Source: grandforksherald.com
ST. PAUL -- An effort to legalize hemp in Minnesota continues.
A state House committee Wednesday unanimously approved a bill by Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, to allow limited hemp growth. Hemp farming has been illegal in Minnesota since shortly after World War II.
Franson's bill would allow hemp as a crop if the producer is licensed by the state Agriculture Department and follows federal law, which now only allows researchers to grow the plant.
Hemp is used for products ranging from ropes to clothes.
It was declared illegal due to its close relationship with marijuana, although using hemp would not make a person high.
Franson said Minnesota hemp farming has a lot of potential and her bill would develop "on a very small scale" the beginnings of a hemp industry in the state.
A similar Senate bill passed its first committee test last week.
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