FRANKFORT —
Proponents of legalizing industrial hemp in Kentucky say momentum for their cause is growing. But, some key law enforcement agencies still aren’t enamored of the idea.
Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer convened the resurrected Kentucky Hemp Commission for a meeting Monday by saying: “We are very aggressively seeking the input from law enforcement.”
But just before the meeting began, a law enforcement official on the commission issued a press release opposing legalizing the plant, which is biologically similar to marijuana, although it contains only trace amounts of the chemical THC, which produces the marijuana high.
Dan Smoot, of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police and president of Operation UNITE, a drug education, treatment and enforce-ment organization working in eastern Kentucky, said supporters are looking “through rose-colored glasses if they believe hemp production would be a good alternative crop or provide an economic boon.”
He said there isn’t a great demand for the crop and legalizing its production “would create more problems than benefits and is currently not permitted under federal law.”
On top of that, Smoot and Kentucky State Police Maj. Anthony Terry, both members of the commission who were not at Monday’s meeting, claimed they weren’t notified of the session.
But Holly VonLuehrte, general counsel for the Agriculture Department, said both men “absolutely were informed of the meeting.”
Kentucky was once a national leader in hemp production and supporters say it could be a significant cash crop again for its farmers. However, it is presently against federal law to grow hemp because of the difficulty of disting-uishing it from mari-juana. (It is legal to import hemp products but not to grow the plant.)
Supporters say allowing production will create jobs in paper manu-facturing, manufacture of interior materials for the auto industry, biofuels, clothing and other products, even plywood. Comer said it’s a “sustainable, greener crop” as well.
Kentucky Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth support the idea and have said they’ll lobby the Obama administration to offer Kentucky a waiver to grow the crop if the legislature passes a bill setting up regulations.
Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, a member of the commission, has filed a bill which would authorize the Department of Agriculture to license and inspect production, including Global Posi-tioning System mapping of licensed growing operations, notification of the state police of licensed growing areas and background checks for growers.
KSP Commissioner Rodney Brewer said he feared marijuana could be grown among hemp plants and law enforcement couldn’t detect the illegal plants. He and Smoot are also concerned about costs.
Brewer said the only way to distinguish be-tween the plants is expensive chemical tes-ting in the lab. He and Smoot said those ar-rested for marijuana possession will maintain the substance is hemp, requiring time-consuming and expensive testing.
Jim Higdon, a mem-ber of the commission, said those are false concerns, that hemp will easily cross-pollinate with marijuana plants and ultimately eliminate marijuana. He said the KSP is more concerned with retaining federal grant money for the eradication of marijuana so it can continue to employ personnel.
Brewer said cross-pollination produces a milder form of marijuana but also a more potent form of hemp.
State News
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