A GOP senator attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for a Kentucky hemp business on Monday, where he again previewed a forthcoming bill to regulate the crop as an alternative to its pending recriminalization under legislation that President Donald Trump signed last month.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke about hemp policy issues and his plan to avert the new federal ban, which is set to take effect next November, at an event marking the opening of a Cornbread Hemp location in Louisville.
When hemp’s potential federal legalization was being considered as part of the 2018 Farm Bill that Trump signed in his first term, Paul said he thought that’d be “great,” particularly for Kentucky farmers who’ve seen losses as demand for tobacco has decreased. Creating a cannabis industry would also support ancillary businesses that aren’t plant-touching, he said.
Hemp legalization has been a “great success,” Paul added, “and I don’t want government to stifle this”
He also addressed arguments supporting the hemp ban that he described as “untrue,” including the idea that all cannabinoid products are being sold at gas stations and marketed in a way that targets youth. Kentucky—which enacted a regulatory framework for hemp that aims to mitigate those
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