McConnell Wants Hemp Removed From Controlled Substances List

Kentucky longest serving Senator has introduced a bill that many thought he never would. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has introduced a bill that would remove hemp from the federal government's schedule of controlled substances. It's a legal cash crop and McConnell wants it classified as an agricultural commodity.

Kentucky has led the way in the comeback of industrial hemp which is used to make rope, cloth, and paper. Hemp oil can be used in cosmetics, food, paper, and other products. Industrial hemp is a non-psychoactive relative of marijuana which similar but it contains negligible amounts of THC which is intoxicating.

Removing hemp from the controlled substances list would mean cultivators would no longer need a federal permit and the Agriculture Department would issue competitive grants to hemp researchers who are developing cultivation methods and uses for the plant.

More than 30 states currently authorize hemp research.