Kazakhstani businesses show interest in hemp production

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Sanzhar Adilov has announced that the government has issued four licenses to Kazakhstani entrepreneurs seeking to launch industrial hemp production.

He recalled that during the Investment Attraction Council meeting held on February 19, the government directed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to develop legislative amendments necessary to support the growth of the cannabis industry.

The official noted that the primary emphasis is on industrial hemp production.

«Industrial hemp production is not prohibited in Kazakhstan. So far, the Committee for Combating Drug Trafficking has granted four licenses to local entrepreneurs. One such enterprise, located in the Kostanay region, has already begun cultivating, processing and producing industrial hemp,» Adilov stated.

He also highlighted that under the legislative norms currently under discussion, industrial hemp products are allowed if the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) falls within the range of 0.1% to 0.3%. In the near future, this threshold will be officially codified in regulatory legal acts.

«Industrial hemp contains almost no intoxicating substances and, as I mentioned earlier, holds no interest for drug addicts,» he emphasized.

Nevertheless, the legalization of marijuana remains out of the question in Kazakhstan. Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov previously confirmed that such a move would contradict the agency’s official stance and would directly violate recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).