Colorado legalized hemp, along with recreational marijuana, in November. In April Kentucky legalized industrial hemp production and is now writing regulations for farmers to apply for a hemp farming permit. State legislators in Tennessee will soon consider a bill that would make hemp farming legal in that state.
Hemp is legal. The plant’s fibers can be turned into everything from rope to paper to clothing. The Hemp Industries Association reports that imported hemp accounts for about $500 million in annual U.S. sales.
According to the website grist.org, Ryan Loflin, a farmer in Springfield, Colo., has leased 60 acres of his father’s alfalfa farm to plant hundreds of hemp starters. When he planted those acres in May he created American’s first real crop of industrial hemp in more than 50 years.
But while importing hemp is legal in America, growing hemp is not legal under federal law. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013, first introduced in Congress in February, is in committee.
Pennsylvania should not consider legalizing production of hemp unless and until the federal law is changed. Federal law enforcement agencies have enough to do without having to round up hemp farmers.
No comments:
Post a Comment