Dale Weed, yes, that is his real name, did his research. Hemp was a very viable crop with potential to surpass fruit and vegetables crops in profit. The medical hemp craze created a high demand, as CBD, sold in the form of gels, gummies, oils, supplements, extracts, and more, skyrocketed. Over the past year, hemp sales have grown ten times over the previous year.

Hemp and marijuana are simply broad classifications of the Cannabis family of plants. Both compounds interact with your body’s endocannabinoid system, but they have very different effects.

The hemp and marijuana plants look alike, smell alike, but the similarity ends there. “You could smoke a telephone pole of this and it wouldn’t get you high,” explained Dale.

Unlike marijuana, hemp only contains a very minimal amount of the ingredient  Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis- the active ingredient of marijuana that gives the user the “high sensation”. It can be consumed by smoking and is also available in oils, edibles, tinctures, capsules, and more.

While the legal definition described above was legitimized until the Agricultural Act of 2018 had passed, “hemp” has generally been used to describe non-intoxicating Cannabis that is harvested for the industrial use of its derived products. There are numerous testimonials of CBD being used for myriad medical reasons, including pain, sleep and to overcome other addictions

CBD can be extracted from hemp or from marijuana. Hemp plants are cannabis plants that contain less than 0.3 percent THC, while marijuana plants are cannabis plants that contain higher concentrations of THC.

What Dale Weed failed to realize is the number of stupid people who believe hemp is marijuana and therefore can provide the “high”. This has led to widespread thefts of hemp plants growing on his farm on Route 89 in the Town of Savannah.

The thefts began in late September and word circulated on social media sites, along with pictures of the plants that could easily be mistaken for actual marijuana.

This past week State Troopers out of Wolcott arrested two men who thought they were in ‘marijuana heaven’ after scooping up armfuls (30 plants) of  hemp from Weed’s fields.

Austin C. Carr, age 19, of 191 Caroline Street in Clyde was charged with Trespass and Petit Larceny on Tuesday (10/15). His co-conspirator, Jordan A. Black, age 21, of West Church Street in Savannah, was charged on Wednesday (10/16) with Trespass, Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree and Petit Larceny. Both Carr and Black were released on appearance tickets for Savannah Town Court on November 21.

State Police indicated several more arrests are pending in the thefts. Police were led to the arrests through social media platforms, along with anonymous callers.

Since the September thefts, Weed has called numerous times to report ongoing additional raids on his fields. It was reported that some brazen thieves even pull daytime plant pulling, throwing the hemp in the back of pick-ups trucks parked alongside the road.

Read the full story in this weekend's edition...