“You’re a constituent. Let’s see what is in the realm of possibility.”
By Charlotte Rene Woods, Virginia Mercury
“We needed this rain,” farmer and entrepreneur Graham Redfern said from his front porch in Caroline County Wednesday as U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA), who represents Virginia’s 7th District in Congress, approached.
The lawmaker was there to learn about the crops and products at Redfern Hemp Co., one of the state’s small businesses whose future hangs in the balance between soon-to-start federal restrictions on hemp THC products and Virginia’s not-yet-finalized retail cannabis market.
The rain was one certainty for Redfern, and a welcome one at the start of his planting season. But another, he said, is that most of his products will become illegal later this year, when the federal hemp crackdown kicks in.
“It’s scary,” Redfern said of thinking six months forward. He added that some of his staff members are thinking about looking for other jobs.
Redfern’s company, which employs 14 full-time staff and 5 part-time staff, makes body creams, dog treats, chocolates and gummies from hemp. His products offer calming and pain management effects for customers, while other parts of the hemp plant help create oils, birdseed and fibers.
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