news

“Industrial hemp is a sustainable crop and could be a great economic opportunity for Kentucky farmers”

Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) has signed on to co-sponsor federal legislation that requires the federal government to respect state laws allowing the growing of industrial hemp. H.R. 1831, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, amends the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana. A similar bill is being co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY).

“Industrial hemp is a sustainable crop and could be a great economic opportunity for Kentucky farmers,” said Rep. Massie.  “My wife and I are raising our children on the tobacco and cattle farm where my wife grew up. Tobacco is no longer a viable crop for many of us in Kentucky and we understand how hard it is for a family farm to turn a profit.  Industrial hemp will give small farmers another opportunity to succeed.”

As a candidate for Congress, Massie joined Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer at a rally at Lexington’s Red Mile calling for Kentucky’s legislature to pass a bill allowing Kentucky farmers to grow industrial hemp; he also pledged to support similar federal legislation.

Kentucky was a leading producer of the world’s industrial hemp supply during America’s early years as a nation. It is used in hundreds of products including paper, lotions, clothing, canvas, rope, and can be converted into renewable bio-fuels more efficiently than corn or switch grass.  The U.S. Constitution is written on hemp paper. Critics of industrial hemp mistakenly equate it to marijuana.  The plants are cousins in the cannabis family but industrial hemp contains very small amounts of the intoxicant (THC) found in marijuana, making it ineffective as a drug.  Hemp is grown in over 30 western nations including Canada, England and France.

###