By Doug La Rocque
The purchase of .9 acres of land by Hemp Chain Farms from Wade Rathbun on Green Hollow Road met with little comment at a public hearing on the matter last Thursday night, May 24. Don Dixon, a neighbor to both parties, asked to look at the survey map and then stated he had no objection. The three young men who own Hemp Chain Farm also gave Mr. Dixon permission to cross their land for access to an adjoining portion of his property. The only other question for Nicholas Guarino, Owen Martinetti and Maxon Freeman came from Board member David Derstine, who asked about lighting in the greenhouse that will be used for both seed incubation and drying of harvested hemp. He was concerned it may be similar to the greenhouse lighting now employed by the Sustainable Aqua Farm, a bright magenta light that Mr. Dearstine feels is excessive and a form of light pollution.
He was assured that the only lighting planned is what is used in a typical greenhouse situation.
Paul Freeman, the farm’s attorney and the father of one of the owners, further expounded upon the operation’s plans, which this year calls only for growth and processing of the hemp to be shipped to Rhode Island for manufacturing into Cannabidiol (CDB) Oil. He did indicate that future plans call for their own wholesale efforts, in conjunction with local retailors.
The use of CDB Oil has grown steadily over the past few years, particularly for what many researchers say is its impact on pain and inflammation. Because the hemp plants used in this process contain less than .3 percent of Tetryhydrocannabinoil (THC), they have no psychoactive component and the CDB Oil produced from them is non-addictive, thusly it is being touted as an alternative to many opioid based pain killers.
Following the public hearing, the Board voted unanimously to approve the lot line adjustment.
Even though the property owned by Hemp Chain Farms is zoned agricultural, and a permit for the greenhouse is not needed, the purchase of the additional small tract of land was necessitated to meet setback requirements. The Board had previously declared a negative environmental impact concerning the transaction.