Washington State Senate Committee Passes Bill to Legalize Industrial Hemp
Legislation to legalize the cultivation and production of industrial hemp in Washington has been given approval by the state’s Senate Committee on Agriculture and Water & Rural Economic Development, and has been sent to the floor of the Senate by the Rules Committee.
Under the proposed law – Senate Bill 6206 – the Washington State Department of Agriculture would oversee licensing and regulations for the hemp industry, with those wanting to cultivate the plant required to receive a license from the Department. The bill would also direct Washington State University to study the “feasibility and desirability” of industrial hemp in the state.
In Washington, the possession and distribution of cannabis is legal for those 21 and older due to the passage of Initiative 502; however, Initiative 502 didn’t establish a legal system for hemp cultivation, defining cannabis as having 0.3% THC or more. Under Senate Bill 6206 a system will be in place for farmers wanting to grow hemp, though they must maintain a THC percentage of below 0.3%.
If the bipartisan proposal is passed by the Senate, it will be sent to the House of Representatives before going to Governor Inslee for final consideration.
Anonymous
Way to go Texas missed the boat on another one
Joe farmer
Easy to see the I-502 recreational pot lobby drafted this bill, why would we let farmers grow hemp for CBD oil, efficiently and cheaply, when we can have a state sanctioned monopoly on a non-recreational product that stands to help unlimited numbers of consumers.
This bill will actually slow the process of investment and production.
Why do we let them regulate something as psychoactive as corn and potatoes?
Once again the legislators of this state throw a lifeline to a bunch of diva basement pot growers, and throws the entire agriculture sector under the bus. Maybe they should remember which industry comes before and allows all others to even exist.
Take a look at Oregon, they should be applauded. They see the potential for CBD oil, and the lives it can change…. Our ” progressive”state legislators should be ashamed and relabeled for what they really are. A bunch of backwards control freak hypocrites.
Anonymous
Industrial hemp is not growl for canibus oil. Although maybe you know something I don’t. It is growl for fiber.