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MARIJUANA LAW

Kentucky Senators Want to Legalize Hemp

But law enforcers oppose it, claiming they won't be able to tell hemp plants from pot

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Kentucky is apparently not called the Bluegrass State for nothing.

Lawmakers in the state hope to legalize hemp as a job creation tactic, and idea that's being pushed by both Kentucky senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.

But state law enforcers are strongly opposed, calling the move "a step toward legal marijuana," Kentucky.com reports. They're concerned that it's difficult to visually distinguish between hemp plants and pot, and producers could take advantage of that fact by growing a mixture of the two plants to bamboozle drug enforcement officers.

Currently hemp-growing is banned federally: the plant is classified as marijuana, even though it contains minimal amounts of the intoxicating chemical THC. If Kentucky lawmakers pass a hemp-legalizing bill, Rand Paul plans to lobby for a waiver of federal law to allow hemp production in his state.

McConnell claims that allowing hemp cultivation will be pursued in a way that won't harm the enforcement of marijuana laws. But in any case, he's committed to the move as a job creation tactic. "The utilization of hemp to produce everything from clothing to paper is real," he said in a statement.

Via Kentucky.com. H/T Politix user PoliticalSpice.
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Will legalizing hemp harm marijuana law enforcement in Kentucky?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • dances-weebles
    !
    @Emerald1 the problem with that is that it should never be grown as a cash crop and regulated. once it is it'll cut out the individual who wants to plant it in his or her flower garden in front of the house because it'd cut in on someone's profits and taxes. pot should never, ever be taxed.
  • dances-weebles
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    and again, why do you think that it'd be necessary for anyone to grow pot for profit. if it's grown by farmers, they'll be selling it, rather than smoking it and giving it away to friends.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @Emerald1 this is so good. For economy, for farms, for environment, for marijuana, in that it makes it impractical to stop growing it as it is the same plant, even for republican appeal to young voters. And dems needing to compete may be forced to start legalizing marijuan in response...

  • View all 18 replies >

  • u
    KickBrass
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    "an total idiot"? Seriously?

    What is sad is that these Republicans are attempting to pass a reasonable law aimed at creating jobs and eliminating a needless ban on a harmless product, and folks such as yourself are attempting to prevent it as a way to "save us from ourselves."
  • PoliticalSpice
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    I actually agree with them on this. Policy wise and from a political strategy to increase repub party appeal it makes a lot of sense...
  • jessejaymes
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    Come on now. Even a blind dog finds a bone now and then. This is a good thing and since the right almost never gets it right, we should encourage them when they do.
  • u
    Raptor
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    @PoliticalSpice It is never a good thing that anyone encourages the use of illegal drugs witch is the message you are sending to our children when you sell out our values for a vote and to look good to increase the republican party or any other partys appeal as you say. Think about it, it is wrong on so many different levels

  • View all 17 replies >

  • Buzzfriendly
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    @thatgirl rape and murder would be more beneficial use of law enforcement than sending them into the woods to find pot plants that could be creating revenue jobs and enterprise instead of robbing the tax payers pocket
  • Buzzfriendly
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    @PoliticalSpice True, but I did watch some show I think on the History channel about Moonshining and growing marijuana in Appalachia. The shiners\growers take their craft very seriously and assemble some very clever booby traps. But given it is also their lively hood that is illegal for no good reason who could blame them.
  • jessejaymes
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    @thatgirl Oh I don't know. How about we spend that 300 billion a year the DEA spends on gang enforcement? How about we build a huge prison in the desert somewhere and throw every gang banger in there with no guards, and just drop food and water in? Those animals love to make their own rules. Let them have at it.
  • MarkJM
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    Legalize both. We already allow for alcohol and tobacco, both of which are far worse for your health than marijuana is. Legalize both and tax the hell out of it. Save on the law enforcement costs and bring in added revenue. It's a win/win, and I say this as a conservative.
  • wild_turkey6
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    Law enforcement enjoys massive grants from the federal government to eradicate drugs. They will fight tooth and nail to keep it from being legalized. This has nothing to do with a fear that marijuana might be hidden in a crop of hemp.
    1. The bill will require farmers to obtain a license and register plots with GPS.
    2. Cross pollination. Marijuana grown in a field of hemp would loose its potency, thus rendering it less valuable.
    BTW, I am surprised to see McConnel's name on this. Rand Paul, I can see doing this, but not Mitch. Guess he is feeling the heat from both sides.
  • dances-weebles
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    um... hemp and pot are the same plant, silly.

    if the law enforcement agencies want to go after drugs, then let them do so... hemp isn't a drug and never has been.

    not only that, but we don't want pot grown by farmers. i say that we should carry large bags of seeds of prime pot up airplanes and helicopters and toss bucket loads of the seeds into the air so that it can grow wherever it lands. that way everyone can simply snip the buds for free, and the plants can be harvested for hemp.
  • wild_turkey6
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    @dances-weebles I may have been a little general in my description. Both are the same species, Cannabis sativa, but are breed different. Industrial hemp contains less than 1% THC, but recreational marijuana has a much higher content.
    If they are grown in the same plot, the cross breeding will dilute the THC of the marijuana, thus lowering the value.

