Kentucky candidates support industrial hemp waiver

During World War II, Kentucky grew industrial hemp for fabrics, ropes and military materials. Two Republican candidates for agriculture commissioner in Kentucky, James Comer and Rob Rothenburger, support re-establishing a hemp industry, despite widespread public concern that legally grown hemp will boost the cultivation and use of its close cousin, marijuana. Hemp contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, the mind-altering component of marijuana, and cannot be grown legally in the U.S. Comer considers hemp a viable alternative crop “if the federal government would provide Kentucky with a waiver and let a few farmers do a trial run on it.” The two candidates and a crowded field of Democratic candidates debated this issue (and many others) in May 2011.

Source: www.votehemp.com/state/kentucky.html