Hemp/CBD Legalization Clears Senate

The Senate passes legislation legalizing industrial hemp production and CBD oil, but the upper chamber packed it with new amendments, so the proposal heads back to the House.

Franklin Senator Bret Allain says farmers are itching to get their hands on the product, as the prices of common Louisiana commodities like rice, cotton, and soybeans are currently low.

“The farmers in this state want the opportunity to have another commodity to grow, so they can switch from one commodity to another to try to help and support themselves and their family.”

Allain says over 30 states have, and are in the process of legalizing the plant’s production after a federal ruling that allowed state regulated crops.

Hemp proponents say the plant, and it’s derivatives, can be found in thousands of different products. Allain noted two of the most popular applications…

“It makes one of the highest grade papers known, and there’s also oils that can be derived from it, you may have heard of CBD oil.”

The first draft of the Declaration of Independence, and the Guttenberg Bible are thought to have been written on hemp paper.

The legislation calls for the Department of Agriculture to regulate the product and perform routine tests of crops to ensure their THC level, a hallucinogenic chemical, is not above .03 percent.

“All industrial hemp crops will be tested by Louisiana Ag and Forestry, to test for the THC content. Hemp is a distant cousin of marijuana, but it is not marijuana.”

A state regulatory plan for production must be submitted to the USDA by November 1^st.