Harney hints at future hand in commercial cannabis business

MILLERTON — With New York municipalities needing to decide if they will permit marijuana to be sold commercially and/or marijuana lounges within their borders by Dec. 31, Harney & Sons Hemp Division in Millerton offered a timely tour on Wednesday, Aug. 25. The tour allowed area residents and visitors a chance to observe the labors that go into growing and harvesting hemp first-hand; it was led by the New York Cannabis Growers & Processors Association (NYCGPA).

At noon, more than a dozen people gathered at the hemp fields along Route 22. The earthy aroma of the Purple Emperor hemp crops could be detected under the afternoon heat, and cold bottles of Harney & Sons CBD tea were made available.

NYCGPA Managing Director Dan Livingston explained the association formed out of necessity to “get a seat at the table” for small processors and growers looking to grow their business. 

Primarily a lobbying organization for growers, Livingston said NYCGPA’s baseline is education. Its goal is to network and meet people to help promote the industry.

Harney’s Hemp Division Head Grower Esteban Gonzales and Harney & Sons Vice President Michael Harney said this was the company’s third year growing hemp, having started in the summer in 2018. He clarified that they have a CBD facility, not a THC facility, and that the division is separate from the popular Harney tea factory.

CBD vs. THC

CBD stands for “cannabidiol” while THC stands for “delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol” — both of which are cannabinoids, or chemicals in marijuana that cause drug-like effects throughout the body, according to the National Cancer Institute website, www.cancer.gov. 

According to the website, www.verywellmind.com, while both cannabinoids have the same molecular structure, THC is a psychoactive drug that produces a “high,” and is sourced from marijuana while CBD is a non-psychoactive drug that doesn’t produce a high and is typically sourced from hemp.

A little hemp history, some hemp science

Harney outlined how his company got The Hemp Division started, and spoke of the people hired to take care of the growing and legal operations and the various regulations it must consider down the road. 

An agricultural field that had previously been unused for 20 years now grows 4 acres of different hemp varieties — including Purple Emperor and Painted Ladies — with another 4 acres located just up the road from the Harney Hemp Division. 

Gonzales detailed the science of growing hemp and the factors involved in tending to the crops, while Vice President Paul Harney explained how temperature, climate and humidity factor into the growing process.

Walking down the rows of hemp, Gonzales, the Harney brothers and Director of Operations Rion Lobrutto gestured to the different varieties of hemp plants and spoke of the growing and harvesting processes. 

In an interview with The Millerton News conducted the following day, Michael Harney explained dried hemp is only produced once a year — it’s harvested toward the end of September — whatever is produced is what’s sold. 

Estimating a pound per flower per plant, he said they usually produce 11,000 pounds. He chose not to disclose how much money the company makes selling hemp.

Considering hemp “a small part of a lot of things,” Harney explained The Hemp Division doesn’t just sell the hemp bud. Instead, it gets blended into tea or sent off to be blended into a powder or mixture that Harney & Sons can blend into its drinks. 

Before it can be sent off to a secret location in Hudson, the hemp has to be decarboxylated (a process in which the psychoactive compounds in hemp and cannabis are activated) and then emulsified. Harney said they decarboxylate the hemp themselves in the wintertime and try to keep the work in the state by sending it up to Hudson.

With 20 workers planting the hemp — all of whom are local — Harney said employees spend maybe one or two days a week tending to the hemp plants and the rest of the week in the tea factory, also on Route 22.

At the far end of the field, the tour group was introduced to the division’s variety of autoflowers, which Livingston explained is a variety of cannabis genetically selected to flower at a certain time. This means the division can turn over certain sections of its field more regularly, which means more predictability and reliability when planting. 

Halfway back to the spot where the tour began, the group met with Elyse Harney, mother of Michael and Paul, who briefly spoke about her experience growing hemp in Connecticut.

Will Harney pursue dispensaries & lounges?

When asked, Michael Harney acknowledged Harney & Sons is on the precipice of a big money-making opportunity, as the state just passed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) in March. The MRTA legalized adult-use recreational marijuana; New York approved medical marijuana in 2014.  

While he noted that there are many steps involved to turn such the potential opportunity into a reality, including municipalities opting in to allowing marijuana dispensaries and lounges, the potential exists. 

Asked if Harney & Sons has any plans to get into the commercial sales of cannabis or operation of marijuana lounges in the village of Millerton or town of North East if the village or town opt in to allowing either in the future, or anywhere else in the Hudson Valley region, Harney said, “When it all comes out, we are ready to seriously consider what we will do.”