What do the Declaration of Independence, the sails of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria and plastic panels in BMW and Mercedes Benz automobiles all have in common? All were/are made with industrial hemp. The United States is one of the biggest consumers of industrial hemp, but due to antiquated laws associating industrial hemp with its psychoactive-drug-cousin marijuana, industrial hemp has been illegal to grow in the U.S. since 1957. That may be changing soon. The state of Kentucky recently passed legislation, joining eight other states (Colorado, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia) that has defined industrial hemp as distinct from marijuana and removed barriers to its production.
State legislation is an important first step toward domestic production of industrial hemp, and work is under way to pass federal legislation to remove hemp from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of illicit drugs. Once this happens, farmers in the United States can again begin producing industrial hemp for the many products it is found in and can be used for.