In North Carolina the misconception of Hemp vs. Marijuana continues. N.C. lawmakers recently approved a bill that allows pilot programs for growing industrial hemp. The House Bill 992 permits universities to grow industrial hemp for research purposes. Despite this, growers still run the risk of being charged for growing marijuana.
The two state universities with hemp research programs are N.C. State University and N.C. State A&T University. The hemp pilot programs began in 2014 with the introduction of the Federal Farm Bill.
Last year a law passed in North Carolina that made the hemp crop legal. It was not legal prior to that because of the stigma surrounding hemp’s close cousin, marijuana. Unlike marijuana however, hemp contains a fraction of the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). On the contrary, hemp can be used as a highly nutritious food, and can be used to produce plastics, fabrics, fuel, insulation, paper, clothing and rope.
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