Editor's Note: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that he will be introducing federal legislation to "legalize hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the list of controlled substances." McConnell has already successfully shielded state industrial hemp research programs from federal interference by attaching language to broader legislation, like the 2014 Farm Bill and annual spending packages. McConnell also announced plans to discuss the the issue with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime, vocal opponent of cannabis law reform.

Forbes
March 26, 2018


The head of the U.S. Senate announced on Monday that he will soon be filing a bill to legalize industrial hemp.

"We all are so optimistic that industrial hemp can become sometime in the future what tobacco was in Kentucky's past," U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said at a press conference alongside the state's agriculture commissioner. ...

McConnell has already successfully attached language to broader legislation, such as the 2014 Farm Bill and annual spending packages, that shield state industrial hemp research programs from federal interference.

But confusion over what counts as research as well as issues related to the interstate transportation of hemp seeds has caused confusion as the Drug Enforcement Administration has in some cases sought to enforce federal laws that do not distinguish between hemp and marijuana.

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