INDIANA: The Senate voted unanimously Monday to pass legislation that would legalize the farming and production of industrial hemp in Indiana.
Senate Bill 357 – authored by Sen. Richard Young, D-Milltown – now moves to the House for consideration.
The bill does not affect the state’s marijuana laws. Instead, it legalizes the production of one of its botanical cousins. Hemp is a multipurpose crop that can be used in the production of textiles, foods, plastics, building materials and medicines but it doesn’t have enough tetrahydrocannabinol – known as THC – for someone to use it as a drug.
“You could not ingest enough of this material to get high in any way – to have hallucinogenic benefits,” Young said. “What you would do is get sick.” [Read more…]