The disconnect between Colorado legalizing marijuana and U.S. drug laws forbidding it continues to widen, including for irrigation uses from federally built reservoirs.
A recent policy from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation bans the use of irrigation water from federal projects for growing marijuana, including for its genetic cousin hemp, a nonmind-altering industrial crop used to make textiles, fuel and oils.
But bureau officials are not obligated to seek enforcement of a national drug policy, and managers of McPhee Reservoir - a federal project - don't plan to either.
"We will not work against the opportunity for people to grow industrial hemp as a viable economic crop," said Mike Preston, general manager for the Dolores Water Conservancy District, which operates McPhee. "We're not training our eye on this at all."
Cultivation of marijuana in all its forms, from medicinal and recreational to hemp, is illegal under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
Under the law, marijuana is listed as a Schedule 1 banned substance, the most dangerous category, which includes heroin, ecstasy and LSD.
Colorado legalized cultivation, possession and sales of all forms of marijuana in 2012, but the plant is still generally banned nationwide because federal laws generally trump state laws.
A updated manual for the Bureau of Reclamation issued in May points out the policy, which expires May 16, 2015.
"Reclamation's obligation as a federal agency to uphold federal law prohibits it from approving the use of Reclamation water or facilities to facilitate activities prohibited by the CSA," the policy states. "Although the CSA's relevant prohibitions have not changed, the legalization of marijuana's cultivation and distribution under some state laws necessitates a clear statement of Reclamation's obligations under the CSA."
The policy directs staff to "not approve use of Reclamation facilities or water in the cultivation of marijuana." It further tells employees to report violations of the policy to the regional director who will report it to the Department of Justice.
But for managers of McPhee Reservoir, the policy smacks of law enforcement, which is not their purview.
"We manage and deliver water. We're not in the policing business," Preston said.
The Bureau of Reclamation contracts operation management of McPhee Reservoir to the DWCD, a state-organized special district.
"We're not a federal agency, so we are not in the same position, and don't want to put ourselves in that situation," Preston said. "If farmers can grow hemp and make money, we certainly don't want to obstruct that."
Even Reclamation policy seems to minimize its impact.
"Reclamation does not have a responsibility or designated role in actively seeking enforcement of the CSA," it states.
Farm bill provision
State marijuana laws allow for commercial permits to be issued from the Department of Agriculture to grow hemp, but that conflicts with federal laws.
However, a key national policy shift outlined in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the Farm Bill) has cracked opened the door for hemp cultivation without fear of federal prosecution.
Under Section 7606 of the Farm Bill, states like Colorado that have legalized hemp can set up pilot programs to grow the crop. The crop must be strictly managed and monitored by the state department of agriculture or an institute of higher education.
Key language in the bill exempts the growing of hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, making it the first time industrial hemp has been decriminalized at the federal level since 1937.
The Farm Bill states: "Notwithstanding the Control Substances Act . . . or any other federal law, an institute of higher education or a state department of agriculture may grow or cultivate industrial hemp."
The Colorado State University Agricultural Research station in Yellow Jacket is in a position to grow hemp under the Farm Bill provision. But so far they have not.
"It may be a good opportunity, and the upper administration is looking into it," said crop specialist Abdel Berrada of the Yellow Jacket station. "Before it has always been avoided because it was a threat to our federal funding, but the Farm Bill eliminates that problem."
In a press release to The Cortez Journal, CSU states "Once regulations concerning industrial hemp are issued, CSU is poised to help explore the possibility that hemp could become an important crop in Colorado."
The Farm Bill's hemp provision "is a big step," said Ron Carleton, deputy commissioner for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. "It makes sense that universities be the leaders on R&D for hemp."
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com