Hemp Cultivation Programs Get Green Light in MN, WA

Two states have gotten the green light to move forward with limited industrial hemp programs, which could pave the way for future businesses opportunities.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued Minnesota a permit to start a hemp pilot program approved by the state legislature in 2015, according to MPR News. Officials with the state’s agriculture department will now begin looking for farmers, and the agency’s head says he hopes to have “a few acres” planted this year.

In Washington State, the legislature approved a research program that allows officials to oversee cultivation and production of industrial hemp for a year, according to the Associated Press.

If the bill is signed into law, the state’s agriculture department will report back to officials next January on whether or not a hemp industry is viable.