Colorado hits a first for the U.S. hemp industry: Certified seeds that won’t turn into weed

Associated Press

Sep. 07, 2016, 8:37 a.m.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hemp_Crop_in_Peasenhall_Road,_Walpole_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1470339.jpg — A crop of hemp. (Adrian Cable/Wikimedia)

FRUITA, Colo. (AP) — Colorado is expected to reach another national first on cannabis Wednesday when state agriculture officials show off the first domestic certified hemp seeds.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working for years to produce hemp seeds that consistently produce plants low enough in the chemical THC to qualify as hemp and not its intoxicating cousin, marijuana.

Hemp production was authorized by Congress in 2014. But farmers who want to grow it must have state certification to raise the crop. The industry estimates that fewer than 7,000 acres are being grown nationwide this year.

Colorado is the first state to certify hemp seed, which means the seed has been proven to be genetically pure and to produce hemp and not marijuana.

Colorado farmers can buy the certified hemp seeds in 2017.

47th and Walden in Green Valley Ranch. July 7, 2021.

Denver’s population boom has us building homes in fire-prone areas. Now what?

Architects find themselves weighing wildfire risks and affordability as Denver grows east.

Eddie Woolfolk cheers the groundbreaking of the Charity's House affordable housing building on Welton Street, during a press conference, with her husband, Robert. Jan. 21, 2022.

Five Points is getting a 36-unit affordable housing complex, fulfilling a vision by the couple behind Agape church

The project faced challenges over parking requirements.

The King Soopers on Krameria Street in Montclair. Jan. 21, 2022.

Denverites return (or continue) shopping at King Soopers after strike ends

The parking lots were full of cars instead of picketers.

Prize steer Olaf makes his grand appearance at the Brown Palace Hotel, Jan. 24, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Things to do in Denver this weekend, Jan. 21-23

Rodeos, beer can golf, and Denver's latest virtual events.

"Metamorphosis: Red" by Morn Chear on display in the show "Tomorrow is a New Day" at the McNichols Building in Civic Center. Jan. 19, 2022.

‘Tomorrow is a New Day’: A new art exhibit at McNichols Center shares a message of hope and healing through the lens of a Cambodian proverb

The art reflects on challenges like physical disability and intergenerational trauma through the lens of a popular Cambodian expression of optimism.

An apartment building near Cheesman Park. May 7, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Denver metro’s average rent dropped by almost $18 toward the end of 2021. Here’s what you could buy with that

(Not a full tank of gas.)

Cebastian Gomez speaks to his North High School classmates protesting Denver Public Schools' COVID policies at Highland Park. Jan. 20, 2022.

North High School, Thomas Jefferson students walk out over district’s COVID-19 rules

Students are asking the district to provide high-quality masks, weekly testing and better access to remote learning.

The Park Hill Golf Course. Northeast Park Hill, Sept. 23, 2021.

Denver leaders axed Save Open Space from the committee working on the future of the Park Hill Golf Course

“It’s about as subtle as a heart attack,” said SOS Denver member Lisa Calderón.

Garbage and tons of birds atop the active dumping site. Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site, the landfill owned by Denver and operated by Waste Management. Jan. 26, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Paying for trash collection in Denver? The city has started getting serious about the idea.

Monthly fees would start at $9 a month for the smallest bins and up to $21 for the largest.

Fifty years in, Tattered Cover is still having growing pains

For some employees, the bookstore's expansion has meant more work with little reward.

Bannock Street Façade of Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art designed by Jim Olson of Olson Kundig. Featuring Bob Mangold’s 1982 Double Tetrahedralhypersphere No. 41 (mounted at left), and a view into the indoor and outdoor sculpture galleries at Kirkland Museum. Edgar Britton’s Yin and Yang bronze sculpture, 1964, is visible at center.

‘Josef Hoffmann’s Vienna’ brings the work of a modern design pioneer to the Kirkland Museum

The exhibit will highlight the work of the Austrian architect and designer who helped pioneer modern art and design in the 1900s.

A single banana in the produce section of the Safeway at Broadway and Alameda on January 18, 2022.

Safeway and other grocers see bare shelves as King Soopers strike pushes shoppers elsewhere

Supply chain issues aren't helping either.

M. holds his infant daughter in the home he now shares with the Cheverton family. Dec. 22, 2021.

The Afghan refugee crisis is still happening, and it’s spilling into Denver

Gretchen Cheverton has been getting hundreds of desperate messages every single day.

All of the 3,124 wrecks that took place on Denver streets with speed limits 25 miles per hour or lower in 2021, outside of downtown. There were 329 more in the Central Business District and Union Station neighborhoods that year.

Denverite Maps

So how many traffic “accidents” occured on Denver’s neighborhood streets in 2021? This many

Numbers show it's low-key scary to drive, ride or walk in Denver.

Charlie Fleming, AKA Diamond Starr, helps Aeshleigh Sheren learn their way around a wig during Fleming's Drag Teen-Tween Fashion class held in Stanley Marketplace's Factory Fashion. Jan. 13, 2022.

A new drag program at Stanley Marketplace for teens and tweens gives young people a fun, safe space for self expression

“Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of bigotry in this world, and there’s still a lot of kids who are disowned and hurt. Having a safe space to be yourself is just so important.”