The Health Ministry said that Minister Sinisa Varga, during a visit to Zabok on Thursday afternoon, said that the legalisation of hemp was not being prepared, having misunderstood a reporter's question and thinking that he was being asked about the legalisation of the growing of Indian hemp (Cannabis indica) and not industrial hemp.
The minister then denied Hina's unofficial reports that legislative steps had been taken to legalise the cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes.
The said bill will enable hemp growers to also exploit, for industrial purposes, hemp stalks which are now destroyed due to the very rigorous legislation, even though the concentration of the psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the hemp stalk is below 0.2%.
Hemp growers have been complaining for some time that they are losing millions of kuna because of such regulations, in light of the fact that hemp stalks can be used as a raw material in the production of over 20,000 industrial products including paper, clothing, construction material and biofuel.
The owner of the biggest hemp plantation in Croatia, Josip Plavec, has been advocating for some time legislative changes that would enable the expansion of hemp cultivation with an increasing number of farmers being interested in this activity.
Plavec, who started growing hemp in 2012, said that currently 650 hectares were under hemp as against 200 hectares a few years ago. If the bill goes into force before the next sowing, Plavec estimates that the size of land under hemp could rise to 2,000 hectares in 2015.
Currently, only 10% of the hemp plant grown in Croatia (seeds) is used for the production of oil, flour and cosmetics, and the usage of the plant will increase markedly provided that the usage of hemp stalks is approved, Plavec said.
The leader of the Green party OraH, Mirela Holy, who advocates liberalisation of hemp usage, welcomed the announced amendments. She told Hina that her party also advocated the legalisation of Cannabis indica.