After months of delay, the state Department of Agriculture is moving forward with its goal of developing a line of Hawaii hemp seeds and an eventual statewide hemp industry.

The department received its import registration permit from the state Drug Enforcement Agency earlier this month, after applying for it in November 2016 (it took the state of Washington eight months to receive the same type of permit).

The import registration permit allows Hawaii to bring in seed, but each new source requires its own separate permit.

“We’re currently in that second phase,” DOA legislative coordinator Micah Munekata said Friday. “We received the blanket permit, we purchased the seed and we plan to receive it in early July.” 

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Ivy Ashe ~ Hawaii Tribune-Herald ~