Louisiana legislators have approved the state’s plan to regulate industrial hemp farming, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Forestry will review. The plan initially was submitted to the federal government in October and has been tweaked in response to USDA feedback.
“We have been informed that our plan will be amongst the first if not the first plan in the United States to be approved,” Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain told lawmakers at a recent agriculture committee meeting.
Louisiana lawmakers legalized industrial hemp this year in hopes of establishing a new cash crop for the state’s farmers by this spring. Hemp is derived from the same plant species as marijuana but has very low levels of THC, which is what gets marijuana users high, and can be used in a wide variety of products such as rope, clothing, plastics and fuels.
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