Industrial hemp is increasingly grown by Polish farmers. Last year, the sown area increased by almost 80 percent, to over 3,000 hectares. The development of this industry may have a positive impact on the entire economy, and Poland has the potential to become one of the main producers of hemp products in Europe. According to experts, the development of the domestic industry requires the introduction of standards ensuring greater competitiveness of production.

“Industrial hemp has a number of applications, recently also in the veterinary industry. Consequently, we have a huge increase in the number of plantations and interest in this plant,” Witold Czeszak, head of the Hemp Program at the Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants in Poznań, said

Polityka Insight analysts estimate that last year farmers reported PLN 36 million in revenues from the cultivation of industrial hemp. Due to the relatively low cost of cultivation, most of this revenue was profit. The development of agriculture should also entail the development of industries dealing with the processing of hemp stalks - from textiles, through the food and cosmetics sectors, to construction.

However, the obstacles to the development of the cannabis industry in Poland are regulatory ambiguities and the possibility of different interpretations of the regulations. The problem is, among other things, the dispersion of regulations that are contained in different legal acts or are subject to different ministers. In the current legal state, entrepreneurs involved in the cultivation of industrial hemp are exposed to high risks. If the limit of the THC psychoactive substance is exceeded in the cannabis particles left over from processing or in finished products, then they may be prosecuted. This, in turn, deters potential investors.

(Newseria)