On the recordJune 2, 2015
I appreciate the gentlewoman's courtesy and her leadership on this issue. Madam Chairman, as a practical matter, industrial hemp is not marijuana. With less than 0.3 percent THC, it is not a drug. As a practical matter, it is not hard to distinguish it, and, in fact, it is sort of a myth that somehow people will use industrial hemp to disguise the cultivation of marijuana. They don't want that. It cross- contaminates. It makes it a less effective product. We have a situation where the rest of the world deals with industrial hemp, where there are countless products available to purchase today, it is just that Kentucky farmers or Oregon farmers can't produce it. Last year the House overwhelmingly passed this amendment. We are starting down a path towards rationalization. Twenty-three States have removed the barriers to production of industrial hemp. The Federal Government should get out of the way. Congress should adopt this amendment and allow it to proceed.
