The U.S. is the world's largest consumer of hemp products, but is the only major industrialized country that outlaws hemp production.
Ironically, the U.S. is the world's largest consumer of hemp products, but is the only major industrialized country that outlaws domestic hemp production.
In breadbasket states, lawmakers are examining industrial hemp production as a way of boosting farm income.
View below or download a PDF of the hemp production fact sheet.
But may also be in Ulster, Sullivan & Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester & Rockland if hemp production occurs in these counties in '19.
As of March 2016, more than half of the 50 states have laws that allow for some hemp production, according to this chart.
The US, on the other hand, has restricted hemp production and categorized hemp in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, attributing it as a relative of marijuana.
Not only has the government banned hemp production in the U.S., it is also directly subsidizing other crops that the study shows to be "environmentally inferior".
The bill also would block the Justice Department from interfering with state-level medical marijuana measures and prohibits the Drug Enforcement Agency from interfering with industrial hemp production.
After supporting Senator Rand Paul's opponent in 2010, Mr. McConnell has done an about-face, voting for Mr. Paul's austere budget measure and working with him to legalize domestic hemp production.
The ultimate goal is to spur the government to lift the ban on hemp production, a policy that especially riles activists because foreign-produced hemp oils and food products can be legally imported.
