Third Senate Committee Passes Bill to Legalize Hemp in Florida

Third Senate Committee Passes Bill to Legalize Hemp in Florida

Florida’s Senate Regulated Industries Committee has voted 8 to 4 to legalize industrial hemp through the passage of Senate Bill 902. The measure has already been passed unanimously by the Senate Agriculture Committee, and the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

Senate Bill 902, titled the Hemp Industry Development Act, would explicitly legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp. Those wanting to grow the crop would need to first receive a license from the Department of Agriculture, which will be tasked with regulating the new industry.

The bill makes it clear that the state will not need federal approval to implement the law; “The department may not adopt under this chapter, or any other provision of law, a rule that prohibits an individual from growing, processing, distributing, manufacturing, or selling hemp based on its legal status under federal law”, the law reads.

Senate Bill 902 has now been sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

– TheJointBlog