The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has received approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to import hemp seeds.
“It’s a real, real possibility we’ll have a spring planting of hemp,” says WSDA’s hemp coordinator Emily Feblesy According to Feblesy the WSDA has proposed rules for hemp cultivation and hopes to issue licenses to growers, seed distributors and processors in May.
Washington now joins several other states – including Oregon – that have received DEA approval to import hemp seeds.
For now, the hemp grown in Washington will be for research purposes. However, a bill to legalize commercial hemp cultivation, without a license and without a grow limit, recently passed the state’s House of Representatives with a unanimous 98 to 0 vote. The measure must now be passed by the Senate in order to be sent to Governor Jay Inslee for consideration.
Read moreDEA Gives Washington State Approval to Import Hemp Seeds