Industrial Hemp Research Foundation Created to Help Fund University Hemp Research

Members of the Rocky Mountain Hemp Association have formed a new non-profit corporation, the Industrial Hemp Research Foundation, to help state universities in Colorado undertake industrial hemp-related research.

Under section 5940 of title 7 of the United States Code, enacted by Congress in February 2014, state departments of agriculture and institutions of higher education are authorized to cultivate industrial hemp for the purposes of research conducted “under an agricultural pilot program or other agricultural or academic research.” Such activities are permitted only in states, such as Colorado, where hemp cultivation is permitted by state law.

A number of professors at the University of Colorado-Boulder and Colorado State University-Ft. Collins have expressed an interest in cultivating hemp and conducting hemp-related research. They are experts in fields of study as diverse as plant ecology, agricultural economics and integrative physiology. But their efforts have been hindered to date by a lack of institutional support and funding.

To provide the institutional support, CU and CSU formed a joint venture to oversee hemp research. The joint venture is called the Colorado Hemp Research for Novel Translational Applications, with the acronym “CoHeReNT.” But lack of funding continues to remain a significant barrier to conducting hemp-related research.

The Industrial Hemp Research Foundation is a Colorado non-profit corporation dedicated to working through CoHeReNT to initiate and provide financial assistance for industrial hemp research projects at the state universities in Colorado. The members of the Board of Directors of the IHRF are the following:

David Bush, President and Secretary. Attorney, DavidLaw;

Grant Orvis, Ph.D., Vice-President. Founder, Colorado Hemp Cooperative;

Brandon Beatty, Treasurer. President and CEO, Bluebird Botanicals;

Monika Fleshner, Ph.D., Professor of Integrative Physiology, UC-Boulder;

Jeffrey Steiner, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Research, CSU-Ft. Collins;

Paul Isham, Executive Director. Founder, US Hemp Now.

To learn more about the IHRF or to make a donation or help as a volunteer, please visit our web site at www.theihrfoundation.com. You are also welcome to send an email to the IHRF at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (720) 282-5806.