A bill that would make it legal for some California farmers to grow and sell industrial hemp is a signature away from taking effect. The bill is controversial because hemp and marijuana look nearly the same and the two are the same plant species.
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood supports the bill and says harvesting hemp would be a good thing for Kern farmers and our economy but he admits it could make it difficult to monitor and differentiate between fields of marijuana and hemp, especially from the air.
From milk to body wash, hemp products aren't hard to find in stores. Soon, hemp used to manufacture these goods could be growing in Kern County fields.
"This particular bill would help Kern County. It's a product that can be grown and used in agriculture," said Sheriff Youngblood. "It's used in all different kinds of products right now."
Senate bill 676 creates a pilot program allowing for the cultivation of industrial hemp in Kern County and three other California counties - Imperial, Kings, and San Joaquin.
"I don't know of anyone who really wants to grow it," said Don Davis, current president of Kern's Farm Bureau. He says hemp has a reputation problem, but overall, farmers support the bill. "A lot of the groups that are for legalizing marijuana are for this bill. We're on the same side for completely different reasons."
Davis says farmers want freedom to choose what to grow. According to SB 676, hemp has less THC than marijuana. THC is the chemical that gets people high. The DEA says that doesn't matter. The agency classifies hemp the same as marijuana.
"Everyone is afraid because it looks like marijuana, that there's illicit uses for it. If there are, I'm not aware. I've done my research," said Sheriff Youngblood.
As the county crackdowns on marijuana grows, hemp, marijuana's seed sibling is making headway. Governor Jerry Brown has until October 9th to make a decision on hundreds of bills, including this one.
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