LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have approved a bill that would allow the state to grow industrial hemp for research.
The measure won final approval Thursday with a 39-2 vote. The bill would allow the University of Nebraska and the state Department of Agriculture to grow industrial hemp.
Industrial hemp is a close plant cousin to marijuana, but it has only a tiny fraction of the ingredients that allow marijuana users to get high. Supporters say industrial hemp could become a good alternative crop for farmers. Opponents argue that legalizing hemp is a move toward legalizing marijuana.
The measure, by Sen. Norm Wallman of Cortland, was modeled after the federal farm bill that makes such research an exemption to federal drug laws.
