Hemp’s supporters are cheering a final agreement on the federal farm bill that would legalize the crop that’s making a comeback in Kentucky.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the crop is “ready to take off” and has the potential to become a significant cash crop.
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McConnell has played a key role in turning hemp into a legal crop by removing it from the federal list of controlled substances.
Growing hemp without a federal permit was banned decades ago because of its ties to marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are the same species, but hemp has a negligible amount of THC, the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high.
The 2014 farm bill allowed hemp to be grown on an experimental basis. Kentucky farmers planted 6,700 acres (2,710 hectares) of hemp in 2018.
