Senate Bill Tries to Preserve Legal Status of Hemp

There is a move in Washington D.C. to ban industrial hemp, a crop which has only been re-legalized for a few years.  Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said he is working with Senator Amy Klobuchar on a bill that lets states set their own hemp rules.

“No one in Washington discussed the issue," Paul said.  "There was no investigation, no hearings. When Kentucky passed it, I think they studied it for six months. They decided that one of the key things is they wanted to keep it out of the hands of children. So they regulated the age. They wanted to have punishment for stores that would sell it to underage miners. They took care of that, and Kentucky legislature did it in a thoughtful manner, and I think that we ought to let that become the law and not have people distance from the problem that didn't really ever study the issue in Washington make the final conclusion.”

Paul added hemp is a successful cash crop in his state.

“It's difficult for those in the hemp business right now, because it's a crop, it has to be planted," Paul said.  "And if it's going to be made illegal in November, farmers are wondering whether they should plant it this year, and they probably already had to make this decision. And I lament that government's, you know, trying to destroy this industry now, but I'm doing everything I can and working across the aisle with a Democrat Senator to try to say that if your state has decided to regulate hemp, then the state law would supersede the federal law.”

Some are concerned about a loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed the sale of intoxicating, lab-converted cannabinoids like delta-8 THC and THCA.

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