The Brown County Board's Executive Committee, meeting this evening to discuss a resolution supporting a crackdown on buying CBD oil made from industrial hemp.
Board members also tackled a citizen's committee on redistricting and the prayer that begins each meeting.
Marijuana has been on the minds of county supervisors often recently but Monday it was the plant's cousin, industrial hemp, which took center stage.
Industrial hemp is used to make CBD oil which some say has healing properties, but doesn't contain the ingredient in marijuana that gets users high.
Board members discussed a resolution supporting regulating all substances that come from the cannabis sativa plant.
Attorney General Brad Schimel said in May farmers who produce industrial hemp may use it to make CBD oil, reversing a previous decision.
"Our farmers are out there today growing high-end CBD plants to help further this economic growth that they're trying to build," said Phillip Scott, Wisconsin Hemp Farmers & Manufacturers Association, Inc.
Board members tabled this resolution meaning it won't go forward for now, but industry insiders say uncertainty could harm hemp's growth in Wisconsin.
"If we put the restriction on the CBD now, it doesn't allow us to keep doing our research and development and make those further advancements to actually make it a better product across the board for everybody," said Scott.
With the census only a year-and-a-half away, supervisors are also looking at the process of drawing district maps affecting where you vote and for whom you can vote.
Board members okayed the creation of a citizen advisory board which they hope will help prevent gerrymandering.
"When citizens participate, the process is more transparent and citizens feel more comfortable with the process and the outcome,” said Linda Van Beek, League of Women Voters.
The full board still has to pass that resolution before the citizen advisory board can form.
Supervisors also discussed the prayer that begins each county board meeting.
One supervisor has asked the board to invite faith leaders from different religions to deliver the invocation while another suggests supervisors rotate who says it.
Both proposals failed in committee but could be brought before the full board on the 15th.
