Legislation is moving forward to legalize industrial hemp farms at the federal level.
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced Wednesday that their bipartisan legislation to legalize hemp as part of the farm bill has passed the senate agriculture committee.
That means they’re one step closer to removing the plant from the list of controlled substances, so all american farmers can grow it.
Local hemp farmers say that’s a big deal.
According to the owner of Murphy Hemp Company in Josephine County, Hemp producers would have access to loans, insurance, and investors.
Moreover, the business would become a larger part of the economy.
“It’s going to really unleash an industrial revolution — a phyto-revolution if you will — that will change america and the world,” owner of Murphy Hemp Company Kit Doyle said.
Hemp can be used to make anything from clothes or earth-friendly plastics to healing products.
Until now, it’s been illegal on the federal level due to its ties to marijuana.
Hemp farmers say marijuana and hemp are not the same.
Despite coming from the same plant, hemp has no psychoactive properties, so it won’t get you high.
The bill now heads to the senate floor for consideration.
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