As legislators meet to decide the fate of industrial hemp in Kentucky several questions are left unanswered in the agriculture community.
Hemp has not been a legal crop in Kentucky since 1860, and Kentucky farmers could soon find out if they will be able to grow industrial hemp in the future.
Source: http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/Decision-Nears-on-Industrial-Hemp-Legislation–200139321.html
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The Kentucky Senate recently passed a bill legalizing the industrial cultivation of hemp, paving way for farmers in the state to explore the economic viability of the plant.
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell working with Sen. Rand Paul, along with two senators from Oregon, introduced a bill that would allow farmers to begin growing the crop. They explained that expanding the hemp industry is a smart way to create jobs and add much needed economic opportunities to the state.
“This legislation has the potential to create jobs and provide a boost to Kentucky’s economy and to our farmers and their families,” McConnell told reporters during a press conference.
The two Senators from Oregon, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, are pushing hard for similar measures in their state, which recently voted against a measure that would have legalized marijuana for recreational use in the state.
But research suggests that the economic possibilities are real and is the main driving force behind these collective efforts. A report facilitated by the Hemp Industries Association published in January details that retail sales in the United States of products that used imported hemp were estimated to have been valued at over million in 2011 alone.
Hemp itself has been used by various civilizations over time and currently can be used in over 25,000 different applications. Hemp is used in building material and biofuels and can even be used in plastics, soap and clothes.
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However, with the increased advocacy for state legislators to pass measures easing laws on Hemp, those in law enforcement are cautioning that increased hemp production would lead to an increase in illegal growers and that it is just as dangerous as marijuana.
“We’ve heard that you can’t get high off of hemp. You can get high off of hemp,” warned Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer.
Congressman Greg Stumbo, of Prestonsburg, echoed those thoughts saying the increased risk to law enforcement is not worth the possible economic benefit.
“It’s not that we’re saying ‘no,'” Stumbo told AP. “We’re simply saying that the evidence doesn’t show that there’s enough of a market to override the concerns that the law enforcement community has.”
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navaro1982
So what your saying is there are 500 innocent people in jail
Josh Moore
Truuuuu… Need to legalize the medical use though.
Dracanon
and that’s the truth of the matter…….were about to lose
Afghanistan….billions of dollars wasted when Bin Laden was next door in
our “allies” country.
yancy slide
Did this cop say you can get high on hemp ? and get away with it .
Adrian Bentley
Rand Paul says…. It`s a crop that`s legal everywhere else in the world
except the United States…… MUCH LIKE SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE Mr. Paul!!!!
Otis Michael
Hemp is not Marijuana. You can’t get high off of hemp
Blitz Rocko
Stupid cop!!!!
smokajoka420
Yeah but we are 15 trillion in debt and in 10/15 years there’s gonna be 50
trillion more in debt for SSI.!!!! We cant afford socialized
healthcare!!@!?!?@?#@!>!!!!!!! we are broke and on the edge of an economic
collaps ?? what do you think the bank bailout was all about.?? We cant keep
spending, entitlements are killing the U.S. …
Dracanon
absolutely! Crimes against humanity in enforcing satanic drug laws.
Michael Witherington
The shrinking social benefits we have are for some the last hope
separating them from homelessness. Those people can’t find jobs because
they are underfed, poorly clothed, and completely unsheltered. Not to
mention that a promising job interview might involve a move to China.
Meanwhile the bankers have swindled away whatever wealth we had left and
when that was gone they fabricated more. All the worlds economies are based
on one big scam.
Je We
Entitlements are not “killing the U.S.” Unnecessary wars are “killing the
U.S.” Literally and figuratively.