{Frankfort, Kentucky}…Friday,
the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce joined a growing list of high-profile
supporters, including U.S. Representatives Thomas Massie, Andy Barr and John
Yarmuth and U.S. Senator Rand Paul, who want to let Kentucky farmers
grow industrial hemp. Bills have been filed in the House and Senate that
would license farmers to grow the plant, a close cousin to marijuana, if the
federal government lifts its ban on the crop. Republican Agriculture
Commissioner James Comer has spent much of the past year aggressively lobbying
state and federal leaders to lift the ban on hemp. Senate President Robert
Stivers, R-Manchester, said Friday that many Democratic and Republican senators
remain uneasy with legalizing industrial hemp, and he did not know if the
measure would pass the Senate.
