Hemp Bill Passed and Signed Pt 1

Hemp Bill Passed and Signed Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. The name alone is a bit controversial, but "hemp" will soon be a perfectly legal money-making crop in Washington state thanks to a bill passed by the legislature last week and signed by the governor.

Senator Doug Ericksen sponsored Senate Bill 5276 and, needless to say, he's pleased with the results ...

ERICKSEN ... "Yeah, I think this is an important piece of legislation for farmers that want to have a different option out there. Under the new Farm Act out of Congress, they said that hemp can now be grown in America, but each state has to adopt rules or regulations for how it will be managed within the individual states. So, this legislation was crucial to get passed this year to put in place a program in Washington so that we can take advantage of the Farm Bill and get people growing hemp if they want to."

And to be clear, this IS, Ericksen says, about industrial hemp and not its cousin marijuana...

ERICKSEN ... "Well, that's what the regulations are really for and that's why the Farm Act is requiring these types of regulations to be put in place. So, there has to be a system in place for testing the product to make sure that it doesn't contain THC, that it is industrial hemp, the rules and regulations about the seeds. And, you actually have to get a license to grow it in Washington state. So, that's kind of, is it a good thing or a bad thing, but we'll see in coming years and we have to maintain that licensure requirement. But, the other rules and regulations I think are important to make sure that people aren't trying to grow the smokable marijuana and stick to just the industrial hemp which has no THC content to it."

Listen tomorrow for more on the Hemp bill.

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