Hemp's hot.

AuthorFreeman, Duranya
PositionTRENDS

Green leaves, curling smoke, packets of gummies with varying milligrams of THC ... nowadays the only plant anyone can talk about is marijuana. True, marijuana has the highest concentration of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical with psychoactive properties that produce a "high." Yet a related plant containing only traces of THC is quickly becoming a popular topic in state legislatures.

That plant is industrial hemp. State lawmakers continue to legalize it, but growing it is complicated because the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act classifies hemp under the marijuana umbrella and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency makes no distinction between hemp and its psychotropic relative. The 2014 Farm Bill, however, authorized universities and agricultural departments in states that have legalized hemp cultivation to conduct research and pilot programs. There is also legislation in Congress that would define industrial hemp, exclude it from the definition of "marijuana" in the Controlled Substances Act, and give states the exclusive authority to regulate its production and processing, according to the advocacy group Vote Hemp.

Hemp fibers are much stronger than those of the marijuana plant and can be used in the textile and agriculture industries. On a global scale, France and China together account for over 90 percent of world's hemp production. American farmers and manufacturers want to be able to compete. Farmers use hemp for animal feed and bedding, and manufacturers produce rope, cosmetics, cloth, pulp, paper and fuel from it. Before the federal government banned it in 1938, hemp was a leading crop in agricultural states like...

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