Hemp and CBD oil processing facility coming to Halifax County

Hemp and CBD oil processing facility coming to Halifax County

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has announced that a company will be investing over 3 million dollars in establishing the state’s first large-scale facility to process hemp and to extract CBD

  • PublishedJune 21, 2020

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has announced that a company will be investing over 3 million dollars in establishing the state’s first large-scale facility to process hemp and to extract CBD oil.

The governor’s office said in a statement Thursday that the project will create 22 new jobs and that the company has committed to buying 90 percent of its hemp from growers in Virginia.

Company BRD Extraction, LLC will do business under the name Blue Ribbon Extraction. The facility will be located in the Town of South Boston in Halifax County, outside of Danville and near the North Carolina border.

Governor Northam said the company would be spending $70 million on payments to Virginia farmers over the next three years. Many of them are current or former tobacco farmers.

The company’s founders and primary investors, Rick Gregory and Sterling Edmunds are both natives of Halifax County and Richmond residents.

Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is a non-intoxicating molecule found in hemp and marijuana. Both are cannabis plants, but only marijuana has enough of the compound THC to get users high. The vast majority of CBD products come from hemp, which has less than 0.3% THC.

CBD has garnered a devoted following among people who swear by it for everything from stress reduction to better sleep.