India’s Not Debating Hemp — It’s Scaling It

Okay, it's late in the week for a post of any sort. But for the last few days I've been in India on other business — and while here, I've been reflecting on the country’s fast-developing hemp sector. It’s a stark contrast to the UK.

In India, hemp is treated as what it is — an industrial crop with multiple applications. Fibre is processed locally. Shiv is turned into construction materials and bioplastics. Hempseed oil is being tested for biodiesel blends. State-level regulation enables experimentation. Government-backed innovation funds support startups. Farmers are increasing incomes by monetising crop waste.

Meanwhile in the UK, we’re still stuck fighting our own rules — from POCA to over-centralised licensing. Sure, we’ve made progress (including the recent 0.3% THC threshold), and there are some great UK businesses making limited headway, but we’re still exporting raw materials and importing value.

If we want hemp to deliver on its potential — in fuel, fibre, materials, and jobs — we need to learn from markets like India and move from ‘permit’ to ‘enable’.

We’re not short of opportunity. Just urgency.

Now, time to catch a flight. Next week, more news from the U.S. And it's juicy...

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