State officials' desire to redevelop a hemp industry thwarted by lack of distinction from marijuana

Many state legislators are championing industrial hemp production in their mostly rural states, but are facing an uphill battle against long-standing beliefs about the versatile plant that is most commonly associated with marijuana production, The Associated Press reports. Industrial-hemp bills were introduced in 11 states this year, but none have passed so far, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Kentucky, a Lexington seminar about industrial hemp production drew an "eclectic mix ... of legislators, liberals and libertarian-leaning conservatives," AP reports. Kentucky was a leader in hemp production before the federal law against marijuana was passed in 1937, and its new agriculture commissioner, Republican James Comer, favors redevelopment of the industry.

The hemp plant can be used to make paper, clothing, biofuels, lotions and other products that the U.S. imports mostly from Canada. Two North Dakota farmers received state licenses to grow hemp in 2007, but never received approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. They sued, but a federal court upheld a lower court's dismissal of the case. Federal and state law-enforcement officials would lead to increased marijuana production,

"Short of the Congress passing a law defining industrial hemp differently from marijuana, I think it’s going to be a long, uphill battle to get anywhere," said National Farmers Union president Roger Johnson. Supporters say the hemp plant contains little tetrahydrocannabinol, the mind-altering chemical in the illegal drug, unless male plants are removed from the area to force female plants to keep producing THC-rich flower buds. (Read more)