemp Advisory Board

Industrial hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa and is of the same plant species as marijuana. However, hemp is genetically different and distinguished by its use and chemical makeup. Industrial hemp refers to cannabis varieties that are primarily grown as an agricultural crop. Industrial hemp is defined by K.S.A. 2-3901 et seq. as all parts and varieties of the plant cannabis sativa L that contain a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Any cannabis with a percentage of THC above 0.3% is considered to be marijuana and is not legal for production or sale.

No, only industrial hemp grown from approved varieties of certified seed, and varieties authorized by KDA, will be allowed in the Industrial Hemp Research Program. A list of those varieties can be found here: Approved Varieties.