Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A Kentucky lawmaker is pushing legislation to legalize industrial hemp as a cash crop and source for alternative fuels.

Sen. Joey Pendleton says the time is right to cash in on hemp because the plant is already legal for research purposes in Kentucky and Congress has legislation before it to decriminalize hemp.

The bill he introduced for the 2010 session would require people wanting to grow or process industrial hemp to be licensed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. They would have to undergo criminal background checks, and sheriffs would have to monitor and randomly test industrial hemp fields.

Industrial hemp is related to the illegal drug marijuana, but advocates say it has too little of the mind-altering chemical THC to make people high.