    I am all for ending the drug war on marijuana. This is a different matter altogether, it is an attempt to help out the ailing farm industry in the state.
  • Mbjhug
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    Here is a FANTASTIC and one of the main benefits of legalizing cannabis. Hemp is much better product (in terms of strength and cost) than paper and cotton (as well as other fabrics). Why do you want to stem (ha ha) the progression?

    Just give it up and legalize it already. Stop this charade and allocate the resources to a much more worthwhile cause.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    This makes enforcement of marijuana laws impractical. It would require testing each crop. It is the same plant, thc is decreased if grown in cooler weather, with less sun and more water. How easy is that to alter? Visually it looks the same. Botanically it is the same. They would need test each plant. If this law passes it will spread like weed....
  • Fitz
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    @PoliticalSpice it wouldn't be impractical if they took the marijuana laws off the books. anyone that is serving time for breaking marijuana laws should be set free.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @Fitz well the issue is the war on drugs gives big money to agencies: cops, dea, prisons, etc. and those folks lobby to keep the laws in place. We need to make everyone see the laws as useless before they repeal them. Medical marijuana, legal marijuana, hemp farms, all move us in that direction. Imagine if 30 or 40 states had various laws to grow hemp. What do the feds do then? Inspect every feild? No, they throw in thd towel. This is a tactic. If it works its another state down.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    I voted it would make it difficult to enforce of marijuana laws and thats a good thing, because state action that legalizes marijuana and hemp make it almost impossible for feds to police the situation and will eventually lead to federal legalization. I favor legalization of marijuana, as well as hemp, but it is important to understand the differences of the two. It is the same exact plant, the difference lies in thc content. Little water, and a hot environment with sunshine produce quality marijuana, with a relitively higher thc content.

    Keeping the plant well watered, and in a shader area produce lower thc content and a more fiberous plant better suited for hemp. Using Hemp, an annual herbaceous plant, in place of trees to make paper not only spares forest habitats, but spares the environment of the harse chemicals used to break wood down into paper pulp. Hemp paper also last longer and does not crack and break after fifety or so years as wood based papers are prone to do. In addition to that the use of hemp fiber for rope and other fabric production will reduce the use of synthetic fibers that are made from toxic petro chemicals. The seeds can also be used to produce a high quality oil, which has a variety of uses, and the seed meal is a high quality animal feed. As a crop hemp is easy to grow, it requires minimal care and rarely needs pesticides. This means having it on an area of the farm means production of a consistent reliable crop to help farmers earn when other crops do less well because of disease or drought. If kentucky moves on this first industries in production of pil, cloth, and paper from hemp could be an economic boon to farmers and thd entire state. I want to say thank you to @PolitixMary for doing this article.
  • o
    HooverNiebold
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    Legalized hemp will make growing quality marijuana much more difficult. The nuisance weed laws helped growers and when they were lifted cross contamination became a problem allowing hemp will only add to this issue for growers.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    True to an extent, but high quality genetic material, as in seeds from quality cannabis, sunshine, warm environment and less water can increase thc content...
  • o
    HooverNiebold
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    @PoliticalSpice
    Seeds aren't worth growing high quality marijuana, clones are the only way to go. And cloned plants are ruined for consumption by simply touching a hemp plant with pollen and transferring to the cloned plant. Even the wind will create this problem for cloned plants near ditch weed or hemp.

  • View all 15 replies >

  • Mr_GO_HERD
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    If you do your research you will see that hemp was one of the main reasons that the opponents in the textile industry faught so hard to have made illegal due to their own inferior products. The fact that marijuana is illegal when there are do many great byproducts is a complete and utter travesty at all levels.
  • u
    RobertJHarsh
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    Yes it will hurt Law Enforcement because with hemp legal, they don't get to play the asset-forfeiture-seizure game on the locals and beef up their department's budget. I am sure the private prison operators will complain as well.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    Exactly. Cops attitude is why go after violent criminals who might fight back when you can pursue non-violent folks who bother no one.
  • u
    Realthinker
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    Law enforcement can be trained to distinguish between the two very easily. It's my understanding that hemp has many valuable applications and would make an excellent cash crop, and not just in Kentucky. I can't see why training inspectors to recognize pot would be any different than taking a storm spotter's class, which they have to do.
  • PoliticalSpice
    !
    I agree that hemp is valuable, but enforcement is impractical. They need do a feild by feild inspection. It is the same plant, and only by taking numerous samples and testing for thc will they know if it should be classed as hemp or marijuana. But in any event, since I support legalizing both, I like this...
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