Tagged: Hemp

As Kentucky and federal lawmakers consider legalizing industrial hemp, the chair of the University of Kentucky's agriculture economics department notes that such an industry won't rise overnight.

The second meeting of the state’s Industrial Hemp Commission will soon begin sorting through the details of its efforts to bring legalized hemp to Kentucky.

The commission will work on the details of a new legislative bill proposal, such what the bill will include and which legislators will sponsor it during the 2013 session, said the chairman, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer.

Kentucky Agriculture Secretary James Comer said recent measures in Washington and Colorado to legalize marijuana use will only strengthen efforts to allow industrial hemp in the commonwealth.

Marijuana and hemp are considered cousins. Hemp is grown for its fiber and oil and it can'’t be used as a drug like marijuana can.

For the first time in a decade, Kentucky's commission on industrial hemp will hold a meeting.

The commission has been dormant since its inception, but Agriculture Commissioner James Comer supports hemp and is reviving the panel.