A bill has been introduced in the Kentucky House of Representatives which would legalize industrial hemp cultivation and establish an ongoing study of the crop’s potential.
House Bill 855, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barrows (D-District 56) and Rep. Roger Thomas (D-District 21), is now in the House Agriculture and Small Business Committee. The bill would require the Kentucky Agricultural Department to license hemp farmers and inspect industrial hemp crops to ensure the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels will be less than one percent.
Because tobacco acreage has declined by 65 percent over the last two years, supporters of the bill suggest that farmers who grow industrial hemp could benefit tremendously from the crop. They also look to a 1998 University of Kentucky study that determined a legal hemp industry could reap hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars.
“We’re at a point in time with our agricultural economy that I think it’s time for this bill,” Barrows said.
For more information, please contact Scott Colvin, NORML Publications Director at (202) 483-5500; Rep. Joe Barrows at (606) 873-9768; or Rep. Roger Thomas at (270) 563-4576. To view HB 855 visit: http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/record/00rs/HB855.htm..
