On Friday, Kentucky Congressman James Comer (R-KY) filed legislation targeting the reclassification of industrial hemp as an agricultural crop for America’s farmers.
H.R. 3530, co-sponsored by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jared Polis (D-CO), and Thomas Massie (R-KY), is a bipartisan bill that would remove hemp from the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) and would legalize its cultivation in all 50 states.
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017
Comer knows a thing or two about agriculture. The state’s one time Commissioner of Agriculture, Rep. Comer was responsible for successfully rolling out Kentucky’s industrial hemp research pilot program.
“I am honored to sponsor the Industrial Hemp Farming Act because I know firsthand the economic viability of industrial hemp. Hemp has created new opportunities for family farmers and good paying jobs for American workers, especially in Kentucky.”
Cognizant of the plant’s potential economic impact, Kentucky senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul have historically supported industrial hemp, according to Rep. Comer’s website. “Both Kentucky’s U.S. Senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, are strong supporters of industrial hemp and worked together with Rep. Thomas Massie to add language in the 2014 Farm Bill to allow further growth of industrial hemp crops in states that passed regulatory framework.”
Signed by President Obama, the 2014 Farm Bill included an amendment allowing states that had legalized hemp farming to begin cultivating the useful crop for research purposes.
The passage of Comer’s Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017 would remove hemp from the CSA, stimulating substantial economic growth for America’s farmers and their surrounding communities.
credit:marijuana.com
