McConnell backs full legalization of hemp

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was in Lexington Monday afternoon for a luncheon with Commerce Lexington.

Sen. McConnell met with business leaders to discuss a variety of topics including new legislation McConnell says he’s looking to introduce that would remove hemp from the list of controlled substances.

During his speech to Commerce Lexington, McConnell spoke in length about the need to legalize hemp, saying the crop could have a bigger impact on Kentucky’s agricultural sector than tobacco once did.

Currently hemp can only been grown with a federal permit because it is classified as a controlled substance due to it’s close relation to marijuana.

Unlike marijuana, hemp does not have a large amount of THC, the compound that causes a users high, and it can be used to make a variety of products from rope to milk, something McConnell says makes it a crop worth legalizing.

“I think it’s time for hemp to be a regular agricultural product and I’m going to try and insert in between the next farm bill which will be done later this year what you could say was the normalization of hemp,” said Sen. McConnell.