Kentucky Legislature Passes Resolution Urging Federal Government to End Hemp Prohibition
A resolution urging the federal government to end its prohibition on industrial hemp has been passed by the full Kentucky Legislature.
Kentucky House Concurrent Resolution 35 was given unanimous approval (36 to 0) Wednesday by the state’s Senate. The vote comes a little over a month after the House passed the resolution 93 to 2. Yesterday it was delivered to Governor Matt Bevin, who now has the option of signing it into law, allowing it to become law without his signature, or vetoing it (although a veto could be overturned by a 2/3rds vote in the legislature).
The resolution states that the “General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky urges the United States Congress to take action by enacting legislation that:
(1) Encourages large-scale commercial cultivation of hemp by removing it from the list of controlled substances under the federal Controlled Substances Act;
(2) Prevents the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from sending DEA agents onto farms and other sites where hemp is being grown, stored, and processed;
(3) Creates legal protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to legitimate hemp businesses; and
(4) Instructs the federal Food and Drug Administration to accelerate clinical trials and other research on the health effects of cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids found in hemp.
The full resolution can be found by clicking here.