Gyeongsangbuk-do is designated as the'Free Hemp Control District' for the first time in Korea to develop medical products using hemp.

Gyeongsangbuk-do and Andong-si announced on the 7th that on the 6th, the 3rd Special Committee on Regulatory Freedom, which was chaired by the Prime Minister, announced that Gyeongbuk was finally designated as the'Free Industrial Hamp (HEMP) Special Free Zone.' The special zone is about 330,000 square meters in five areas including Imhae-myeon, Andong-si, Pungsan-eup, and Gyeongsan-si, and about 45 billion won will be invested over the next two years until 2022.

Hemp is basically classified as marijuana and hemp. Hemp is a hemp plant and extract with less than 0.3% of hallucinogenic components, and is a low-drug variety, widely used as a raw material for medical purposes abroad. 
The province is planning to attract smart farm companies in this special zone to grow hemp. The core of the business is to extract ingredients that help reduce pain and inflammation and treat mental disorders from the hemp and develop raw medicines and continue to export. In addition, we plan to build a blockchain-based hemp management system to secure quality and safety from cultivation to product production. 

At the end of the demonstration stage, he also announced that he would focus on attracting investments from related companies by fostering the existing Gyeongbuk Bio-Industrial Complex 2 as a'Hemp-based bio-industrial specialized industrial complex'. 

"The existing hemp industry was allowed only for cultivation for textiles and seeds, but it was meaningful in that it opened the door to bio-industrialization using hemp, which has been regulated by the Narcotics Control Act for over 70 years with the designation of special zones," said Do.

This is'News Pick'.

(Photo = provided by Gyeongbuk-do, Twitter by Gyeongbuk Provincial Office)